Review Summary: A Sound of Thunder
Four Stroke Baron is a band that--off the top of my head, at least--I can only describe as “strange”. I’ll admit I haven’t given whatever genre they belong to enough of a listen to accurately call them unique or unique, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they are, for all intents and purposes, the most original, unique, and absolutely bizarre groups to bless my eardrums in the last little while.
Their first LP, King Radio, was released very late last year and came to my attention via Cloudkicker’s Facebook page. Other than a quick summary (“Do you like weird, catchy, riffy, quasi-pop?”), I had no idea going in what they would sound like and, it being a month or two after its release, no hype whatsoever. I went in deaf and came out having heard a plethora of sonic atmospheres all wrapped up in a post-punk, sludge-infused package and accompanied by a strained warble.
The opener, counterintuitively titled, “It’s Over”, starts off innocently enough, with a smooth, almost jazzy intro. Piano, bass, drums, synths, and eventually a very light, soft croon, sneak into your eardrums and lull you into a dream, which lasts until roughly the halfway point, which is where the floor collapses underneath you and you are assailed by blasting power chords, almost-shouted vocals stressing something unintelligible but nevertheless important, and, in almost complete contrast to everything else that is going on, twinkly pianos reminiscent of a Maybeshewill track. It’s a pounding, urgent idea that doesn’t really go anywhere, but it doesn’t really have to. The fact that “It’s Over” is, for the most part, a battle between the same two chords is irrelevant, anyway, because the rest of the record has more than enough variation in riffage to keep the listener entangled.
Simply put, Four Stroke Baron is a band that defies categorization. Their choruses are simultaneously abrasive and soothing, the riffs bring to mind both Mastodon and Rush and the vocals in general are difficult to categorize. There’s a strain present in singer (and guitarist, and pianist) Kirk Witt’s voice that brings to mind the shouty backing vocals of every pop-punk band ever (but at the same time it’s free of grit), and there’s an urgency in them that demands attention. You’re not sure what he’s saying, but the occasional word pops out to you and you wish you had a lyric book to follow along with, because it must be something deep, something mysterious.
In terms of instrumentation, it’s a simple three piece (drums, bass, and guitar/piano) and everything is kept deceptively simple, as far as I know. Dissonance abounds, but there’s a certain melody that keeps steadily pressing on through the wall of sound, and at the same time it’s full of genre-defying intros and interludes: blues, prog, nu-metal, jazz, and all sorts of post-whatever. It’s something that makes you want to share it with your friends, something that is constantly trying to convince you it’s accessible. It’s like a Post-Punk Goes Pop album that you want to put on the stereo because you’re sure your friends will enjoy it but at the same time you’re worried they won’t.
As for key tracks, I’m going to go out on a (fairly safe-looking, I’ll admit) limb and say that this is an album that should be listened to as a whole, but that on the other hand, the song I keep coming back to is “Great White”. It just sounds huge and very reminiscent of a Mastodon track, and the chorus is unsettling in the best of ways. If you’re the type of person who listens to a song or two and skips the rest, make “It’s Over” your introduction, “Vacant Planet” the first punch, and “Great White” the finishing blow.
Four Stroke Baron is weird, and fun, and bizarre, and hooky, and crazy, and they will be on repeat for a very long time.
