Empire State Troopers -
Turn Lights OutReviewed By Andy "Dinger" Beresky (StonerRock.com)
One Cell Records
Available Now
Upstate New York's Empire State Troopers released a pretty impressive debut with their EP,
Upstate Again. While their first full length album doesn't initially match the metal ferociousness of that debut, it nonetheless rocks in its own right, propelled largely by the vocals of lead siren Kelly Murphy and the production of Sebadoh's Jason Lowenstein. The absence of some of more metal-minded riffing of the EP hasn't softened the band's impact any, however, as they've explored more of the melodic tendencies in their instrumentation that they hinted at on the debut. It could be the addition of a second guitarist have opened up new opportunities to expand their sound, or just the natural next step in the band's evolution, but it's definitely a step in the right direction, as the melodies give the songs more dark immediacy and staying power.
The Troopers start things off with the classic rock riffery of "Losing It", and it's a corker of a track that sets the pace just right, with a dark verse that eventually transforms into a melodic 3/4 swing, before bringing things home with the main riff. That's really what the songs on
Turn Lights Out are all about, strong melodic themes accompanied by swift, quirky and unexpected stylistic changes. There's great variety in the songwriting as well, whereas the next two tracks "Cog" and "Machine Man" pretty much full under the initial pattern of "Losing It", the title track once again takes an empowering romp through the world of all things in 3/4 time, like an even more manic version of Hendrix's "Manic Depression." "Kids All Scream" showcases the heavy Melvin's influence that showed up so prominently on their debut EP, and "I Hate Movie Stars" pulls off the raunchy rock 'n roll groove you'd expect from mid-era Hellacopters. They end things off well, with a real romper of a tune, "Cheating the Devil", which alternates between mid-tempo dirge riffs, high energy verses, and quirky choruses.
There's a lot of different things to like about the songs on this album, and I don't want this to come off as a knock against the other musicians, but Kelly Murphy's vocals are really what propel these songs and set the tone. She's got range, energy, grit, and let's face it, her vox have got balls, which are something that all too often I find lacking in bands of this genre. The others in the band can hold their own, and obviously know there way around their instruments, but it's the vocals that really make this album something special. For fans of slightly off-kilter rock that borrows liberally from Killdozer, but relies more on melody than noise to make the points stick.
URL: http://www.myspace.com/empirestatetroopers
