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These days Mike Gent, Pete Donnelly, and Pete Hayes are involved in enough extracurricular activities (Graham Parker, NRBQ, countless side/session-men gigs) that you could hardly blame them if they closed their two decades-plus Figgs chapter. Instead, they reconvene and make a double album — their second-ever release and first since 2004's Palais. It's no surprise that the 20-track record is all killer with little sprawl. An embarrassment of riches, it boasts some of the best music of their career, touching on pub rock ("The Lovely Miss Jean"), country-soul (a cover of Gene Clark's "Feeling Higher"), horn-fueled booty tunes ("Camden Love-In"), and greasy Some Girls R&B ("Do Me Like You Said You Would"). The duality of songwriters Donnelly and Gent, now more than ever, is the Figgs' greatest asset, a classic case of complementary yin/yang if there ever was one. Donnelly shifts into power-pop overdrive with "Chased" and "The Recap," while Gent delivers the sublime "Jupiter Row" and the cosmic mod joint "No Time Is the Wrong Time To Groove." Not to be outdone, Hayes contributes the breezy "Avec U," proving that no time is the wrong time for ukulele and musical saw.
THE FIGGS | Church, 69 Kilmarnock St, Boston | June 1 + 2 @ 8 pm | 21+ | $10| 617.236.7600
