"be quiet or be killed..."
I have a hard and fast rule here at American Pancake not to feature covers. I guess I simply would rather here a band's original art on the way to possibly becoming an iconic piece of work than a reworking of an already iconic piece of work. That being said, rules are meant to be broken and when I heard Halifax, Nova Scotia based Like A Motorcycle's reimagining of Los Angeles based mid 70's electropunk band The Screamers' "122 Hours of Fear" I was blown away. The original song informed by the 1977 hijacking of Lufthansa flight 181, sung from the perspective of a hostage ("be quiet or be killed...") and propelled by a dirty sounding Fender Rhodes, an ARP Odyssey synth, drums and 'Tomata du Plenty' caustic maniacal vox plays like doo wop punk in an Italian Horror movie (like a distillation of Mark and the Mysterians and Bauhaus). The Screamers impact fueled solely by bootleg videos and tapes has been infinite, inspiring legions of punk bands.
As imagined by LAM, the musical narrative of "122 Hours of Fear" feels darker, the palpable anxiety and dread is ramped up. It becomes heavy, hell bound and guitar driven, The song is slowed down to feel even bigger, dirtier and more menacing. The classic metal rock elegance (yes elegance) gives way to a manic guttural pounding maelstrom of sound enhanced by gritty broken glass girl / boy vox and the descending progressions feel like 60's psychedelia swept up by 70's proto punk, 80's punk and 90's grunge tones. LAM's version truly become it's own, a car crashing amalgam of Tropical Fuck Storm, Eagles of Death Metal, X and the Beatles.
"122 Hours of Fear" is a follow up to LAM's hammering 2020 full length "Dead Broke".
- Robb Donker Curtius
* * *
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/likeamotorcycle/
https://twitter.com/likeamotorcycle
https://soundcloud.com/like-a-motorcycle
https://www.instagram.com/likeamotorcycle/?hl=en
Like A Motorcycle is a melee attack with a soundtrack. They deliver poignant earworms for their fellow disenfranchised rejects; working minimum wage jobs while dodging five-figure debt. With their frighteningly explosive performances, coupled with an East Coast hospitality meets knock-your-teeth-out personality, LAM are reigniting the flame in the cynical hearts of seasoned punks, indoctrinating the teenage oddball children of terrified suburbanites, and inviting a morbid curiosity from everyone in between who have never themselves dwelled in the grimy recesses of society… but would totally go to the afterparty.
I have a hard and fast rule here at American Pancake not to feature covers. I guess I simply would rather here a band's original art on the way to possibly becoming an iconic piece of work than a reworking of an already iconic piece of work. That being said, rules are meant to be broken and when I heard Halifax, Nova Scotia based Like A Motorcycle's reimagining of Los Angeles based mid 70's electropunk band The Screamers' "122 Hours of Fear" I was blown away. The original song informed by the 1977 hijacking of Lufthansa flight 181, sung from the perspective of a hostage ("be quiet or be killed...") and propelled by a dirty sounding Fender Rhodes, an ARP Odyssey synth, drums and 'Tomata du Plenty' caustic maniacal vox plays like doo wop punk in an Italian Horror movie (like a distillation of Mark and the Mysterians and Bauhaus). The Screamers impact fueled solely by bootleg videos and tapes has been infinite, inspiring legions of punk bands.
As imagined by LAM, the musical narrative of "122 Hours of Fear" feels darker, the palpable anxiety and dread is ramped up. It becomes heavy, hell bound and guitar driven, The song is slowed down to feel even bigger, dirtier and more menacing. The classic metal rock elegance (yes elegance) gives way to a manic guttural pounding maelstrom of sound enhanced by gritty broken glass girl / boy vox and the descending progressions feel like 60's psychedelia swept up by 70's proto punk, 80's punk and 90's grunge tones. LAM's version truly become it's own, a car crashing amalgam of Tropical Fuck Storm, Eagles of Death Metal, X and the Beatles.
"122 Hours of Fear" is a follow up to LAM's hammering 2020 full length "Dead Broke".
- Robb Donker Curtius
* * *
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/likeamotorcycle/
https://twitter.com/likeamotorcycle
https://soundcloud.com/like-a-motorcycle
https://www.instagram.com/likeamotorcycle/?hl=en
Like A Motorcycle is a melee attack with a soundtrack. They deliver poignant earworms for their fellow disenfranchised rejects; working minimum wage jobs while dodging five-figure debt. With their frighteningly explosive performances, coupled with an East Coast hospitality meets knock-your-teeth-out personality, LAM are reigniting the flame in the cynical hearts of seasoned punks, indoctrinating the teenage oddball children of terrified suburbanites, and inviting a morbid curiosity from everyone in between who have never themselves dwelled in the grimy recesses of society… but would totally go to the afterparty.
Like A Motorcycle, punk, post punk, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, guitar driven, caustic, manic alternative rock, pounding, massive punk punches, "122 Hours of Fear", The Screamers cover,
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