Written
by Larry Robertson, posted by blog admin
Slow
Burning Car’s Defection is a smashing
rock album, nothing more and nothing less.
If you want some no frills hard-rock with a modern edge then you’ll get
10 tracks of firmly footed, rock solid, riff-centric groove that manages a few
intricate stylistic juxtapositions throughout.
Each song is individually sound and the entire album feels sonically
cohesive as opposed to a simple collection of songs.
The
gusty, hard-rock slam of “Alpha Duplicor” sets things off like a powder keg
fuse. Going back to the sort of heavy
grooves that predated nu-metal’s banal dreck; a dual guitar screech peddles
lockstep riffs and spiraling solos that are kept aloft by a homing missile
accurate rhythm section and memorable vocal patterns. Bands like Hum and Shiner went this route on
their formative albums before Korn and Limp Bizket owned the airwaves and the
only big difference between Slow Burning Car and the early works of 90s indie
heavies is that they sport a more polished production sheen. “Soul Crimes” kicks into a punk-y overdrive
all about the crunchy, guitar driven verses leading up to choruses that are
inviting as all get-out in terms of catchy, harmonized wordplay. They interject the same invigorating flair
into “The Orb” but alter the background harmonies with some light auto-tuned
vocals and dig into a tougher, percussive backbeat while pumping the final
product full of noise rock guitar frequencies and sizzling lead/solo
outbursts. “The Devil in the Room,” “The
Sunday Derby” and “You Can’t Stay Here” all use punk rock as the main root of
their sound while screwing around with the abrasive noise rock textures and
fireball guitar solos. The end result
reminds me of experimental punks Victory and Associates or even late 90s
legends Adayinthelife. These bands may not have been hugely popular though they
delivered unique, innovative takes on punk/hardcore/rock that are well-worth a
dedicated listen even long after their respective heydays.
Elsewhere
the album goes for all-out experimentalism on the moody, acoustic pairing of
“Bedtime” and “Chrysanthemum.” These
subdued journeys into texture and dual acoustic guitar layers call to mind
Husker Du’s work circa the underrated Warehouse
Songs. “Polar Warden” is a cosmic
space-rock jam that’s prime foundation lies within a looping, delay-drenched
bass line as splashy cymbals, orchestral keyboards and flashes of drippy guitar
melody color the track’s background with plentiful harmonic, ambiguous shades
of sound. Album endnote “Clouds” is the
heaviest track on Defection. It’s not directly heavy seeing as highly
melodic vocals, celestial guitar drones and plundering rhythms conjure more of
a space-y, dreamy groove grind ala Hum’s grand compositions on Downward is Heavenward. This piece even drifts off into the same
sort of lumbering, pavement cracking riffs that Hum laid down during their
heaviest moments.
Defection is a sonically
diverse, ever-flowing set of songs that has numerous peaks and valleys. The band crests high and dives low to bring
back the kind of energy that will have you nodding your head and tapping your
toes throughout. Quite frankly, Defection doesn’t have a dull song in
the bunch and rock fans should have a field day with this one; good stuff
through and through.
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