PilotScottTracy

PilotScottTracy is ex-Causey Way. They sound like, well, ex-Causey Way. It's as simple as that. Well, almost. Take the Causey Way, and add more of a '77 punk influence. And the vocals are a little less goofy. But that doesn't stop the first song "Human Earthquake" from sounding like an old Murder City Devils song. I mean, c'mon, it's hard to separate any 3-chord punk with an organ song from MCD. But trust me, this album is all fun and rock. Well, except for "Return To My Home," which is almost four minutes and not nearly as fun as "Human Earthquake" or "Right On," which are both just shy of two minutes.

But don't be discouraged! Even slower songs can rock! This is proven by "The Time Has Come," which starts out with a Casio built-in beat and ends up rocking my socks off (okay, that's a lie, I wasn't wearing socks to begin with). In fact, many songs include Casio preset beats. And it does sound cheesy. Yes. But it's a good kind of cheese. Like Muenster or Gouda.

I guess my one disappointment with this album is that it has plenty of short rockers that kick me in the pants, but the slow songs in the middle drag the album down. The title track, "Any City" (duh), rocks harder than a lot of things I've heard in a long time. But songs like "Master Jack" and "Take A Flight" are just a little too slow for me. Yeah, whatever.

Simplistic? Check. Fun? Half-check. Moog and Farfisa? Check. Wacky goony vocals? Check. Worth your time? Probably. But what could have easily been a nine has been dropped to a seven for lack of congruity.