Customer Reviews

Slowreader

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"helplessly, she says she's done and you're done for, pacing around, salting the wounds - wishing for more..."

ok, i had actually heard the cd in it's entierty at ... and it is wonderful take the intensity of the impossibles and turn it upside down to showcase their talant and briliance as musicians, and you have slowreader. i know old school impossibles fans will probably hate slowreader because lets face it, it's as far away from their beginings as a ska band as they could get. but for those who liked the "emo" sound of return and can handle an even more melodic, softer sound, you will fall in love with the beauty of gabe's voice and the overall poetry he conveys in his lyrics. sad to say the impossibles grew up, but they also grew into their amazing gifts as musicians. the best tracks on this album are: "politics, music and drugs", with it's soft guitar strums and stomp, clap beat sets the tone of the record as the first track; "anesthetic for the amputee", which softly portrays a man on the verge of death and is broken down with women singing as sweetly as angels; and "so this is it", the final song on the cd, which brings it to a close with a beautiful crescendo that harkens back to the sound of the impossibles, proving that they aren't dead, just transformed into somthing lovely and entirely differant. this album is a must have for people seeking a quiet fix of emotional, piano driven rock.

...

What can I say about Slowreader? I'm not too sure.

In case you didn't know, this band consists of Gabe and Rory, both formerly of the Impossibles [Rory also being in the original incarnation of the Stereo]. If one follows either of those two bands, you'd know that both men have a penchant for writing catchy, poppy rock with hooks aplenty. What set them apart from other bands, though, is their excellent lyricism - only Rory could write a song about bowling [the Stereo's "300"] and pull it off. Slowreader takes both men's incredible musical talent and hones it into this album.

In all honesty, though, this album consists of two songs - tracks 1 through 10, and track 11. Tracks 1 through 10 are very folksy, relying heavily on acoustic guitar. Think along the lines of Elliott Smith, but not nearly as Pro-Tooled [meaning it's just Rory and Gabe singing, not Rory and Gabe each singing 5 different harmonies for each song]. They also make use of electronics sparingly, and they can really make a track. "Sweetest Suffering" has a neat stuttered bass drum beat propelling the song through it's melancholy guitar and piano waltz.

The idea of quirkiness is not lost among these two men, however. Opening song "Politics, Music & Drugs" is completely made by the stomp-clap, stomp-stomp-clap drumbeat. Sure, they could've used a real drumset or a drum machine, but getting people to use their appendages naturally just sounds cooler.

For the most part, tracks 1 through 10 sound like an indie rock symphony with ten different movements. The songs all bleed into one another, and it works incredibly well.

Then there's track 11, "So This Is It." Gabe and Rory definitely turn on the rock button for this song. Electric guitars, psychedelic organs, pounding drums, and screaming distorted vocals set it apart from the other 10 songs on the album, and is a perfect ending to this aforementioned indie rock symphony. It is a complete departure from the rest of the album, but yet, it's distinctly Slowreader.

Not surprisingly, while Gabe's 8 songs are all solid, Rory once again steals the show with his three contributions [just like he did with the Stereo's first album]. "Sweetest Suffering," "Anesthetic For The Amputee," and "So This Is It" are all penned by him, and makes me pine for a solo album from him. He collaborates well with others, but I have a feeling that he could really acheive greatness on his own.

Irregardless, Slowreader is here, hot tub and all. How these songs [with their elaborate backing vocals and instrumentation] will carry over live is unknown, but as it stands this is a very solid and original indie rock album, one of the best this year.

Rory Phillips and Gabe Hascall, formerly split the vocals in The Impossibles. Since The Impossibles break up, Rory and Gabe got back together to record this album. This album is pretty far from The Impossibles as you can get though. There are no guitar solos or screams; the entire album is piano and acoustic guitar driven, with Protools and drum machines.

A review that I read, that is also quoted on the album's sticker, said 'is that this is a must have for fans of Elliott Smith and Ben Folds'; and that's pretty much right on the mark. Although I would say you gotta be a fan of mellower Ben Folds material.

This album plays like a dreamscape. Its good to just sit back and relax to. If you are a fan of The Imposibles way of melody, than you'll probably feel right at home coming back to the guys for Slowreader. Gabe sings lead on all the songs. Dan Keyes from Recover, contributes some vocals to one track.

Tracks include "Politics, Music, and Drugs," "Stupid Bet," "I Like You Most," "On That Day," Cold Cold Death," "Every Part of Nothing," "Fallen on the World," "Sweetest Suffering," Anesthetic for the Amputee," Aging in Rhytm," and "So This Is It."

Eleven songs totaling 36 minutes. Booklet contains all the lyrics and photos. Definantly buy this and support good music.

i've just started listening to this the last few days and man. it's sweet. it's not unlike listening to the song "intermission" from the impossibles album "return", but on the whole this album is more upbeat. anyway, i can hear the elliott smith comparisons, i'm less sure about ben folds. i think the yo la tengo indie pop comparisons from the fbr website are closer than ben folds, although it's obvious gabe's singing in his unique voice. politics, music, and drugs and anaesthesia for the amputee are my favorites thus far, but the whole thing really is quite great. as an added bonus, it made me get out my impossibles albums that i havent heard in at least a year, so thanks guys.

I discovered Slowreader's "Every Part of Nothing" on a sample CD their label Fueled by Ramen sent me when I ordered a CD of The Stereo. Needless to say I fell in love with it on the spot and did not hesitate one second before ordering the whole album.

As the first one I heard, "Every Part of Nothing", with its moody bass line and ah-ahs, is still among my favourite, and "Politics, Music and Drugs" makes you want to stomp and clap along. But in my opinion, "Anesthetic for the Amputee" surpasses all the others with its tremendous beauty... Repeat Track.

It's hard not to be full of praise for this record. It's got atmosphere. In fact, it is so addictive that if I try to come off it for a couple of days, I then catch myself humming "Politics, Music and Drugs"'s catchy tune while hanging up the laundry or washing the dishes... as the irresistible urge to put it back in the player rises up in me again... Repeat All.

Ever since I first listened to "Every Part of Nothing" back in 2002, I was a fan. It was only last month that I was able to get my hands on the album and I'm very happy I did.

'i like you most' is my favorite, with 'politics, music and drugs' being a close second... great sounding songs, tight instruments, fab vocals... and adorable lyrics. in 'i like you most' you hear, 'if you feel like you're slipping in value/i can offer you some of the skyline'... all together now... AWWWWWW.

my one complaint is that there hasn't been a followup. COME ON GUYS.

this is just one album that i would not change anything about. everything came out as it is suppost to be. the songwriting and lyrics are incredible, and each song is its own work of art.
this is one of my favorate albums of all time.

let me say this, slowreader is picking up right where the impossibles, before their second and final unfortunate break-up, were headed. rory and gabe really put their hearts, minds and talent into this album, and have made it more than just another piece of plastic with laser-burned music on it, they have made it an auditory landscape of self-understanding, self-loathing and damn good music. let's hear it for eleven songs, nearly forty minutes of pure pleasure and thought-provoking goodness.

Yes I know it's their only album but this is just awesome. I don't know who to compare it to, maybe a little beck (mutations album ish), but it's just amazing. That's all I can say, just awesome.