From Amazon.co.uk
Nu-metal might well have been the movement that we should thank for flushing out a lot of rock's hoarier old clichés. With the rock'n'roll ranks beginning to resemble a US Marines roll-call of bulging biceps and close haircuts, it's of some comfort that the self-titled release from Los Angeles four-piece
Boy Hits Car is able to reconcile the savage in-your-face razor-edge of
Papa Roach while still drawing inspiration from alternative music's more flamboyant side. Here, on their second album, there's some pleasantly contrary moments: see the opening "The Rebirth", a stark memory of the ornate Eastern instrumentation that embellished the
Screaming Trees' Dust. There's also the wild hippy evocations of "As I Watch The Sun F**k The Ocean" that recall the sorely missed Jane's Addiction. Sure, it doesn't always work quite to plan--see front man CRegg's slightly gauche lyric to "Going To India" ("Going to India/ Watch all the elephants"). But the bit-of-this, bit-of-that musical dynamic works surprisingly smoothly throughout, with rolls of heavy riffage breaking over flutes, bongos, and tablas to surprisingly proficient effect. Boy Hits Car might be a little too off-centre to topple Papa Roach from their perch at nu-metal's zenith, but this fine record is a reminder that an alternative take on a genre can sometimes restore your faith in the definite article itself. --
Louis Pattison
