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One of the more exciting things about Elvis Costello's This Year's Model is the remarkable advancement it represents over My Aim is True. The addition of his group, the Attractions, gives the second album a focus and an unrelenting quality that suggests not so much a change of direction, but that this is the sound Elvis was looking for on the first record as well, but didn't yet know how to achieve. This is not the feeling one gets listening to the second album by Television, Blondie, and most other new bands.
But it happens all the time in concert. Last week, the Senders with guest guitarist Johnny Thunders put on a show better than they gave any indication of ever doing when I first saw them six months ago. The band plays good old fashioned rock 'n' roll, with an emphasis on the good. Their roots are in the blues, making them rather unusual for the downtown scene. The playing is tight and energetic which, coupled with the exciting singing of Philippe Marcade, would be enough to recommend them. But they also have at least one great original song in "Killing in the Family" and tough stage presence, particularly Philippe.
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