AT THE DRIVE-IN

Oh yeah. This is the stuff. Hailed by Kerrang! as the most exciting band on the planet they are, for once, bang on the money. This must be one of the most exciting albums to have been released in years. According to my rating system the best album since OK Computer and that seems about right. Quality-wise it is not miles ahead of Trail of Dead or The Icarus Line but for sheer excitement this takes the bizkit. Intense and uncompromising, but not overtly so, this album is an all-too-rare modern classic. Easily the best album of last year (2000). It also contains, by far and away, the best single release of last year, "One Armed Scissor". Naturally it failed to come anywhere near to breaching the charts but on the back of well-deserved praise and hype this album is pretty well known in alternative rock circles. I'm sure it sits uneasily on many shelves next to Papa Roach's Infest or Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory. Well, I guess to the untrained ear it doesn't sound that different from the aforementioned nu-metal goon squads but let me tell you right here and now, it is. It is also so much better. The first four songs (the first four on the above list) are so explosive and brutal that any doubts you may have had (I certainly did) that modern rock music was dying a turgid and bland death are instantly remedied. Fucking fantastic. The actual start to the album is absolutely brilliant, setting the tone perfectly. It begins with a bit of shaking percussion before a bass heavy pounding section trundles along. It suddenly dies out only for a piercing, funk-style riff to start off and suddenly we dive into the pulsating energy of the song, "Arcarsenal". The second song "Pattern Against User" is probably the weakest of the four, although still shit-hot, but is followed by the superlative "One Armed Scissor". Easily the most commercial song on here it is proof alone that true rock is not dead, just bubbling under the dross in the charts. The fourth song, "Sleepwalk Capsules" fails to let up the pace with another blistering assault on the senses. More than anything, just exciting. And that's what rock music should be about. I actually don't think this is their debut, as they released a few pop-punk CDs previously, but if it was I'd call it the most exciting debut since Rage Against the Machine. It truly is that good. After the first four songs the pace is slackened for the restrained, tinkering "Invalid Litter Dept.". A well-timed break and is in itself a really good song. The highlight, though, is when it breaks out of the "ballad" mode and comes smashing back with a monstrous riff and ol' Cedric on top screaming form. The following track "Mannequin Republic" resumes the blistering pace of the first four with a cracking riff and is another highpoint on the album, although not quite as sublime as the best tracks listed. "Enfilade" on the other hand is a little pretentious, starting with a ridiculous spoken part meant to be a kidnapper demanding a ransom over the phone and the song itself rarely imposes itself as much as the others. One of only two or three average tracks on here. The congas are pretty good, though. "Rolodex Propaganda" on the other hand, features the vocal talents of Iggy Pop and is another screamer. The duetting between Pop and Cedric is fun, although I think Jim Ward sings Pop's lines live. This is another of the more commercial numbers on here and one that stands out on the first few listens. "Quarantined" begins with the age old cliche of rain-storm effects before slowly building up into a more mid-paced rocker. Still fucking good, mind. The following track "Cosmonaut" is a real peach. Definitely one of the best on here. It begins with an absolutely fucking great ascending riff, the sort of riff that other bands kick themselves for not writing it themselves when they hear it. About mid-way through Cedric releases an all-time great scream, making the lyrics incoherent but then the lyrics are secondary to his delivery anyway. A bit like if Zack de la Rocha decided to sing properly instead of rapping. The penultimate track "Non-Zero Possibility" is a bit ponderous and mid-paced and I think closed the American version of the album. As it is the British copy ends with "Catacombs" which begins with a great riff but it is a bit brief to really make anything of it. Still Cedric is on top screaming form. Really the album should have finished with "Cosmonaut" leaving everyone's minds blown. As it is, the end is the most disappointing part to the album, although the second half, in general, isn't quite as good as the first. Still a fucking pearly screamer of an album. A modern day classic, no less. At the time of writing At the Drive-In are on a temporary hiatus which many feel they'll never return from, which is a shame. But if that turns out to be the case they will still have left a legacy on the world with this album. Once again, a fucking classic.

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Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk