This band is a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in mystery. The disk came wrapped in an anonymous four-panel CD cover, with no mention of a record label or website anywhere. Who were these three young blokes, and where the hell were they from? After some digging and vague frustration, I finally figured out that they’re from Birmingham, England and nobody knows who they are.
Their album, Nothing New Ever Works, is pretty much right up my post-hardcore alley. I hear elements of Yo La Tengo, Karate, and Joan of Arc. There’s a chick in the band, even, which is kind of a nice change of pace -— and opens them up for a lot of Rainer Maria comparisons -— but she doesn’t sing all that often. But what is it about that almost whiny, churning math-rocky guitar style that I like so much? I’ll probably never put my finger on it exactly, but San Lorenzo does it well, particularly in "Life Without Mountains". This eight-minute monster is one long tease, alternating between anticipation and delivery, its rumbling drums exploding into full frontal rock and then simmering down again.
"Dead Amps" kicks ass. Punker and grittier than the rest of the album, the vocals are more aggressive, the cymbals clash and crash and there’s a really groovin’ guitar line going on. On the flipside of "Dead Amps" is "Tension Halved", a far more melodic, perhaps even sweet boy/girl duet with a quiet guitar line. As with most of the stuff in their genre, San Lorenzo draws a nice balance between melody and dissonance, loud and quiet. It keeps you on your toes.
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