Slowride – C/S
Slowride – C/S / 2006 Deep Elm / 11 Tracks / http://www.slowride.net / http://www.deepelm.com / Reviewed 14 January 2006

The mixture of sludgy rock (a la Foo Fighters) with the polished rock of a band like Weezer and just a hint of emo rock makes Slowride hit off strongly with “A New Day Is Upon Us”. The splashy drums during the track continue the chaos given by the uncertain guitar work that dominates the track. “The Year of the Snake” mixes a pop-emo sensibility with a punk fury that is moderated by the Rivers Cuomo-type of vocals that dominate during the track. The nuanced sound of Slowride during the track is perhaps what will draw the most fans to their corner, as this is not just a three chord revolution but rather a fleshed out sound that moves beyond a simplistic explanation.

“Slowly”, even though it has a very current type of sound seems to come with the fuck you attitude that really acted as the artistic catalyst during the early years of the nineties; hints of bands like Soul Asylum come through as clear as day during this track. The band treads into previously uncharted waters with “Morals and Dogma” in the sense that it I the first track that cracks the three minute mark; the longer track length gives Slowride a larger canvas in which to impress their listeners. The guitar may just be what draws listeners in during the track, but something really needs to be said about the drum work that comes a close second during the track’s run time.

Each of the tracks on “C/S” really agglomerate to the tracks that immediately precede and follow it; the whole of the disc is focused on one specific point and really allows for listeners to take the nigh-forty minute length of this disc as one specific composition rather than a band scraping up the remnants of anything passable that they have created in the last few years. What Slowride does during their “C/S” is come up with an album that really ties itself to a specific period in American indie rock (specifically, the early nineties period that was previously mentioned), but still ties itself to the present by playing to the sensibility of 2006 listeners. Three albums have passed since Slowride started their career, and this should show listeners a maturation process that has put Slowride alongside the first wave of indie rockers (Foo Fighters and Meat Puppets), as masters of their format. Pick this album up.

Top Tracks: Rust Killer, The Year of the Snake

Rating: 7.1/10

[JMcQ]