Stolen Bike Crusade Lisa Marie (2003) Drunken Jim

On Stolen Bike Crusade's second EP Lisa Marie the band still sounds like they're trying to find their niche, but are incredibly close. The Massachusetts four-piece is comes off as tight and confident, and with a little more time to simmer could go quite far.

The EP commences with an untitled intro. The instrumental track is a minute of dirty metal riffing that leads into the standout "Scene Of The Crime." With this song Stolen Bike Crusade poise themselves in an interesting position between Thrice-style metallic post-hardcore and more gritty punk rock. While definitely in the post-hardcore ballpark Stolen Bike Crusade seems far more grounded and realistic than similar acts that have been signed recently. Especially on the first few tracks the throaty vocals and distortion drenched guitars help the band avoid the cold, joyless mood so many of their contemporaries create. These qualities are also present on the melodic second track "Victors & Victims."

After the rocking intro and two solid tracks Stolen Bike Crusade give off an air of confidence and direction that many young bands lack on their initial releases. Unfortunately the latter half of the EP seems like something of a misstep. "Saint Claire," with it's stereotypical screaming over otherwise quiet mid-temp music, falls far too close to the glut of new bands aping Thursday and Glassjaw. While the final two songs on the album don't get stray as far into this dangerous territory, they have a hard time pulling the momentum back to that of the impressive first half.

However just when I think we've lost another promising band to the current trend, Lisa Marie has a brief metalcore outro. If anything, it serves as a reminder that this band's still searching and can't be pigeonholed into a genre or movement just yet. It'll be interesting to see where this EP leads Stolen Bike Crusade, because it sets them at a pretty obvious crossroads.

(Adam)