Customer Reviews

Elixir Vitae

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Low Flying Owls have been around for a few years. They are from Sacramento and have made some noise in the bay area. They have self-released a few CDs. Now they are about to get large. They are already getting known. They are much like the recent spate of cool guitar bands like BRMC and The Warlocks, and in a way they are doing their own thing. It's been an exciting year for Stinky Records. They have been able to bring the new rock to the people. What may be new and different about Low Flying Owls are their use of electronic sounds and their use of gritty urban imagery. Jared Southard is much like a William T. Vollmann hanging around the Tenderloin and writing about the street. These songs are like short stories about real life. They are a band that could make something happen in the next year. I have been hearing about the new rock revolution. Here it is, finally.

I have to give this CD a four-star rating for effort alone. I mean, this release really caught me off guard. Nothing to unusual, 'Elixir Vitae' just rocks. Pure and simple. Tracks here that I found myself thoroughly enjoying were the T.Rex sounding "Swinging Sam", the Stooges-like "What My Friends Say", "Beaches Of Tomorrow" and "Last Day On The Planet". Line-up: Jared Southard-vocals, Sam Coe-bass, original Alice Cooper Group member Michael Bruce-guitar and Andy Wagner-keyboards. A very decent garage rock band coming straight to you from Sacramento. Do check it out.

I heard a song off this CD on KXLU in L.A. and called in to find out who the hell it was. Am I glad I did! The first song I heard sounded like Jane's Addiction meets Iggy and the Stooges, but with something else fresher and more charismatic than just a regurgitation of someone's favorite bands. Sure, their influences make appearances in these songs, but each song adds to the unique sound these guys are creating. I can't stop listening to them. I just sent it to someone else as a gift. I hope she likes it as much as I do.

This album is just so fresh and consistently good. My picks are (track 2) and (track 3). It's a good mix of dreamy interesting sounds, and [kickin']riffs.

i guess these guys just seem pretentious to me. all their songs are downers. i guess i'm not at a point in my life where i want to hear about other peoples problems through music. well, it's the fact they can't manage to do it in an artful/tasteful manner... that's the kicker.

The drone scream and lyrics are mysterious and infectious. Through headphones, this band sounds better and better. "Glad to be alive" and "Mama said" are especially memorable.

I heard the song Georgie Shot Johnnie (track 8) and fell in love. It is absolutely awesome. I rushed out and bought this album and I must tell you, it is NOT worthy. Insipid, generic, boring, lame. These are the words that these songs make me think of. It's hard to believe the same band that wrote track 8 wrote the rest of these songs. Listening to the rest of the songs started making me like track 8 less. Don't buy unless you like bad generock music.

I gave it two stars because on amazon 1 star is the lowest I could give it, and Georgie Shot Johnnie makes it 1 star better than the worst you can give.