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Motor AceAnimal FMR Now, is anyone else with me when I say that Motor Ace's last record, 'Shoot This,' was complete arse? As a huge fan of their debut, the brilliant 'Five Star Laundry,' I was so bitterly disappointed with the commercial treachery of 'Shoot This' that I pretty much gave up on the band. But, Motor Ace have politely asked listeners to consider their third record, 'Animal,' with a clean slate free of any consideration of their previous efforts, so I'll attempt to do just that. 'Animal' is obviously vocalist Patrick Robertson's baby - you can hear his influence on every note, even on those tracks he didn't pen. The band entered his small home studio after an extended hiatus, and slowly tinkered away at a subdued, yet atmospherically complex record that seems to reflect a band that finally knows what direction they want to be heading in. That direction is clear - the abundance of swaying, acoustic rhythm guitar and soaring, crooning, reverb-heavy vocals direct the mind straight towards the likes of Coldplay, or even more likely, U2. Actually, Robertson's Bono impersonation gets a little too literal on the epic A Little Closer: there's a little bridge section that is almost indistinguishable from Elevation. That said, they do it all quite well: Want You is a simple, effective ballad, lead single Tomorrow's Gone has a punchy and effortlessly catchy chorus, and Ordinary Day builds from a subtle, poignant opening to a quietly thunderous close with style. The experimentation is also interesting, though only narrowly avoiding pompous pretension; the sequenced piano line works well on The Time, The Place, but the horn lines on In Space just sound a little too contrived to be effective. But, for all the things that work, there's still something missing. It all seems a bit too clinical, too carefully orchestrated, too perfect. The passion that made 'Five Star Laundry' so amazing is powerfully absent - while that record demanded attention, and 'Shoot This' violently diverted it, 'Animal' just seeps pleasantly into the background. Damn, I said I wasn't going to compare it with its predecessors. In that case, 'Animal' just... er, seeps pleasantly into the background.  |
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