Monday, May 21, 2007 | A+E, Music, Reviews
Soundcheck

Ari Hest and Slow Motion Crash

Ari Hest CREDIT:Adam Amengual

Slow Motion Crash CREDIT: Justin Sonfield

ARI HEST w/ The Damnwells, Evan McHugh Thursday, May 24 Smith’s Olde Bar 404 875-1522 www.smithsoldebar.com SLOW MOTION CRASH w/ Black Mona Lisa, Spy for Hire, Atlanta Rollergirls Friday, May 25 Lenny's Bar 404-577-7721 www.lennysbar.com

Ari Hest
"The Break-In"
(Columbia/Red Ink)

He doesn’t want to break your heart any more than it’s been broken, OK? That’s just one of the earnest sentiments on Ari Hest’s sophomore disc, my vote for chick album of the year.

Singer-songwriter Hest has lots going for him; scruffy good looks, sensitive boy/man sentiments and easygoing tunes perfect for sorority dorm rooms. Top-flight production from Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Ron Sexsmith, Richard Thompson), a pro who knows his way around the genre as well as anyone, seals the deal.

Sure, the lyrics are on the sappy side, and Hest’s harping on matters of the heart gets old, if not quite stale, as the disc progresses. But as a player in the major-label leagues, he’s a refreshingly low-key, seemingly heartfelt craftsman, not trying to hit home runs, but content just to get on base.

The titular break-in refers to breaking into your heart (are you sensing a theme yet?) and even those hardened by dozens of similarly sentimental strummers should be impressed by Hest’s undeniable talent for spinning lovely shaggy-dog tunes like “Bird Never Flies,” co-written with the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris.

Grousing that there ought to be a few more upbeat tracks besides the mid-tempo “Right of Way” misses the point. It’s about creating a mood—something Hest, with his soulful, Robert Palmer-style vocals, Froom-assisted sound and a crack backing band, could do in his sleep. He might even get a few dudes listening, too—not that they'd ever admit it. 3 STARS—Hal Horowitz

Slow Motion Crash
"Slow Motion Crash"
(Self-released)

If bands like Interpol and the Killers have proved anything, it's that there's alternative-rock gold to be mined in the caverns of classic post-punk and new wave. In an era when punk rock has been co-opted and diluted into unrecognizable espresso shots of snotty pop-rock, where else is a teen outcast supposed to turn for an authentic soundtrack to his alienation? Appropriating the taut bass lines, somber vocals and subtly gloomy synthesizer fills of the early '80s is the new black.

To its credit, Atlanta's Slow Motion Crash isn't merely playing dress-up in the dark T-shirts of seminal acts like Joy Division or Mission of Burma. Its members have logged some serious time in the shadowy corners of this music, incorporating the anxious atmospherics into a sound that invites comparisons to other bands without slavishly imitating any of them. The spiky keyboard riff that laces through "5th and Incident," the insistent drums and dissonant guitar clash of "Trail of Tears," the quirky push and pull of "Mirrors & Conflict"—these moments nod to the joys of your older brother's crates of old Love and Rockets and Fugazi records while creating a melancholic tension that rings just as true in the here and now.

A few more injections of pop immediacy, like the Killers-style singalong that closes "Culprit Eyes" or the soaring instrumentation of "The Last Mistake," could mean the difference between college-radio attention and a shot at commercial airplay. But that's a minor quibble with an impressive debut from a band that does its forebears proud.
3 STARS—Kevin Forest Moreau