Thelma and the Sleaze

Thelma and the Sleaze Flex Their Power From Muscle ShoalsL.G. Gilbert s famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. The freeze on live music has been rough on touring-reliant DIY musicians, but itll take more than a global pandemic to stop Lauren L.G. Gilbert. Back in 2016, the Southern-rock firebrand hatched a frankly preposterous plan to play 31 generator-powered shows over 29 days in locations across Nashville. As you can see in Scene contributor Seth Graves 2017 rock doc Kandyland, she and the then-current incarnation of her band Thelma and the Sleaze pulled it off. Leave it to Gilbert, then, to grind out a win in a year you wouldnt blame anyone for punting on. On the heels of TATS 2019 album Fuck, Marry, Kill comes Sacred as Hell, seven songs written and home-recorded during quarantine. To commemorate the new EP, out today, Gilbert brought the latest TATS lineup to Sheffield, Ala.s iconic Muscle Shoals Sound Studio for a miniature concert movie. Gilbert, guitarist Helen Shy Anne Gilley (who youll know from Butthole), bassist Heather Gillis and drummer and historian Tiffany Minton presented Sacred as Hell in full along with a few other staples from the Sleazes catalog. Gilberts ribald humor, forthcomingness about queerness and sexuality, and penchant for muscular, palm-muted riffs, are as synonymous with the 35-year-old musician as her hustle. These traits were all on display during Thursdays stream, hosted on Sessions Live.Witty, catchy and tightly written, Sacred as Hell doesnt mess with the groups proven winning recipe of hard-rock bravado, 90s angst and girl-group hooks, but sands off some of the spikier edges with keen power-pop style. Gilberts energetic guitar runs on Come Back Now and Waiting on the Rain highlighted her superb, set-it-and-forget-it tone. Makin Me Hot recalled early Liz Phair with its big, lazy chords and candied harmonies, while the New Wave jangle of Good Girls evoked classic Go-Gos.