Tav Falco: "Desire On Ice" (2025) CD Review

The world has grown uncertain, and this country has gone completely sideways, but there are still some things you can count on. One thing you can be certain of is that a new Tav Falco album will contain great and interesting music. His new album, Desire On Ice, might be just what you need in these harsh and stupid times. An escape into a different world, populated with interesting characters - men in black, rebel girls, female spies, vampires - their stories told with wit and wisdom, and also a great sense of fun. And Tav Falco has an incredible cast of real characters joining him, including his fellow Panther Burns band mates - Mario Monterosso on electric guitar, Giuseppe Sangirardi on bass, and Walter Brunetti on drums. There are several special guests too. The album is a sort of retrospective, with Tav Falco revisiting songs from throughout his career, songs from both Panther Burns and solo releases. 

And to establish the sense that these songs have a dramatic and cinematic or literary quality, the album opens with a track titled "Prologue." As it begins, it feels like an instrumental theme to a cool television series or film. And if that guitar work reminds you of Reverend Horton Heat, that's because it's Reverend Horton Heat. Ross Johnson is on percussion. Then halfway through, there is a spoken word section, like something Vincent Price might do. That kind of vibe, you understand. It's done by Kid Congo Powers (of The Gun Club, The Cramps, etc). "Mysteries are better left alone/Looking back, you turn to stone." And then it returns to that main theme, led by the guitar. That's followed by "Gentleman In Black," a song that was included on Tav Falco's Disappearing Angels. The first lines are delivered as spoken word too, this time by Tav Falco himself, introducing this character: "There's a gentleman in black/He travels alone...A man without a country/A man without a home." These days many of us feel we don't have a country. Then we get into the song: "The women he's known have all forgotten his name/And the new ones he meets can sense he's strange." I love it. It's like we're being told a great story. "So he keeps on moving/From town to town/Not even his agent/Can track him down." Jimmy Rip is on electric guitar, Puccio Panettieri is on percussion.

The great Charlie Musselwhite gets "Cuban Rebel Girl" started with some cool, bluesy stuff on harmonica. Then Tav Falco begins to describe this girl: "I met her on the east side/Of lower New York City/She wore a black fur hat/And cherry red lipstick/She's running through the streets/Shouting at the world/Running everywhere/Running like a squirrel." The image of her is so clear, especially that wonderful description of her "running like a squirrel." We can all picture what he means. This is a Panther Burns song from the 1980s, and this rendition features not only the current Panther Burns members and Charlie Musselwhite, but also Chris Spedding on electric guitar and Francesco D'Agnolo on piano. I love the guitar work here, and there is a section with the guitar and harmonica interacting that is just great. Then "Sympathy For Mata Hari" has a deliciously dark vibe, and yet there is a humor here. "I caught a glimpse of you in Sarajevo/Drinking champagne and eating fried potatoes." Those lines, for whatever reason, make me laugh. This line also tickles me: "Nothing, but nothing, outshines the sequins of your gown." Yet there is a serious story here. It is fun immersing myself in this music. Jon Spencer plays electric guitar on this track, and offers some vocal work too. Yeah. this album features some outtanding musicians. Chris Maxwell also plays guitar on this one, and Jonathan Kirkscey is on cello. 

"Vampire From Havana" is a totally fun number with something of a 1960s feel. It was included on the Panther Burns album Life Sentence, but this new rendition is much better. Partly that is because Ann Magnuson joins him on vocals, the song becoming a delightfully twisted duet. And Ann adds some vocal touches that remind me of her "Sex With The Devil." This is one of my favorite tracks. Bubba Feathers plays electric guitar on this one. "Keep it dark, close those curtains/I don't want to see us in the light." And it suddenly ends there with those lines. Oh, I want more. That song is followed by "Doomsday Baby," another of the disc's highlights, with a strange, dark humor that I appreciate. Bobby Gillespie joins Tav Falco on vocals for this one. "They pray to gods we don't understand/Their children throw stones when our soldiers try to shoot 'em/They all live in hovels, but we bulldoze 'em." This is a wild number. "We're the master race and they're insects, baby." Isn't it crazy that a large portion of this country still harbors these twisted notions? We are sick. But this music is fantastic. Mario Monterosso is on guitar, Michael Perry Allen is on keyboard, Kai Eric is on bass, Jim Sclavunos is on drums, Marc Franklin is on trumpet, and Puccio Panettieri is on percussion.

"Crying For More" is a new song and has something of a 1960s flavor. There is something wonderfully playful about this song. "The girl who keeps us hungry and crying for more." That backing vocal work, so perfect and so beautiful, had me laughing out loud the first time I listened to this disc. Nicole Atkins and Mario Monterosso provide those backing vocals. "She's just lying there on a leopard skin rug/She's just lying there reading Baudelaire." Richard Barone is on acoustic guitar, and Scott Bomar plays bass. That's followed by "The Ballad Of Rue De La Lune," which has a good pop feel, with some 1960s flavor to the guitar work. Both Mario Monterosso and Boz Boorer (of The Polecats) play guitar on this track. I also like the percussion. Walter Brunetti is on drums, and Puccio Panettieri is on percussion. Giuseppe Sangirardi delivers some really good stuff on bass. Pete Molinari joins Tav Falco on vocals. "You stepped out of your dress in such a hurry/And fell into my caress without a worry." This song was released as the album's second single in August. Another version of this song was included on the 2023 Panther Burns album Nashville Sessions: Live At Bridgestone Arena Studios. 

"Garden Of The Medicis" is a very cool, jazzy number, with more nice work by Guiseppe on bass, and great touches by Bertrand Burgalat on piano. And I love Tav Falco's vocal performance. "Wandering along in this enchanted place/I don't want to see another pretty face/A girl strolls by in her plaid miniskirt/She catches my eye and she tries to flirt." Mirko Dettori's work on accordion in the middle takes us to some wonderful cafe in Paris, and we engage in a dreamlike dance. Toward the end, there are lyrics delivered in French. This is yet another highlight of the album. Then "Lady From Shanghai" takes us into the darker areas. It's a cool, dramatic piece inspired by the Orson Welles movie of the same name. "She shot her husband and his lawyer dead/And left you holding the bag instead/And drew you deeper into her web." This track features some excellent work by Rene Coman on bass, and some wonderful work by Alex Greene on piano. "With her pretty talk and her foggy smile/Her sultry furs and her sultry style." Sultry furs? Yeah, I'd fall for her too.

"Chamber Of Desire" is a slow, kind of haunting number. "Once I lived in a chamber of desire/It had no door, only a curtain." Jolie Holland joins Tav Falco on vocals for this, delivering some excellent, gorgeous work. Mario Monterosso plays both electric guitar and piano on this one, and Scott Bomar is on bass. The album began with "Prologue," and it ends with "Epilogue." As with "Prologue," this track has some spoken word, this time done by Nicole Atkins, who reminds us we've been listening to stories. "Of love gone wrong, lost causes, desire and betrayal." Mario Monterosso is on rhythm guitar, Eddie Angel is on electric guitar, and Luca Chiappara is on bass.

CD Track List

1. Prologue
2. Gentlemen In Black
3. Cuban Rebel Girl
4. Sympathy For Mata Hari
5. Vampire From Havana
6. Doomsday Baby
7. Crying For More
8. The Ballad Of Rue De La Lune
9. Garden Of The Medicis
10. Lady From Shanghai
11. Chamber Of Desire
12. Epilogue

Desire On Ice was released on September 12, 2025, and is available on both CD and vinyl.