Box Car Racer
Box Car Racer
On Sale Now
For $13.75

Blink 182 is a very successful band. The three guys, Travis, Tom, and Mark, have publicly declared that they love to rock together. That's why the Box Car Racer project is so unusual. The band is essentially Travis and Tom with a few guest musicians including their missing bandmate, Mark. They even use the same producer! So why is this record Box Car instead of Blink? It's a fine, fine line...

Like in Blink, dynamics play a huge part in the Box Car sound. On the lead track, "I Feel So," raging drums, jackhammer guitars and bone rattling bass are juxtaposed with quiet passages and reflective lyrics. It's not the most original rock 'n' roll formula in the world but it works and it catches your ear on the very first spin.

Of course catching your ear is Travis' specialty. Floating just above every decibel of distortion and mayhem is a finely crafted vocal melody. Songs like "All Systems Go," the electro-blast of "And I," and "Watch the World" use simple punk/ pop hooks to stick it to your brain. It's no wonder that when the songs fly across the airwaves there's really nothing you can do except sing along.

The lyrics here are also fairly sticky. "My First Punk Song" sings about disillusion and treachery before the half acoustic tenderness of "Letters to God" speaks directly to the maker. "Caught off guard/ All worked up/ The air is as cold and dark as night/ Let me go..."

To mix things up a bit the Box Car boys invited a few friends into the studio. Blink singer Mark Hoppus slips some vocals on "Elevator" before Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory and Tim Armstrong of Rancid switch hit vocals on the tune "Cat Like Thief."

While some fans are likely to dismiss Box Car Racer's debut as a watered down side project, an underhanded ego fest, or a slick marketing move, the songs on this disc speak for themselves. They have their own identity and they have their own style. The Blink sound is most certainly present. But this is most certainly not a Blink CD. It's all about the Box Car.

Copyright © 2010 ModernRock.com All Rights Reserved