Julie Christie, the rumors are true! Zeroed in on my indie rock past (I was an indie rock kid, I was always an indie rock kid), I experienced a cold jolt with “Elevated Levels,” the latest tape from Chattanooga pop darlings Mythical Motors. The rumors, indeed: guitar rock is back, if it was ever gone, and it can still be awesome.
It was never gone, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. (Some of it sucked hard though.)
I mean, yeah – it’s a total blast, a jangle pop delight, dripping with reverb, even mastered by Todd Tobias himself. Who’s Todd Tobias?! I just about spat out a mouthful of coffee there, son. Todd Tobias ONLY plays in the greatest lo-fi faux-arena band ever, Guided By Voices. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to mention them. Mythical Motors’ Matt Addison is definitely a Pollard disciple, and that’s a good thing these days. There aren’t enough of them around.
The Motors are as influenced by XTC as they are GBV, marrying the late-80s/early 90s indie vibe with the C86 set. Cramming insane hooks into criminally short songs (most less than two minutes), Addison and crew ebb and flow along with their whims, following their muses, pouncing on their inspiration. And let’s face it – short songs are perfect within this idiom. “Elevated Levels” – of volume, of adrenaline, of sugar – hits all the right spots, probably all of the time. I don’t know that for sure though, since I don’t play this tape 24/7 (duh).
--Ryan
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