SpineCar - autophile (Spaceboy Entertainment)
J. Eric Smith , Metroland Newsweekl | Albany, New York USA | 04/05/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Boy, other than to say "this is a really, really good record" or "this band rocks hard," it's pretty darn tough to get your hands far enough around autophile to be able to stylistically summarize it. I mean, just listen to the first three songs: "Home" grinds along in a disturbing aural groove similar to that etched by Korn on their influential "Ball Tongue;" "Stay" wouldn't feel out of place when pressed up against some great stoner rock classic from Kyuss; and "Soul Patch" could almost be a (great) lost Soundgarden track. Ain't too many metal heads that can evoke that many stylistic touch points over the course of thirteen minutes of music . . . and when you note that there's another 36 minutes to go after those first three songs, well, you can imagine the dilemma that a 250-word record review poses. So let's just boil it down to those basic introductory points again, shall we? autophile is a really, really good record, and Spinecar is a band that rocks hard--not to mention smart, and that's worth a lot in a world of dumb Korn, Kyuss and Soundgarden imitators. Singer-guitarist Eric Braymer, bassist-vocalist Larry Gagliardi and drummer Art Bernstein deserve rich credit for thoughtfully mapping the point where those bands--and dozens of others--intersect, creating a unique and impressive sound of their own in the process. And the nicest thing about the musical place where they end up is that it's radio ready as all get out, proving that you don't have to dive for the lowest common denominator in order to create art with broad popular appeal. That makes spineCar a band worth pulling for. Go!"