Written
by Raymond Burris, posted by blog admin
Slow
Burning Car offers up a 10-track, hard rockin’ groove fest on their 4th
record Defection. This twin guitar, energetic group mixes grand
melodies with a rough, unpolished edge that is sure to ignite a spirited little
mosh-pit at one of the band’s many concerts.
With airplay on 130 stations, this Los Angeles bred quartet has made
quite an impact since their inception.
The
aesthetic Slow Burning Car settles on is as follows; not too heavy but
certainly not too light. Songs toss and
turn between punk-fed melodies with a lot of pop phrasings and white knuckle
guitar heroics where riff and rowdiness are king. Lead-in number “Alpha Duplicor” is a prime
example, the cut settling into a meaty, drop-D groove that allows the 2nd
guitarist to add leads and insert melodic indentations. Bassist/vocalist Troy Spiropoulos constantly
pushes the riffs into action with his bouncy, clearly felt bass lines lifting
up from underneath as his voice’s well-contained anger never crushes any of the
melodic intentions. “Soul Crimes” is
just as loud but ups the pacing by several clicks and weaves some harmonies
into the vocals. They’ve got a cool,
breezy punk vibe that culls from goodtime punkers like Pulley or even
Avail. The mix of hard and soft mainly,
not the exact dynamics of those bands; that’s one of Slow Burning Car’s biggest
strengths, the fact that they really only sound like themselves.
“The
Orb” uses punk as a foundation but messes with some new wave, FX-dabbed vocal
harmonies in the chorus. It’s an unusual
track from the beginning. Drummer Adam
Idell smashes out the intro solo with a syncopated, madman fill and the tune
goes tumbling into down tuned riffs and angry, rhythmic vocal jabs. They combine at least three different
elements of genre and mash them up into a seamless barrage of sound. “Devil in the Room” has got the kind of pop
punk smarts that could easily land these guys a record deal with Epitaph; it’s
no-nonsense and harder than the stuff that radio plays. “The Sunday Derby” might stop for some catchy
lyrical turns of phrase but this song feels like some twisted, gussied up
version of really rocked-out 90s indie that is sandwiched in by another couple
chord rocker, “You Can’t Stay Here.”
“Bedtime” is a fine acoustic guitar ditty, a sort of couplet alongside
the equally sublime “Chrysanthemum.”
Just when you think the record is going to settle into a singular vibe,
the band again pitches a curve in the form of “Polar Warden,” a psychedelic
rock piece with a tapestry of loops, sound FX, molten bass riffs and sporadic
vocals floating like vapor from your stereo speakers. “Clouds” brings the album home with some
epic, skyward guitar riffing, overcast drumming and stormy low-end yielding an
emotionally stirring hard rocker that couldn’t have found better placement as a
final number.
Defection is really in
its own league as an album. It’s fresh,
original and pretty rocking with a challenging songwriting approach that skips
across several rock genres. You can tell
the band really enjoy and get down on their sound and this plays out to the
listener’s advantage while listening to the record. This album rocks hard and is a lot of fun;
well-worth a buy for rock, punk, indie, grunge, and even hardcore fans.
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