Review Summary: Average is the best word to describe this band. If this is true then this album is definitely better than the sum of its parts.
Motor Ace is one band that never really made it far onto the radar. For a band with such a straight sound as on display on this album this fact can send alarm bells ringing throughout their minds that maybe their demise is near. However we are not here to discuss how or why Motor Ace called it quits (as they have), we are here to review Motor Ace’s debut, Five Star Laundry.
If there’s one thing that any listener could notice about this album is that in no way does it attempt to be stripped back and bare. From start to finish there is a solid wall of sound with its bricks and mortar being almost exclusively guitars, bass, vocals and drums, the four essentials for any rock band. Although if you’re looking for any soaring vocals or fancy finger work them this is probably not the cd you should put on your must-get list, the largely boring solo on closing track,
Money and Sympathy, being the best reason.
What they do undertake well is combining all these instruments together to create some memorable moments throughout the tracks such as the break section of perhaps one of the greatest Australian songs of recent times (in this reviewers eye’s at least)
Siamese, or the slide intro of
American Shoes. They seem to be able to create many sections that are similar in that they fit perfectly into the grand scheme of things yet are distinctly unique to one another.
Just what that grand scheme is though, is hard to determine as the vocals of front man Patrick Robertson sings in verses ranging chiefly from melancholy, angst and optimistic. In fact all of these emotions are represented in one the album’s highlights,
Lorenzo, a song written from the point of view of a person trying to win back a partner whilst trying to come to terms with why she ran off with another guy and in the end just numbing his mood with alcohol. Whether this is written from personal experience of the songwriter (also Robertson) is unclear.
Instrumentally wise the album does well to vary the pace and keep things interesting, with the exception of one or two filler tracks.
Hey Driver and
Death Defy display the straight forward rock sound I was referring to early quite well with simple designs and an added “x-factor”. Songs like
Five Star Laundry and
Criminal Past rely upon riffs to keep the curiosity level high however as stated before where the album really shines, where everything comes together perfectly, is the song
Siamese.
As I stated before this album is definitely an example of how songs sound better together than apart. Personally I’ve found it to be an album that really grows on perhaps due to its apparent “average-ness”. Although if you’re after some good Aussie rock be sure to check this out, maybe you won’t find it so average.
Recommended Tracks
- Death Defy
- Lorenzo
- Siamese
- Freefall
