2
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JUNE 22-29, 2022
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RAISING THE CURTAIN
ON THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
What we’re into
Robicheaux
I like to think that newspa-
per reporters are a little bit like
detectives. Like detectives, we
interview people to get at the
truth, follow paper trails to see
where the facts may lead us and
view the world with a certain
amount of jaded skepticism. (Un-
like detectives, fortunately for
us, we almost never get shot at.)
That’s probably one reason I
enjoy a good mystery yarn.
One of my favorite mystery
writers is James Lee Burke.
I’ve read all 23 of Burke’s Dave
Robicheaux novels — some
more than once — and I hope
he’ll give us a few more before
he’s through. Robicheaux is an
ex-New Orleans cop-turned-
sheriff’s detective in a small
Louisiana town, where he en-
counters no shortage of myster-
ies to unravel.
A deeply conflicted hero tor-
mented by alcoholism, a penchant
for violence and ghosts out of the
past (both personal and histori-
cal), Robicheaux is redeemed by a
bedrock decency and an unwav-
ering commitment to justice as he
navigates a Deep South culture
that is still defined by old racial
divisions and class structures
even as it struggles with all the
challenges of modern living.
What elevates these books
above the ordinary, however, are
Burke’s tremendous gifts as a
writer. His lyrical prose brings the
Louisiana bayous to life with vivid
descriptions that draw on all five
senses as his troubled hero grap-
ples with themes of individual
sin, collective guilt and personal
redemption that are way above a
detective’s pay grade.
If you’re looking for an engag-
ing literary mystery, James Lee
Burke is your man.
— BENNETT HALL, EDITOR,
BLUE MOUNTAIN EAGLE
Lisa Britton
Go! Editor
editor@goeasternoregon.com
541-406-5274
New releases
Sarah Smith
Foals, ‘Life is Yours’
Calendar Coordinator
calendar@goeasternoregon.com
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following week (two weeks in
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City Herald and East Oregonian.
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Indie-pop art rockers Foals
gave us more than enough to
process with their last offering.
Now they seem to want us to
dance. And dance we must.
The upbeat, very funky
and always brilliantly layered,
11-track “Life Is Yours” captures
a band between clouds, the
perfect slice of summer fun.
Look no further than “2001,”
an infectious track of disco-
smeared funk, and “2AM,” a
propulsive ode to not going
home alone.
In 2019, the British band
gave us not one but two albums
in its “Everything Not Saved Will
Be Lost” double album, sepa-
rated by seven months. It was
complex, socially conscious
stuff, with exits buried under-
ground, dead foxes, burning
hedges and rain. Now the sun is
out. “I’ve packed my bags/I’ve
found new ground,” frontman
Yannis Philippakis sings.
Escapism may be the word
as Foals look back on parties
and recreational drug-fueled
gatherings, a clear reaction to
lockdowns and isolation. “’I’ve
been waiting all day inside/Wait-
ing for a summer sky/When we
run wild,” Philippakis sings.
Having shed two members,
Foals — now a three-piece with
multi-instrumentalist Philippa-
kis, drummer Jack Bevan and
guitarist and keyboardist Jimmy
Smith — oddly don’t sound like
they’ve lost 40% of their sound.
They’ve tapped several differ-
ent producers this time and a
varied, addictive take on the
upbeat has been achieved.
The second half is positively
dance hall psychedelic, with
“Wild Green” a synth-led ode to
spring, and “The Sound” almost
veering into dubstep. “Under
the Radar” has Philippakis’ voice
heavily synthesized in an ’80s
New Wave song skeleton and
ends with his falsetto soaring.
The shimmering “Crest of
the Waves” sounds like it was
birthed in a ray of sunshine.
Philippakis says he’s waiting in
the warm waves of the Caribbe-
an, and isn’t it time we paddled
out to meet him?
— THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
