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Superdrag, "Last Call for Vitriol"
Arena Rock
I still miss the Superdrag of old, but this incarnation gets better allthe time. Last time we left our indie rock heroes, they put out a splitsingle with the Anniversary that sort of redeemed the close to awfultour CD "Greetings from Tennessee." Their new album, Superdrag's secondfull-length for Arena Rock, opens with the first track from that EP,'Baby Goes to Eleven.' Re-recorded, it sounds a hundred percent better,with Bob Pollard on backing vocals. A good start, though not as strongas the last album. After that, there is a track written and sung bybassist Sam Powers. This is why I miss the Superdrag of old. I like Samenough, and his songs are good, but they'd be so much better off topool their efforts. Namely, let John Davis do the singing, Sam. Thestrongest moments on this release are the songs that Davis pens andsings. After that comes the tracks co-written by all members save MicHarrison, who I don't think has been in the band long enough tocontribute. After that are Sam's songs. His second on the album, whichhe also sings, was also on "Greetings...", and it was pretty bad. It'sbetter now, but not as strong a song in the Superdrag catalog. Will'Stu' stack up against 'Sucked Out', 'Destination Ursa Major','Hellbent', 'Annetichrist', or 'Keep It Close to Me'? Nope. But 'TheStaggering Genius' will. And 'Feeling Like I Do' is easily the bestSuperdrag song ever,with the most honest lyrics I feel Davis has ever uttered: "I just wantyou twisted with me, too/yeah yeah/I don't know what I've been tryin'to prove/yeah yeah/everytime I get too fucked to move." Honestly, lowmoments a side, this is the best Superdrag have sounded in years, andhere's to hoping it keeps getting better.
I still miss the Superdrag of old, but this incarnation gets better allthe time. Last time we left our indie rock heroes, they put out a splitsingle with the Anniversary that sort of redeemed the close to awfultour CD "Greetings from Tennessee." Their new album, Superdrag's secondfull-length for Arena Rock, opens with the first track from that EP,'Baby Goes to Eleven.' Re-recorded, it sounds a hundred percent better,with Bob Pollard on backing vocals. A good start, though not as strongas the last album. After that, there is a track written and sung bybassist Sam Powers. This is why I miss the Superdrag of old. I like Samenough, and his songs are good, but they'd be so much better off topool their efforts. Namely, let John Davis do the singing, Sam. Thestrongest moments on this release are the songs that Davis pens andsings. After that comes the tracks co-written by all members save MicHarrison, who I don't think has been in the band long enough tocontribute. After that are Sam's songs. His second on the album, whichhe also sings, was also on "Greetings...", and it was pretty bad. It'sbetter now, but not as strong a song in the Superdrag catalog. Will'Stu' stack up against 'Sucked Out', 'Destination Ursa Major','Hellbent', 'Annetichrist', or 'Keep It Close to Me'? Nope. But 'TheStaggering Genius' will. And 'Feeling Like I Do' is easily the bestSuperdrag song ever,with the most honest lyrics I feel Davis has ever uttered: "I just wantyou twisted with me, too/yeah yeah/I don't know what I've been tryin'to prove/yeah yeah/everytime I get too fucked to move." Honestly, lowmoments a side, this is the best Superdrag have sounded in years, andhere's to hoping it keeps getting better.
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