Written
by Mike Yoder, posted by blog admin
Defection,
Slow Burning Car’s fourth album, is a ten song collection aggressively putting
this Los Angeles band over as one of the more cutting edge rock/metal acts
working today. The band’s four musicians are obviously extraordinarily talent
and play without any obvious ego trips, but they are clearly talented
songwriters as well who thread influences into their work that further enhance
their penchant for the personal and physical. These are songs capable of
engaging listeners mentally and, naturally, physically. The muscular movement
of the band’s music conforms to certain expectations we have about this style,
but they prove themselves equally effective at twisting arrangements in
unexpected directions and bringing the listeners with them. This is an album
that cannot be denied and Slow Burning Car is definitely intent on winning over
new fans to their work so, despite its idiosyncratic air, the songs never fails
to strike an accessible note.
Much
of Slow Burning Car’s accomplishment with this release rests with their ability
to mix up their musical approach, yet retain compelling coherence. Defection’s
first half is largely devoted to big, brawling guitars. It begins with thenotic
riffing behind “Alpha Duplicor” colored with just a hint of electronic flair to
give the song a distinctive modern bite. The band’s guitar sound is current,
but their sense of what constitutes a good riff is very much a throw back to
older acts and the mix suits their aims quite well. “Soul Crimes” unleashes the
band’s aggression in a more pronounced way as the uptempo charge of the song
comes at listeners without compromise. There’s a genuine punk spirit you can
discern along the edges of their musical attack, but the musicianship remains
at a high level throughout. Bassist and lead singer Troy Spiropoulos excels
with his vocal every bit as much with a barnstormer like this as he did on the
more moderately paced opener. The unusual tempo and herky-jerky movements of “The
Orb” allows Spiropoulos’ bass playing a chance to step into the spotlight and
he also serves up a simmering, yet understated, vocal that dovetails well with
the song’s subject.
“The
Sunday Derby” is another idiosyncratic band achievement and another rhythm
section centered tune. There’s some particularly jagged electric guitar
inserted into the song’s mid way point and second half, but six string heroics
aren’t what powers this song musically. It shifts through different textures,
as well, to supremely compelling effect. “You Can’t Stay Here” dispenses with
any frills and gives listeners probably the closest thing to an all out rocker
on the album and definitely taps into a rambunctious punk rock spirit. The album
takes on a much different tone and even an experimental edge the rest of the
way – it’s largely devoted to acoustic sounds that never follow a predictable
path with the exception of the album’s penultimate number, “Polar Warden”, an
eight minute plus near ambient workout heavy on electronica and sans vocals. It’s
a bold risk to take so late in the release, but Slow Burning Car gamble and it
pays off quite handsomely. The finale “Clouds” is best considered more of a
coda – after the explorations of “Polar Warden”, casting it in any other mold
feels anti-climatic. It’s a graceful close to the album however that underlines
many of the band’s strengths. Defection easily qualifies as one of 2017’s most
interesting, varied releases in this vein.
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