In May of this year, Kelly Kerr and the Distractions proved they like to look back, sometimes centuries back, when they released their new album Chronological Disorder: How to Pass History in Thirteen Easy Steps. The last time you heard someone explain a historical event through song may have been around third grade, but it probably didn’t have the residual effects that Chronological Disorder does. Kerr lays down the basic facts and offers his own tongue-in-cheek critique of events and figures including Eli Whitney, Bob Dole and the Whiskey Rebellion, while instrumentally, some of the mid-tempo melodies and jangly timbre mirror the style of the grandfathers of college rock. Yes – surprise, surprise – the Distractions’ smooth alt-rock brings to mind the good times of 1984 and R.E.M.’s Reckoning. Even the sound of Kerr’s voice – low, amused, even – mimics Michael Stipe’s.

The Distractions show how they can be sweet and smart-assed, combining the elements of a rock album with those of a middle school play about American history. An album with such a concept could easily be ruined with indie snarkiness, but Chronological Disorder takes the high road, delving into the different facets of history with playfulness. The stage is set with “Election: 1800,” the melodic, cheery first ode to Reckoning in which Kerr proclaims a mouthful: “maybe we should rethink this/our system has a glitch,” and from there, the band chronicles decades of rock music like they chronicle America’s timeline. ’50s rock riffs structure “Groomed to Lead,” while a surfy, ’60s melody drills in “Bring Out Yr Dead.” The 13 tracks progress easily, even when things get grittier with tracks like the guitar-heavy “Gold Rush” which sets a frenzied pace while Kerr proclaims, “It’s a gold rush, baby.”

A favorite could be the amusingly embittered tone of “Bob Dole,” a story told from the former Senator’s perspective, comparing his life to that of his SNL impersonator, Dan Aykroyd. “Know It All” makes room for some bookish romance before the entire album is recapped in the final “Central Incompetence Agency.”

Simultaneously poking fun and offering up the facts, Chronological Disorder is simply infectious rock with sing-along appeal and an educational foundation if you’re paying attention. An album so strictly built around a history theme isn’t so commonly come by, and the Distractions could have gotten really smug with it, but instead they opted for clever and fun.

--Jessica Pace
Nashville.TheDeliMagazine.com