Slowride - Building A Building

Slowride’s Building a Building is a hit-or-miss collection of garage-rock songs (garage-rock as a means, not as a popularity device). Some of the tracks are very formulaic, while others are catchy sing-a-longs, and like any good sing-a-long record, the lyrics are easy to pick up and full of rudimentary slang-rhymes. “I went to the doctor to get my new prescription, all he had to offer were these words on my condition.” You can’t get much more trivial than that; however, the simplicity of the verses benefit the album, because they reinforce the hooks and riffs that make it friendly and easy to follow. While good-humored at first glance, the heart of the record is a much more dismal set of emotions, making frequent references to murder, suicide, and cancer. Though deep-seeded in melancholic themes, the words themselves are still playful and fun to sing along, which creates an odd paradox whereas it’s too angst-ridden for adults, and too adult for kids. This makes it perfect no-nonsense-rock material for the Kurt Cobain generation of teens who want something between the “I can’t quite understand Radiohead yet” and the “I hate Korn, Limp Bizquit radio garbage.” The straightforward lyrics and basic musical progression work nicely together and form a catchy, but not at all candy-coated rock album. Some songs are certainly more interesting than others, but quite a good listen nonetheless. “And the kids are wrong as they sing along to songs, from sea to sea and the words they breathe are nodding off.” [www.slowride.net]