Small Brown Bike and The Casket Lottery
Small Brown Bike and The Casket Lottery
Second Nature
Sweet! I swear to God, this is better than any stuff either one of these bands has on their own. Whew! The opener is so fantastic that I soiled myself! Wow! I can’t believe how good this is!
Anyway, people, let it be known that rather than being a split, this is actually a collaboration between the two bands! Yes, indeed, the two bands sent tapes back and forth to each other, practiced together occasionally, and finally got together to record the songs. This was a really good idea for both bands, for if people hear this, the majority of listeners are going to be knocked on their duffs and sent scrambling to hear more by each band. I never really thought that either band was more than mediocre power emo stuff (although, I must admit, I do like Small Brown Bike quite a bit, regardless), they came together to form a really special record that transcends their bands’ respective separate output.
The recording quality itself is the gem here. The drums are incredibly crisp and loud; it sounds as if they could be in the next room of my house. The bass is very warm, yet mildly overdriven. The vocals are really well done, especially on the cover of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure;” these guys do a fantastic job of taking Freddie Mercury’s vocal lines to new places, without defiling them with “punkness.”
There’s more to be said about the cover of “Under Pressure.” For those of you able to ignore the Vanilla Ice connotations, this was one of Queen’s greatest songs. The fact that the guys in these two bands had enough respect to not soup up the song with “emo-ness” or “punkness” speaks volumes as to the character of these fellows. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard sickening “punk rock” covers of classic songs, and wanted to vomit. The reverse happens here; C.L. & S.B.B.’s version reminds of how cool a song it is, and makes me want to hear the original. Nice job, guys.
Back to the original material… The songs are well crafted, sincerely emotional, and powerfully delivered. There’s a sense of urgency present in the songs that was probably not intended, as the guys in each band probably had a lot of fun recording the songs for the record. There’s an undefinable something lurking in each song here, something seen rarely in this type of music, that just makes this an essential record. A+
Second Nature Recordings: http://www.secondnaturerecordings.com
