Hum of the Motor

Straw Dogs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 18, 2003)
• Original Release Date: March 18, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Crafty
• ASIN: B00008RCPV
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,093,814 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. All The Things

2. Pains of Arkansas

3. Truth to Every Night

4. Blinds Me Again

5. Last Exit

6. When She Was Good

7. Will It Be Enough?

8. Who I Am

9. Mostly Alone

10. Only Living Here

11. Wired

Editorial Reviews

Just this one road you need. A good long two-lane, arm out the window, foot to the floor and lying way back. Sun squints your eyes from the rear view. Hours ahead and more behind you. Hum of the Motor.

This new Straw Dogs record will get you there. The follow up to 2001’s "Any Place At All," which found its way onto AAA and college radio, and landed the band four Billboard songwriting awards, first place in the KZOK (Seattle) talent contest, and an opening slot with Crash Test Dummies, "Hum of the Motor" is scheduled for release March 18, 2003.

"We’ve upped the ante," says David von Beck, the band's lead vocalist and guitarist, who co-wrote all of the new songs with guitarist Darren Smith. Smith also handles backing vocals, piano, and even some bass. "This record is fuller, more electric. We brought in Casey Miller on drums, Dan Tyack on pedal steel and some other great players, so it has added some depth to the Straw Dogs sound. The live shows are pumping along, with a full band rocking."

From the driving grooves of "Pains of Arkansas" and "Blinds Me Again" to the sparse, piano-based "Wired," the record is rich with the Straw Dogs’ trademark harmonies and carefully crafted pop-rock songs.

"This new CD was written and recorded with the full-band sound in mind," says Smith. "We had a bunch of new songs written and we tried to choose the most powerful of those. Pop songs that can each stand alone. And as it turns out, they fit together in theme but have depth and differences that gives the record a nice mix. That's very gratifying to us."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An undiscovered gem, March 11, 2004

By 

David Faris (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hum of the Motor (Audio CD)

Chances are that few outside of the Pacific Northwest have heard of this remarkable duo. With just enough pedal steel to merit a glowing review in a recent issue of the alt-country monthly No Depression, Straw Dogs are difficult to fit into any particular musical niche. This album is studded with sweet, infectious roots-pop that improves with multiple listens. The stand-out track is "When She Was Good," a song so airy and perfect that you don't recognize until the second or third spin that it's actually about loss and grieving. It reminds me of the Jayhawks most recent releases, but somehow a notch above either of them. Highly recommended.