New York Dolls

One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This

[4/5] Legendary cross-dressing ’70s proto-glam rockers the New York Dolls reformed in 2004 at the urging of Morrissey, who was once the president of their fan club. But on their first album in over 30 years, the group-whose only original members left above ground are singer David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain-wisely pretend the last three decades never happened. Bluesy, hip-shaking garage-rock laden with harmonica, honky-tonk piano and fierce downtown swagger dominates Remember, from the expected odes to sex and dancefloor hedonism to quieter moments of levity. In fact, Johansen uses his voice’s lived-in quality to great effect on the ballad “Maimed Happiness,” where his scraggly drawl sounds almost as ragged as Tom Waits. Guest spots from Iggy Pop, Michael Stipe and Against Me!’s Tom Gabel (whose nasal sneer bolsters the chorus of “Punishing World”) are a pleasing nod to modernity, but Remember’s strength is in its time-warp atmosphere. (ROADRUNNER) Annie Zaleski