this flag signals goodbye & along the incline plane review

review taken from sponic

Inspiration usually arrives at inopportune times. You could be driving to work or walking around town and it'll hit you: the perfect line or soothing rhythm. If you don't find a way to lodge it into your skull, by the time you get to a pen and paper it's gone. Personally, I don't see how this could ever be a problem for Dave Doughman.

After a couple years of extensive touring, Swearing At Motorists bear to the world more of what we've come to expect from them: painful honesty and musical simplicity. The first to go under the microscope is the EP Along The Inclined Plane, a more or less modest effort by S@M standards. Backed by Joseph Siwinski's articulate drumming, Doughman tells what's on his mind in his trademark 'it's not whatcha got but whatcha do with it' lo-fi manner. Highlights on Along The Inclined Plane include the endearing Steve Earle cover "I'm Still In Love With You" and the acoustic bittersweet ditty "Small Town, Big City." One thing that must be respected is Doughman's matter-of-factness. He sings it as he sees it. Some people might be bored by it, but I think the voyeur in us desires it. Fellow Daytonians Rod Boggs, Tom Byrne and former Motorist skin-man Don Thrasher contribute on the very intimate "Can't Help Ourselves." I'll admit some of the quirky electric guitar work gets out of hand, but heaven is found the second Doughman's vocals split in two. That is something that comes with experience...the little things...subtle greatness of production, etc.

Where the EP spends more time on the lower half of the volume scale, the full-length helps take care of the other half. Better reflecting Swearing at Motorists' energetic "I BELIEVE IN ROCK AND ROLL!" live show are "Fan Mail for a Criminal" and "Over the Middle Bridge" as well as the catchy title track. Of all the things Doughman is known for, his greatest talent lies in his attention to detail. Whether it's him wandering the streets in "Borrowed Red Bike" or the visions of skylines in "Drinking On The Roof" (with Brian McTear working wonders with a Rhodes), his ability to tell stories is second to only a few. True, This Flag Signals Goodbye may not be Swearing at Motorists' best effort, but the emotional recollection of "Room Full of You" (with Kurt Wunder working wonders with a trumpet) and the addictive chattering of instruments on "The Real Thing" leave you certain that they haven't lost it...and it's only a matter of time before Swearing at Motorists bring you more.

Be sure to pick up the split 7" they cut with Spoon on Super Asbestos Records. Swearing at Motorists' side features "Bitch (Idle Hands And The Devil's Plaything)" b/w "Bad Drawing Of The Worst Photograph."

John Wenzel

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