roadside slasher
Reviewed by Alastair Collins
Published: 22 July 2010
lp: friend of the moon
Roadside Slasher’s Friend of the Moon is not an album for the faint of heart. This is angry chick pub rock at it’s ballsiest. There are songs about prostitution, erotic hypnosis and swearing aplenty. Friend of the Moon contains some good musical ideas and some good tracks, but overall seems a little stretched and bland.
A common problem a lot of young bands face, particularly those who cut their teeth playing gigs in places that aren’t purely music venues, is picking songs that will make good tracks for an album. The trap of it is that even tracks that go over extremely well in a live show may not translate well on to a CD, where there isn’t the energy and impetus of the show to spur the crowd’s interest.
Roadside Slasher themselves have no lack of musical talent; the guitar licks are solid and precise, the bass is strong and driving, as are the drums and the vocals are exactly what the music requires. They even manage one of the better screams I’ve heard of late, which considering the saturation of hardcore-screamo bands around at the moment, is saying something.
As with a lot of albums like this, where there is a solid and constant dynamic throughout, some of the strongest moments of the CD are where the band tries to do something a little different and that shows in tracks like 'Trying to Rise Above', although the instrumental outro does detract from it a little. Otherwise, songs like album opener 'Red Light Amber', the rather coarse 'Cry Mother' and the speedy 'Big Pig Magnet' are the ones to pay attention to.
The recording on the album is adequate, but a little pedestrian. The drums don’t sound quite right in places and, in such a rhythm heavy band, that’s an issue. Otherwise, the instruments are recorded well enough, but could have been compressed a little tighter to give it a bit more professional polish. Mixing is good, nothing jumps out or gets drowned, but again, lacks the polish it could’ve had.
One thing Roadside Slasher might want to rethink is the album artwork. Not the artwork itself, which is actually really good, but the quality of the reproduction. When you’re new and unknown outside of your live shows, the first impression on a potential listener is purely with the eyes and if you can easily see pixels on the front cover, a lot of people will walk away and dismiss it as a glorified demo. It is worth putting a little more money in to the artwork and reproduction of your CDs, particularly your debut, as a badly presented release will cost you potential sales. That applies to every new band with a debut CD, not just these guys.
Overall, Roadside Slasher’s Friend of the Moon is a solid and enjoyable listen, but I can’t help but feel that it might have been a stronger, more impactful release, as a five or six track EP.
