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REVIEWS:
David Urbano is the bass player
for the great Aviso Hara, and while that band is currently
on hiatus as they gear up for a (hopefully soon) influx
of cashflow for further recording, Dave has been writing
his own songs & put together The Slow Wire, which
currently is the best cd I have heard all year out of
any band from New Jersey. Of course I immediately want
this review's attention to go to their brilliant 80's
New-wavey cover of Guided By Voices "Motor Away"
but that would be shortchanging the brilliant original
songs that Urbano has put together… farfisa keys
underlay strum-pop indie rock & the voice of Dave
is sly & monotonous like Imperial Teen pulls off often…
the one drawback to this cd is the silly and blasphemous
parody of the best song to ever exist on the planet, "Sympathy
For The Devil" by The Rolling Stones. I will forgive
them, but it will take awhile. That aside, this is pretty
much a perfect indie pop album. Find some mp3's of this
band, check them out, and fucking buy this album, put
the songs on mixes for your friends, request them on 3WK,
drive to the east coast & see them live, get some
stickers, put them on your car, wear their shirts to school,
and if you are bored, spray paint their name underneath
the most prominent bridge in town. (4 Stars)
- GY, Torpedo Magazine
On Analog Living, The Slow
Wire appealingly mixes the standard guitar-bass-drums
setup with Moog and Wurlitzer noodling to weave a near-perfect
indie pop pastiche. At times redolent of of Superchunk,
Seam, and other indie pop stalwarts, The Slow Wire nevertheless
presents a contribution to that canon worthy of its own
recongnition with this collection of ten tracks and three
untitled bonus songs. "Super Glue" mixes singer-songwriter-guitar-bassist-keyboardist
David Urbano's vocals with those of Amy Jacob (who provides
backing vocals0); It's by the airiest track on the album,
but the male-female hamonies put a pretty spin on the
song's catchy formula/ "Badweather Friend" is
a lish, dreamy, synth-based slow drone; while the title
track that immediately follows shifts into a driving,s
traight-up rock 'n roll groove. "Pixel Addict",
one of the most conventionally catchy yet aesthetically
arresting tracks on the album, demonstrates the band's
clear Pixies influences. Analog Living avoids the irritating
shoegazer tendencies so ingrained in many of The Slow
Wire's contemporaries, and while it's not a groundbreaking
record, it's a smooth and infectious effort that's all
the more welcome in an era in which good new pop records
are too hard to find.
- Amanda Cantrell, Pop Culture
Press
Slow Wire is the solo project
of Aviso' Hara bassist Dave Urbano, who here steps out
of the shadow of his band (and bass) to write, sing, and
perform most of these dozen or so tracks (there are ten
listed and a few bonus cuts, including an aborted version
of "Sympathy For The Devil.") In the interest
of full disclosure, let me say that I‚ve known Dave
Urbano for ten years (through three bands) and I‚ve
always had high regard for him as a musician and a friend.
And with all that, Analog Living still blew me away. I
had no idea he could carry a tune, let alone sing the
wide variety of styles encompassed by this CD. There are
echoes of Guided By Voices, Magnetic Fields, Superchunk,
Britpop, the Elephant Six Collective‚s neo-psychedelia,
and lots more, mixing guitars and synths (Moog and Wurlitzer
organ) with harmony vocals and head-bobbing beats (drums
mostly by Tommy Bendel). From the winsome innocence of
"Super Glue"to Crazy Horse grunge of "Analog
Living"to the slow loping pop whimsy of "Pixel
Living,"Slow Wire keeps throwing different textures,
tempos, and dynamics at you with a casual grace that‚s
a 180 degree twist from the sonic train-wreck of Aviso'
Hara. Bottom line: I gotta start paying more attention
when my friends tell me they‚re working on solo projects.
- Jim Testa, Jersey Beat
Really nice moody and melodic guitar rock. The Slow Wire
is the brainchild of David Urbano...a young gentleman
with the voice and songwriting skills to go far. This
album was recorded at Wayne Dorell's Pigeon Club. The
thick compositions on analog.living are smart and energetic...but
there's a strong melodic sense that pushes them to another
level. Urbano's vocal style is just right. His breathy
vocals are in that perfect part of the mix in between
the guitars and the bass...and he makes it all sound like
it takes no effort at all (which we are certain is actually
NOT the case...). The tunes, are, for the most part direct
and to the point...with little excess in terms of overdubs
and arrangements. Plenty of good, heady, alternative guitar
rock here... Our particular favorites are "Crossed
Wires," "Medicine," "Pixel Addict"
(great song AND great song title), and "Untitled
Somehow." Killer tunes, killer delivery... (Rating:
5)
- Baby Sue
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