American Death Ray

American Death Ray switched on its sleazy, punk-damaged R&B hum in Memphis, TN, around 1998, when ex-'68 Comeback kid Nicholas Ray assembled it out of spare parts and expats from around town. Keyboardist Brendan Lee Spengler had been in the Comeback and Compulsive Gamblers, while drummer Rich Cook also played in the Reatards. At this point the band also featured bassist Jon Acosta and saxophonist Suzy Hawkins. Welcome to the Strange and Erotic World of the American Death Ray appeared in August 2001; it was followed a year later by Smash Radio Hits (2nd LP). Both LPs were issue...