Swearing at Motorists

Last Night Becomes This Morning

(Secretly Canadian)

Record Review by Michele Fair

In the mid-1990s, bands like The Black Crowes and Blind Melon took over the alternative music scene with the sound of 1970s revival music.  This novelty, however, was short lived and, in essence, that longing to hear the sound of an era gone by ended up lacking.  Not since The Black Keys brought it back with their gritty, bluesy overtones has any band been able to pull the sound off and make it stick with a new generation of music fans.  On Swearing at Motorists’ newest album, Last Night Becomes This Morning, it seems that they’ve tried to expose some elements of stoner rock that perhaps should have been left untouched.

What’s most striking about this album is the almost ridiculous overuse of double-tracking of lead singer Dave Doughman’s voice so that you hear him twice over on just about every track.  It makes for an almost narcissistic tone, leaving you thinking this guy can’t seem to get enough of the sound of his own voice.  The point that Swearing at Motorists seem to want to make is that they’re more parts bar band than poetic.  The track “Ten Dollars” is reminiscent of early 80s hair metal ballads, with sparse instrumentation and Doughman’s low, raspy voice left to linger in the air.  Almost every track on the album explores the time-tested topics of getting drunk, wondering what happened the night before, begging for more pain, and then loathing about why the protagonist did this to himself to begin with.

Last Night Becomes This Morning is gritty, no frills rock and roll.  The album is the latest from a band whose career has already spanned about ten years, although much of the first ten years’ worth of material were releases via 7” records and tapes.  Some of Swearing at Motorists’ older material has a very crunchy, alt-rock appeal to it.  For fans of that style, their previous recordings are certainly something to look into.  For those who aren’t impressed with bands whose sound is an attempt at old rock revival, it may be best to steer clear of their latest release.