[Disclaimer: let me give my sincerest apologies to Lancer for what I'm sure is going to be an album review full of backhanded compliments.]
This week's "Album of the Week" comes from a small band from my hometown - Eden, NY. For those of you who didn't grow up in a cornfield, let me try to explain... Eden is basically two pizza places, a grocery store, a Subway that looks like it belongs in the Swiss Alps, and some schools for the children. Our claims to fame are a factory that makes kazoos and a festival to celebrate the importance of corn. Confederate flags still hang freely in windows. If Eden had a listener's chart, Polka would most likely still be a relevant genre.
When I started a small emo band with five of my peers in 2006, people in Eden were impressed... Well, what I'm really trying to say is people were aware of us. Most of them were riding their tractors to school and listening to Toby Keith. Going back to those recordings now, they aren't really anything special. There are surely a few cringeworthy moments, to say the least. We would play shows at the local Boys and Girls club, and a bunch of 7th and 8th graders in Fall Out Boy shirts would come to every single one. I guess it was just such a novelty to have anything besides bluegrass in the "local scene."
It is now 2013 and members of my first band have come and gone. In fact, some very notable Buffalo musicians were in that band, but, they shall remain nameless out of respect for their reputation... And somehow, I'm still around too. It's not every day I get to bring attention to a band that followed the same path to Buffalo that I did. I fought through the T. Swift and Brad Paisley t-shirts and started an actual band. No, I'm not trying to say that these dudes are walking in my hallowed footsteps. I'm just saying, I know the effort it took to even just have the motivation to get a band started. So this week, I'm proud to be able to say that Album of the Week goes to Lancer.
So alright, I'm already taking way too much credit for influencing Lancer's Don is Rich... But the three piece punk-pop/grunge hybrid caught my eye last year when they released a scrappy EP full of just-barely-acceptable lo-fi recordings of some of their songs (backhanded compliment number one). This time around, Lancer has gotten their shit together and released a much-more-acceptable six song EP. First and foremost, there is a very obvious blink-182 influence here, but, there is also a more subtle "substance" to this album that I can't quite put my finger on. I could compare this album to The Offspring or Smashing Pumpkins or even something like a gravely Gaslight Anthem, but none of those are really accurate either. For some reason, I feel like 20 years ago, this album would have been considered something genius... and I'm really trying my best to be able to put it into words.
"Elephant in the Corner" opens the album, immediately greeting us with some punk thrashiness. This is probably about as heavy as Lancer gets. I'm sure Lancer can even tell you themselves that the most challenging aspect of their catalog is singer/guitarist Victor Castillo's (occasional) laryngitis-tinged vocals. I need to say this right off the bat, and I promise guys, I mean this in the least pretentious way possible; Castillo is either a genius or, well, kind of a dick. I truly think it's the former, but seriously, the Pavement fan inside of me can't help but be totally enthralled by him regardless. Let me be clear, Castillo sounds nothing like Pavement's Stephen Malkmus, but I can't help but think about that classic, nonchalant I-don't-give-a-shit delivery when I hear him. At first listen, this is just a simple, three-chord punk song where Castillo claims to be "all alone in a mindless zone." It's rebellious and loud and fun, but it makes me wonder - is there more to this music than just some power chords and guttural grunts about eternal damnation?
The other extreme on this album comes from the flat out pop-punk of "Find A Way." It's worth noting that Lancer's rhythm section, composed of bassist Mike "Fiki" Rakiecki and drummer Adam Cwynar work together like an Eden version of Hoppus and Barker from blink-182. Cwynar, who normally doesn't sing, takes the vocal lead on this song, utilizing a subtle "DeLonge" drawl that's a bit more palatable than Castillo's unpredictable growl. Part of Lancer's mystique is that, when it comes down to it, regardless of my own personal opinion, "Find A Way" is probably the "best" song on Don is Rich. It's an easy choice with its excellent instrumental pre-chorus and harmony soaked choruses. But even as I sit here claiming it's the best song on the album, I can't help but find myself attracted to the middle ground on Don is Rich...
"Haunting Away" and "Helping Hand" are two good examples of some of the quirks that makes Don is Rich so appealing. Cwynar has definitely taken a page from Travis Barker: see the opening drumbeat of "Haunting Away" or the insane stick clicking in the bridge of "Helping Hand." On top of Cwynar's nimble drumming, Castillo has a solid platform to be his version of a mad frontman. He sounds like a monster over the bass-driven thump of "Haunting Away." I even almost hear a hint of Against Me when he yells "I'm gettin' kinda nervous" in the second verse. What really throws me off is how he goes from a throat-shredding grunt to saying "that's alright" like he wasn't just some whirling dervish of a frontman. It's almost like he's entered some normal conversation. It's moments like these that make me want to take the band less seriously, but in reality, these moments are what makes Lancer, well, Lancer. "Helping Hand" finds Castillo singing like a human for the first time on the album and it makes you wonder why he doesn't pick one extreme or the other. I can sit here and whine about how the EP isn't cohesive or something (paradoxically, that lack of cohesiveness is actually somewhat of a cohesiveness in itself), but at the end of the day, Lancer does whatever they want.
Speaking of Don is Rich, the title track is my favorite song on the EP. "Don is Rich" is a complete embodiment of '90s slacker rock and could fit comfortably (maybe even seamlessly) on a Dinosaur Jr. album. Here we find the band at their best musically, and especially vocally. Rakiecki's bass lines are surprisingly hooky throughout, compensating for the otherwise simple guitar and drums (this one was not a backhanded compliment, I really think they nailed it). Vocally, Castillo's surprising range over the harmonies at the end of the song make me question what he's really capable of... But beyond that, Castillo truly delivers his best lyrics and melodies in "Don is Rich" - all it took was is a simple chorus of, "That's a part of me I never wanted you to see, please let it be and know that I am sorry" to sell me on this track. Bravo Lancer, this one is going to get a vote from me for top 20 local tracks of the year (disclaimer: my views do not represent the collective view of buffaBLOG).
Finally, Lancer wraps things up with the surprisingly emo "Timber!" Trading in furious punk beats for an almost ambient snare roll and rhythmic bass chords, these guys get a little emotional and even wrap up the EP with an epic musical climax. And that brings us to the end of the review... I guess If I'm being totally honest, between the genre-hopping, bizarre album title (I guess it's not really that weird), and my initial preconceptions, I wasn't really sure what to expect from these guys this time around. I'll keep it short and simple - let's just say I am more than pleasantly surprised.
Im getting a slight Small Brown Bike vibe. Especially from Timber!
this is awesome! reminds me of latterman a bit too