swearing at motorists review

review taken from vertical slum

At the heart of Swearing at Motorists are former Guided By Voices soundman, Dave Doughman, and former Guided By Voices drummer, Don Thrasher. The duo's debut is a modest document of this great band. Beginning with an instrumental that sounds like a really endearingly bad Godspeed You! Black Emperor song, the album takes off at a turtle's pace with "Resin Completed the Task," a nightmarish lullaby featuring the legendary Tim Taylor (of Braniac) on drums. "The King of Baltimore" covers more familiar ground, while "New Teen Anthem" is a great garage-rocker (complete with a "ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ahhhh" chorus). "Reinforcing Stereotypes" is a Pollard-esque acoustic number, which would be a highlight on any GBV album of the time. The rest of the record is filled with sloppy instrumentals and unfocused sci-fi dwindlings, however the not-quite-closer "Obsessed with Failing" might just be the prettiest yet-desperate song Doughman has ever penned.

While their later albums are flat-out better (production, song quality, etc.), there is a charm to this depressed beginning. Swearing at Motorists is by no means a place to start, however after one expects their trademarked formula (crunchy guitar and drum outbursts, simple guitar jangles, and layered vocals) it's pretty interesting to see it at its beginnings. From here-on they would only get better and better.

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