So Many Dynamos reviewed
So Many Dynamos
Flashlights
(Skrocki)
St. Louis-based spazmoids find a production style that suits them — and a mixer with incredible patience.
So Many Dynamos would probably resent the inference, but the opening of Flashlights is instantly reminiscent of early Death Cab For Cutie. Where they’re saved from almost certain emo pop peril is the frantic unraveling of “Saturday Night, Sunday Morning” into “Search Party,” which retains its Chris Wallafied guitars but funnels a menacing bassline with Dismemberment Plan’s sense of parts overstaying their welcome. This tempered psychosis persists throughout Flashlights, distracting enough to maintain interest, though sometimes too kitchen sink to be taken seriously. (Cheerleader-style gang vocals only work if you’re Sufjan Stevens, friend.) “Progress” strikes D-Plan/Talking Heads funk oil springs, while “Inventing Gears” churns the bread and butter of Joan Of Arc’s many offspring. It takes skill to manufacture the many, many parts of So Many Dynamo’s sound; it’ll take talent to transport it beyond their focused influences.
— Steve Forstneger
Appearing: September 16th at Milliken University in Decatur.
Click here to download “Search Party.”
