Opening this package and popping The Stepford Five’s new disc into my player has proven to be a very therapeutic and uplifting experience. Perhaps not “uplifting” in the sense that many of you may be thinking… you see, I’ve been waiting for a good guitar rock record to come my way for quite some time. And after having taken a short hiatus from reviewing, I’ve found the perfect CD to get my motor running again.
With the release of The Art of Self-Defense, I’ve found something much better than a great sophomore album, I’ve found a reason to be hopeful for the next wave of progressive, solid, aggressively confident songwriting to come from the Midwest. I’m not going to kid ya, there has been little more than lackluster showings going on here in the cornfields, but like any fertile breeding ground for malcontent rockers, I see a shining beacon of sonic light burning brightly within the confines of this album.
It’s no secret that their last album, MESH, is housed quite snugly within my permanent collection of rock discs, but this latest effort, bears a more polished, focused attention to detail that puts many other releases of 2001 to shame. The Stepford Five’s approach on this disc is very confident, and while there are still some nods to their predecessors—Afghan Whigs, Catherine Wheel, the Replacements—some new noise has popped into place and given this band a sound all their own. The “polish” isn’t all studio tricks and production work (although that particular element is well crafted and only adds to the total sound of the band), there is simply a cleaner, sleeker feel to the whole offering and an obviously attentive touch to maintaining the raw energy that keeps this band’s sound fresh. The guitars are a little less raunchy, replaced by a crunchiness and bright glint that reels off of the melodies and leaving ‘80’s and ’90’s sounds far behind.
This more modern version of the band feels very comfortable, and their comfort and confidence in their performance shines clearly through the material. “Pretty Exit”, while it does throw back to SubPop/Whigs’ (think “Turn on the Water”), seems to serve as a reminder of what the band is all about while making the transition into a new chapter of their progression as artists. I could easily say that I stumbled into something great when I listened to this record over and over and over again, but I honestly waited and wanted to hear what came out of the studio next. Boasting a tighter sound with songs like “Continental Drift”, “Foot Soldier”, “The Fall”, and the closing track, “Showing Through”, I have reason to anticipate that The Stepford Five will be ready to show their audience, and anyone who will listen, what it means to rock the joint in the future.
Their style is heavily influenced by their favorite artists, like many musicians, but their ability to draw inspiration from, rather than imitation of, a varied landscape of musicianship, and then twist it up like a lightning rod to spark their own sound is a key ingredient to their current and future success. They will have a long career in the music business, at any level, if they wish it so. Talent, songwriting ability, ingenuity, and appreciation for rock music will help any band ascend the boundaries placed upon them—whether geographic (c’mon people, Bjork and her Sugarcube mates are from Iceland!), sonically speaking (take a page from Bowie and Radiohead), or simply having the balls to strike out of the “mainstream sound”. The Stepford Five aren’t the second coming, I realize I was building up to something quite enormous there for a second, but they’re a damn good start. One of the best releases for 2001—LONG LIVE ROCK!
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