SPEEDEALER - Second Sight
August 13, 2002, 22 years ago
(Palm)
With the rise of White Stripes, Hives, Vines and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, loud rock is back on the mainstream map. And Speedealer can certainly fill those same needs, while also satisfying metalheads with a few punk rock beers sloshing their bellies, Second Sight continuing the band's modest legacy of redneck rock more riffy than Nashville Pussy and more dry and direct than stoner rock. With the album produced by Jason Newsted (to no remarkable effect: it's just there), more press will ensue, the band also benefiting from recent touring with Motorhead. But it's a cool sound without the hype, Jeff Hirshberg hollering like a post-grunge lunatic with a confederate gun rack, guitarist Eric Schmidt providing the zippy, accelerated riffs and military stops and starts that lend the album dynamic (please proceed to 'Blinded', which is basically Molly Hatchet meets Morbid Angel). Slight mark reduction due to tight, clipped material recorded too plainly: these very rhythmic, often complicated songs would have worked better with fat, loose, wet, distorted production values.
