This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
As you might expect of a New Orleans band with a leader from San Francisco who worship the Tex-Mex accordion of Flaco Jimenez, The Iguanas are an eccentric ensemble.
For more than a decade, they’ve been peddling their intriguing gumbo of blues, zydeco, roots-rock and just about every other sub-genre of Americana you can name. But on their fifth release Plastic Silver 9 Volt Heart, they narrow their focus slightly, favouring a Mexican-flavoured sound reminiscent of Alejandro Escovedo or Los Lobos during their Kiko days, with a dash of Morphine’s low-rock added for spice. Grooves simmer and cook but never boil over; guitars chime their melodies and basses gently roll out their wares; lumpy sax lines bounce over top of the beat; and husky, dusty vocals intimately draw you into a landscape filled with the simple pleasures of late-night radio broadcasts, first kisses and booze-soaked nights. This disc would go well with all of those, BTW.
