REVIEWS
July 2007, Performer Magazine (www.performermag.com)
Slow Burning Car -
Blowback
Produced by Troy Spiropoulos and Burt Malcutt
Engineered by Burt Malcutt
Recorded at Nightingale Studios
Mastered by Stephan Marsh at Threshold Sound
Slow Burning Car encompasses
the entire scope of rock - from indie to alternative, country to metal - and as
a result has been called the "future of rock." With Blowback, it's still too
early to predicate whether or not this claim is true, but it is safe to say that
the listener is sure to be intrigued and mesmerized by each of these 12 songs.
"King Con," the first track on the album, is reminiscent of old punk songs.
Danceable and enjoyable, one can't help but tap a foot along as Troy Spiropoulos
sings, "Don't you wanna get it / I know you wanna get it / I bet you wanna get
it / You know you'll never get it from me." "Farkytootle" follows, introducing
whimsical beats laced underneath harsh, honest lyrics.
As the album progresses, it becomes apparent that this L.A.-based band has the
ability to change its sound ever so slightly from track to track, shifting from
one subgenre to another, totally unobtrusively. What borders rockabilly at the
outset naturally extends to folk by the third track.
The band slows it down a bit on "Respect," yet the song's bridge introduces
faster vocals and harsher guitar to keep it interesting. Its message is clear
and its lyrics resonate: "Respect / They'll only give you want you earn / You
only earn by what you learn / And what you learn might get you burned."
Listeners will surely not get bored with this album. Hopefully the band's future
forays will sustain this momentum, and reveal another layer beneath the surface
of Blowback. (Self-released)
-Allison Bloch
A Review from Rave! Magazine
Music Connection “ Demo Critiques” – July 16, 2007 – July 29, 2007
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Slow Burning Car is a vehicle for prog-ish pop-rock and exceptional musicianship. “I Saw The Mountain” deploys a phased vocal that delivers fantasy-based lyrics over a catchy hook; the song could be better if it were shortened. “Formula I” has crafty guitar riffs and a good drum sound. The tune “Slow Burning Car” is an apocalyptic excursion with remarkable dynamics and nimble transitions that echo classic UFO/Michael Schenker. This high-concept Car is street-ready and will appeal to classic rockers.
ECTOMAG.COM Review
| Written by Sameerah | |
| Tuesday, 24 July 2007 | |
| Slow Burning Car Blowback Slow Burning Car describe themselves as Sci-fi Metal. Now I don't know how Metal I would call them but they are definitely good times. A lot of their stuff is like Bare Naked Ladies on acid. Kind of an Alt Rock, Folk sort of sound with lyrics that are sweet even if it is in a warped sense of romance. Its the quick with and dark humor that makes Slow Burning Car fun to listen to. |
Highwire Daze Interview - July/August 2007
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Troy's Room
Sugarbuzz.com magazine review:
The last sultry Saturday night of July on the Sunset Strip we happened to catch Slow Burning Car at the Viper room. Here’s a band that ain’t a band. They call themselves “an agency dedicated to the preservation of creative individualism and the alchemy of "Rock" through compositional application in the audio realm.” Dudes, just tune up and play, OK?
Our pal, Bret Miller gave us the heads up on these guys and he knows rock, so we go. He intro’ed us to the leader Troy, before the set, very nice guy. Cute too. And the room is loosely packed with their also very nice fans.
After Troy Spiropoulos on lead vocals and bass we got Mike Zimmerman on drums and vocals, Corey Birkholz on lead/rhythm guitar, Jim Le on lead/rhythm guitar, Victor Bishop on keyboards and screams. Yeah, I said screams.
They got a very cool logo of a street sign, black and yellow diamond with a flaming vehicle. Don’t know the backstory on that but it kind of goes with their secret agent mystique. Sunglasses and berets.
They’ve got a big-band thing going on with this many players and singers on stage and a good old fashioned Leslie West-Mountain, Southern Rock, Sweet Home Alabama sound. Like good old boys without the cowboy hats.
The songs in their short set came right on top of each other without a lot of blah blah in between. We like. Our favorite was their signature song “Slow Burning Car” with a psychedelic guitar-laden middle. And “First Born” thick with waves of synthesizers and builds and a lot of structure. Troy does mighty fine vocals on all.
On the road now, Slow Burning Car is headed for the Midwest and points beyond. Pull up next to them and roll down your windows.
www.myspace.com/slowburningcar
Highwire disc review October 2007:
Blowback
Slow Burning Car
Self-released CD
Years of experience have matured Spiropoulos into quite an artist, as demonstrated on his imaginative project. A dozen top notch songs are included on Slow Burning Car’s debut release Blowback, each catchy and magnetic in their own stunning way. Spiropoulos has amassed a winning lineup with Slow Burning Car – and there is a lot of intrigue and wonder to be found within the highly impressive Blowback.
I Saw The Mountain is a progressive highlight, an inspiring confection that takes the listener into the stratosphere with its complex lyrics and anthem-like melodies. Farkytootle is a standout track dripping with attitude and dark humor. Grave is an introspective track about what it would have been like to be on the ill-fated American Airlines Flight 11 that crashed into the first of the Twin Towers on 9/11. Other songs on note include King Con, Low, and the hard rockin’ title cut. Expect to hear a lot more from Slow Burning Car – the best kept secret weapon against musical apathy that our local L.A. music scene has.
Info: www.slowburningcar.com
More Magazine Interview For Trifonic Sounds Festival
October 2007
October 2007
Blowback ~ by: Slow Burning Car
Here’s another variation on the power-pop theme, from a San Pedro-based project that features lots of sound-effects in a collection of 12 textured tunes. You get bird-chirps and phone-rings and background dialogue, and lots of “ooh-oohs” and “la-las” also. The disk’s opening yell of “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum” before the opening track, “King Con” (featuring Tracii Guns!), might lead one to expect a more aggressive brew, but this effort leans more to Fountains of Wayne than Children of Bodom. Oh, a little bit of lead guitar busts in during songs such as “Formula I” and “A Little Sign,” but then a bit of Fastball-infused Jackson Browne bubbles into “Respect” – which turns refreshingly crunchy as it builds. Written and masterminded by a multi-instrumentalist named Troy Spiropoulos, the disk features a different ensemble of players on just about every track. Troy is more inclined towards philosophical and socio-political musings than standard love songs, to be sure, at times expressing his feelings with a frankness more often encountered in harder-edged bands. Troy is a melodic visionary, whose speculations can bend your head without hurting your ears. And the CD cover-image, like a roadsign of a slow burning car, is worth a chuckle.
Metal Hammer Review (Greek Magazine)
December 2007
December 2007
SLOW BURNING CAR
"Blowback" (Tritonic
Laboratories; 2007)
Reviewed by Mike SOS
An eclectic rock smorgasbord comes to us via Slow Burning Car, whose 12-track "Blowback" emanates with an 80s hard rock foundation and launches from there, reaching into many different branches of the rock tree.
Space rock, country, progressive, and light rock are some of the many colors this amalgamation of musicians work in, sounding like a modern rock radio station playlist set on random as cuts like "A Little Sign," "I Saw the Mountain," and "Rumbling Chief" come through the speakers.
Definitely evoking a free form vibe, Slow Burning Car's presentation urges you to leave inhibitions at the door to truly soak in the quirky concoction brewed up by this California collective.
Slow Burning Car: Troy Spiropoulos - Lead Vocals, Bass; Mike Zimmerman - Drums, Vocals; Corey Birkholz - Lead/Rhythm Guitar; Jim Le - Lead/Rhythm Guitar; Victor Bishop - Keys/Synths/FX, Vocals.
For more information, check out www.myspace.com/slowburningcar.
May 2008
| SLOW BURNING CAR - Blowback (Self Financed) |
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A band from Los Angeles that with
their music place themselves between the boarders of melodic garage and
hard rock. No punk attitude and hairspray world, just a piece of harmony
with the help of melodic vocals and a few groovy hard rockin tunes all
over the place with the guitar help of Tracii Guns (LA Guns) and the spirit
of Hanoi Rocks that watches from above tryin' to get into the slow burning
car of music. There are radio friendly hits here, such as the track
"Respect" that offer you a travellin' experience in the issue of human
respect. |
The Dog Magazine (Greece) Review
May 2008
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All melodies are littered in several places in each
songs compose. The lyricism is destined for audiences of a higher ground, thats
why is compound and complicated . In all songs it hears
a 'hoarse' voice like Dylan's,
like Alice Cooper's, a kind of "sandpapervoice" with descriptive expression
which singing somehow in prose style.
The esthetics basing to Dada type, a
view of abstract art (music) which trying to give illusions of social temper,
wild esthetics and a lot of obscure . This lyrical impulse becames from tough
daily reality, all bad courses from rhythm of life , and political thoughts
inspire the poet (*singer).
The string organs and synths reminds
Hanoi Rocks 80% other songs are like a mix between
Alex Harvey and Reo Speedwagon
or something between Alice in Chain if they
would play covers of Thin Lizzy. These vocals and
all melodies are similar hearing to some old
albums Alice Cooper's such as the "Killers" one and the "Zipper Catches Skin"
the other.
All songs interpretation is not one type dissension also from the verses subject
it contains multi collective objects. And can't anticipate what is going to be
played next. Big labels and commerse classify
it, to "progressive" metal but isn't fair for a classic rock style like that,
the style pairs to an old classic period after Genesis, and after P.Floyd,
like the era with
the germans Amon Duul2 or Barclay James Harvest.
The product is very good made of, for a debut artist, thanks to the
sound engineer the Burt Malcutfor .
More taste of the content here are verses from the 9th song
"Rumbling Chief":
Rumbling chief went wacko in the meadow--Killing six of his tribe and lynching
all his honchos--Looked up in the sky in focused premontion --Heading out on his
way for further expendition..--Stumbling into town was renegade Clovis--with a
patch on one eye extremely out of focus--Kicking with this cat he's calling
"Hocus Pocus"..--Stranded on the isle i find myself laughing--If i gave it more
thought i'd just end up cracking--And to think right now i could be home
8-tracking...---When Rumbling Chief meets Renegade Clovis--The sky's going to
drown ,we'll all end up hopeless--In fact that's just the case for fools who
ignore it.--
(Chorus)no use looking for the saviour of souls--because you can't be certain
that she's looking for yours.---Stranded on the lawn i keep getting stepped
on--No room for me to crawl i pray to get rained on--You think she heard my
call? The lawn's getting drier---When Runbling Chief meets Renegade Clovis --I'm
packing it up and heading across the border--Putting up a shack and digging deep
for cover---.(Chorus)
October 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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Disc Review - Music Emmisions (Oct.208)
What do you say about a cut up of tracks and styles? Often times cheesey,
other times ballsy and rhythmic. Slow Burning Car is an artist collective
hailing from Southern California. Most of their guitar work is a constant
almost bubbly metal sound. Often times they are goofy with backing vocals
like the goofy titled "Farkytootle". Other tracks are blitz's of generic
bar rock with a shit-eating grin. There is no method to this madness, or
particular sound they are intimate with, and that may be the most
impressive aspect of this release. There is no humility involved in this
for them, as they are creating full-sounding songs for 25-50's crowd
of America. From Sax-o-phone solo's to clips of George Bush and his 9.11
moment of silence, all moods are celebrated. Really open-minded fans of
Rush, and Drive-By Truckers should seek out their sounds.
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