To say Centro-matic is a southern rock band would be the biggest mistake you could ever make, yet so many people make it. When you say “Southern rock” I think of old guys in black denim playing Skynyrd songs in a place called “The Greased Pig” or “The Hitchin’ Post” and that couldn’t be further from what Centro-matic and South San Gabriel are. True, Will Johnson has a southern accent, this is because he’s from the south, not because he only knows 4 chords and likes metaphor’s about whiskey.
Imagine Dinosaur JR with a masterful sense of melody mixed with Golden-era Tom Petty with more balls and you’re getting closer. Imagine “the best live band in the world” being a band who just plays with a ferocious intensity and skill instead of a memorable gimmick. Now you have Centro-matic and their more orchestral folk co-outfit South San Gabriel. In the era of Indie disco bands who get called “amazing live!” for wearing ironic costumes and having lots of people on stage, Centro-matic is messiah to those who just want to hear amazing music without their intelligence being insulted.
The album opens with Rat Patrol & DJ’s, an easy single which could sell just about anything with ease and quickly shifts gear into the harmony-laden downtempo sing along that is Two Seats Gold Reserved. A few tracks later you’re back into blistering sing-alongs with Strychnine, Breathless Ways thundering along firmly into the realms of your subconscious with a focused intensity that’s hard to describe with nouns and adjectives. Next thing you know you’re in the countrified masterpiece that is Twenty-Four, a song about the good old days, which sounds like Petty & The Heartbreakers at their most fearless. Wow, that was quite a ride, there isn’t a single bad song on this record.
What’s that? There’s another entire disc? Yes, please. If you can listen to Emma Jane, the opening song of disc 2 without coming close to tears you’re a cold and lifeless robot. Will Johnson’s voice is a instrument all on it’s own, and it’s never sounded so beautiful as it does when surrounded by a thick layer of doleful violin, and a gently plodding guitar line. Don’t worry though, it’s not a boring folk record, Trust To Lose get’s all far-eastern on you, while The Arc & The Cusp is a brief foray into electronic folk, & From This I Will Awake is sort of what Phosphorescent wish they could sound like.
If I can suggest one record for you to buy this Summer, it’s this, and it’s available now on CD, LP, & Digital. Buy it!
[mp3] Centro-matic – Rat Patrol & Dj’s
[mp3] South San Gabriel – Emma Jane Centro-matic is on tour, see the dates here.
Hard to Find a Friend - A Music Blog 
June 16, 2008 at 10:06 pm |
I agree. this is an amazing record. See this band live if you can.
June 25, 2008 at 5:06 am |
Both are solid, but I like the South San disc more than the Centro-matic disc by quite a bit.
But apparently I’m a cold and lifeless robot. My mother will be devastated…