EP Review: Railcars – Cities Vs Submarines

Posted on 31st Jul 08 by Contributor | 0

Artist: Railcars
Author: Paddy Murphy

"Hey Bloggers" help us avoid Pitchfork"

Railcars don't like Pitchfork and went searching on the web for people to review their second EP Cities Vs Submarines following on from 2007s Postmodernism" . This 5 track EP is produced by California's Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart.
For those unfamiliar with his main source of income they are an experimental band that mix folk" ambient electro and are influenced by the British post"punk movement.

Now that little background lesson is over we can merrily move forward onto" Railcars. They are a four"piece from San Francisco fronted by Aria Jalali. The EP opens with There is Ice" it is Blue with a wee guitar hook that would break you heart for wishing that you had come up with something so simple yet so effective first. Aria's lyrics are fuzzy and distorted for most of the EP and actually adds to the mystery and leaves you pondering what he could be singing about.

Saints are Waiting for me "Outside the Door" has distortion drenched guitars with a riff that isn't too dissimilar to the hook from famous Billy Joel We Didn't Start the Fire" but quickly enough the song descends into a mire of even more chaos and distortion but thankfully the careful production does not turn into a self indulgent effects"laden whig"out that only those in the band can appreciate.

Concrete Buildings uses more electro influences but has a constant train"like guitar strum in the background to keep the track rolling" followed by Through the Trees lay Smokestacks which clocks in at an impressive 47 seconds.

Cities Vs Submarines closes with Bohemia is Without a Sea the EP's defining moment" two keyboard riffs bring this number along steadily while Aria sings indecipherable over the top of it all.

Unfortunately for us on this side of the water we probably won't get to see Railcars for a long long time and it's a crying shame. They'd make the perfect band for someone like Animal Collective" MGMT or The Strokes to have over here as their opening act" plus you gotta like the fact that they're taking on the likes of Pitchfork Media" shows they're got balls and not just great music.

Railcars " Cities Vs Submarines is released this September