Take One long Car crash to music.
In today's music industry, image is all too important over musical content. Cultivated hair straightened to perfection with the odd highlights added for good measure. Moisturiser, mousse and make up all part of the norm and clothes handpicked to satisfy the stylists on the Record Label's payroll. It is therefore nice to see a band of four lads that look like they may have jumped in Marti McFly's DeLorean car back in 1976 and landed here sporting some rather fine beards.
Take One Car are a good band, so let's get that out there from the start. They seem to come from the Axel Rose school of epic songs, however I'm not so sure that there is enough to keep you wanting to stay glued to your stereo, or ipod. The opening, and title track It's Going To Be A Nice Day is a seven minute instrumental that sounds more like a long, long, long intro, whereas later in the relatively short instrumental Patriarchs, there is a slightly folky feel of the gentle and melodic guitar that sounds like the background music to a restaurant. Of course this isn't the best way to describe a band that is a lot more complex than this. The Ocean Song is a better example as whilst musically there are the melodic guitars, the drums bash and smash enough to know that there are balls behind the music and this turns into something a little more like the band Brand New.
Another of the instant highlights will be the single, Dear Ronnie which is one of the more accessible songs here, mixing up slightly strained vocals with some nice layered music. So Much In Return is another solid track that whilst takes you on a journey from gentle to fast paced, with melodic guitar picks to large chunky riffs, beautiful singing to angst-ridden shouting, it is unfortunately a minority with what the rest of the album has to offer.
It is obvious that this New York quartet are influenced by the likes of At The Drive In, and The Mars Volta, and want to brandish their own type of Progressive and Experimental Rock, however I think they forget that essentially people like to be able to have something that doesn't need to be listened to for a year before there is a familiarity to more than a couple of songs. Virtue is acceptable, and the interesting ride that I Know Why You Went Into The Woods gives you isn't bad and plays out like a fussy Rock story. But, Brim, and Yet Another Voyage (Adrift) just appear to be musical trips into the psychedelic that could only be enjoyed if completely off of your head on drugs. The finale of the album has two epic tracks that merge into each other and therefore could be one very long track (over eleven minutes) but I just don't get it. I feel like this is something that is a new fad that I am not aware of. It's slightly pretentious, arty and experimental and I'm sure that some people will love it.
Take One Car could well be the Marmite band of Rock. It's never in doubt that they can play their instruments, nor the boundary pushing capabilities, however I question whether they need to do this? What are we getting that is anything more than what we already have, and quite honestly, I'm at a loss to come up with a response...Interesting is the best that I can give. Sorry.