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Apollo Up!
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Chariots Of Fire
Theory 8 Records
Release: 6/13/2006
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Rated:
Review by:
Jason Warner
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Holy telecaster, batman! No guitar is more distinguishable to
my ear than the lovely twang generator created by Leo
Fender over 50 years ago. In the capable hands of Mr. Jay
Phillips the old standard becomes a modern weapon of mass
destruction. With a voice I would liken to a combo between
Nash Kato (Urge Overkill) and Greg Graffin (Bad Religion),
and guitars that remind me of some cross of Fugazi and Bloc
Party, Apollo Up! has hit a home run with their most recent
release, Chariots Of Fire, out now on
Nashville's Theory 8 Records.
This record hits hard without letting up for the entire 10
tracks and just over 36 minutes. The first track, "Walking
the Plank" is far and away my favorite of the bunch with one
of the catchiest choruses I have ever heard. I find myself
listening to this song over an over just so I can sing along
with the chorus… "In the settlement, are the tigers sleeping?
…" I would definitely buy the album for this song alone, even
if all the others were stinkers. Fortunately they are not
(stinkers that is). "Invisible Syllable," track two, has the one
weak moment I found throughout the album. The chimes in
the chorus are cheesy. The chorus is this great moving
guitar riff that is so exciting and the ominous chimes totally
ruined it for me. Maybe it's just because every time I hear
chimes I think of Smashing Pumpkins' "Disarm" and then I
think of that summer, just out of high school, girlfriend at a
different college, friends strung out, going to classes I hated,
no car, etc. But, I'm rambling. I think the chimes are lame.
Other than that though, I have no bad things to say about
this album. I love "No Song," which has a very technical and
awesome riff accented by some kick ass drumming. "Cut It
Up" is tight and funky without resorting to white boy
wankery. I could continue on like this for the rest of the 10
tracks, but I'll sum it up by saying Apollo Up! writes my kind
of songs; exciting, melodic, catchy yet not poppy.
The band is a trio but sounds much larger. The production
on Chariots Of Fire is right up my alley… clean
enough so you can hear all the musical parts; guitar, bass,
drums, and vocals are all clear enough to be heard… but not
so clean that it ruins the energy. Apollo Up! has managed to
keep the recording raw enough that it preserves the energy
you would likely feel from them in a live setting.
This is my favorite album of 2006 so far. |
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