Superdrag
Last Call for Vitriol
Arena Rock Records
by William Michael Smith

Talk about dissonance. Knoxville powerhouse outfit Superdrag threw me for a complete loop by opening their latest recording with quiet acoustic guitar strums. Well, have no fear; no song titled "Baby Goes To 11" could be expected to remain quiet and acoustic for long. With these high-voltage rockers, it lasts all of 15 seconds (teasers!) before Don Coffey begins to pound his drum kit like a piledriver operator and John Davis's unmistakably sweet voice takes us into the territory that Superdrag has always inhabited, the blissful state of power-pop. As usual, Davis's lyrics are smart and sticky-sweet, perhaps even more so now that he's married. Just as the passing of Mr. Davis's grandfather was thematically present throughout the band's previous album, his marriage, mate, and maturation permeate the material here.

She's one in a billion
With lips of vermilion
She created the heavens
Baby goes to eleven

(OK, so maybe he's still in the honeymoon stage )

Since releasing In the Valley of Dying Stars, Superdrag has added former V-Roys guitarist Mic Harrison. Harrison, who recorded a rootsy rock record with The Faults before joining Superdrag, is a solid fit for the band, able to pour on the high-octane rock or to work effectively on the poppier mid-tempo material. His guitar work meshes completely with Davis, Coffey and bassist Sam Powers. I don't know if the acoustic strumming or the snippets of steel guitar on the country-pop "Safe and Warm" are a product of Harrison's influence, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were. The album also sees the emergence of Powers as a songwriter and vocalist. The additions of Powers and Harrison have only broadened Superdrag's ability and range.

For every rocker like "I Can't Wait," "The Staggering Genius," or "Remain Yer Strange," there are corresponding tracks that are unadulterated sweet '70s style power-pop, like "Extra-Sensory" or "Way Down Here With You." Superdrag proves they have mastered their home studio with the smartly layered harmonies and subtle keyboard backing tracks. On "Her Melancholy Tune," the band riffs on George Martin/Beatles studio techniques, resulting in a warm tribute to a primary influence that sounds like a tossup between the songwriting and arranging styles of Paul McCartney and George Harrison. In fact, one of the most notable traits of Superdrag is the ability to incorporate sounds and impressions from their seminal influences without being in any way ironic or musically plagiaristic. Band names like ZZ Top, Beatles, Cheap Trick, Big Star, even AC-DC pop in and out of one's head during a trip through Last Call for Vitriol, but there is no "ah, they stole that" reaction.

One other note of maturation and change marks the album. Knoxville is a hard-drinking town and its musicians hold up their share of the load. Along with his marriage, Davis has reportedly quit drinking. As is Davis's wont, if it's happening in his life it makes its way into his lyrics. If this is not the case, then "So Insincere" is... well, so insincere, as Davis expounds on the realization that drinking himself into oblivion night after night finally makes no sense and all he wants is for the woman in his life to drive him home.

Last Call for Vitriol shows an already self-assured, purposeful band growing without going through the growing pains so many bands exhibit after personnel changes. The singing is sweet and bright, the lyrics intensely personal and current, and the music faultless whether the band is riffing on an uptempo anthem or hitting a groove full of melancholy and introspection. Now, when is MTV going to wake up and smell the Coffey?

* Who says there's no pretty boy bands in Knoxville? Check it out for yourself at www.superdrag.com or click on www.rockingvan.com The logo alone tells you something about the level of coolness these guys operate on. The band has just finished a new video, so look out for "The Staggering Genius" if anyone at MTV still has any brain cells functioning.

Photos courtesy www.superdrag.com.

Contact William Michael Smith at wms-at-rockzilla.net

 
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