Slow Car Crash

Editor's Review:

There's a lot of directions a one-man band can go with his show. There’s the low-fi route, utilizing minimal instrumentation and a lot of personality to entertain; there’s the pack-mule route, playing a guitar, wearing a kick drum as a backpack, cymbals on the knees and a harmonica rig around the neck; and then there’s Slow Car Crash. Omarr Escoffie’s one-man project (though he has guests on stage from time to time, most notably back up singers) employs a sequencer to track all the beats and riffs that he does not play live, taking what would normally be a flat, one-dimensional sound and adding multiple layers of aural context.

The sound is extremely soulful, and because of its rich texture and friendly stance, it draws all kinds of people. Slow Car Crash has built quite a local following, and SCC’s latest offering, the CD Ambivalence, will only serve to solidify that following. Featuring cleanly produced versions of the stuff Omarr plays live (which isn’t necessarily all that unclean to begin with), this 10-track CD is soft and sultry, featuring siren-like backing vocals from local song birds, and an even more impressive amount of musical layers.

A couple of the album’s songs are more drum-and-bass-based, tunes that are slightly reminiscent of more electronic music than the rest of the albums’ soft and soulful tracks. Most songs are ripe with funk guitar and bass licks, smartly written pop hooks and well-constructed song passages. Omarr’s voice is surprisingly soulful as well, not just in his vocal delivery, but in the touching honesty and general feeling that he imparts. It is a skill he has honed playing live, and it really does come across on Ambivalence.

– Max Sidman

Write Your Own Review

Bookmark:

Released April 2001

Tracks

Comments down for maintenance.