Low Cut Connie tells frayed stories of all-American fuck-ups on Private Lives

Soul-drenched rock’n’roll with a soft centre on Low Cut Connie's Private Lives

Low Cut Connie – Private Lives
(Image: © MidCitizen Records LLC)

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Like Jerry Lee Lewis and Ben Folds before him, Low Cut Connie frontman Adam Weiner, backed by an ever-changing cast of supporting characters, has built his reputation on beating seven bells out of his long-suffering piano during their kinetic live shows. 

But despite a party-band reputation, there are tears of a clown soaking Private Lives. Slathered in soul and taking rhythmic cues from the birth of rock’n’roll, it’s a collection of portraits of all-American fuckups, lives that are frayed around the edges and unravelling rapidly.

Tearful state-of-the-nation piano ballad Look What They Did, clearly influenced by Elton John, aces the present with a resigned sadness (‘Look how they built up the dream, and now they’re tearing it down’), while the beautifully vulnerable Help Me roots for day-to-day survival, for seeking out the light, in a cruel and indifferent world. 

It’s this latter sense of indefatigable positivity that shines through, a sense of togetherness engendered by a celebration of classic, no-nonsense rock’n’roll.

Emma has been writing about music for 25 years, and is a regular contributor to Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Louder. During that time her words have also appeared in publications including Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Select, The Blues Magazine and many more. She is also a professional pedant and grammar nerd and has worked as a copy editor on everything from film titles through to high-end property magazines. In her spare time, when not at gigs, you’ll find her at her local stables hanging out with a bunch of extremely characterful horses.