JULY 2009 ONLINE EDITORIALS

Motorhome - Almost Vegas

album cover

By Nathan Harper

It’s all come together. On Almost Vegas Motorhome has taken the disparate influences of their debut and melded them into a beer-and-cigarette-stained whole. This is the Motorhome that was always just beneath the surface, and now they have finally arrived with a sound that is unique, recognizable and, most importantly, open enough to let them incorporate many different styles while still sounding like themselves.

The boozy bravado that one expects from these hard-living lads is there in spades, as is the freedom-loving redneck element, as heard on songs like “Don’t Do That.” But tempering their speed-addled classic-country attitude is the occasional regret track as well. They’ve switched from whiskey to beer, they’ve gone from Marlboro Reds to Lights and have given up cocaine altogether. But even with the clarity of hindsight they’re still not trying to be too good, they’ve just slowed their dogged pursuit of self-destruction a bit.

The sound is also a step up from their debut. Recorded, mixed and mastered at some of our cities’ world-class studios, every mandolin, guitar, Fender Rhodes and high hat sounds pristine. Vocalists Matt Thornton and Matt “P-Mann” Mahern again share signing and songwriting, and though I prefer Thornton’s grit to the P-Mann’s at times Axl-esqe wail, both have improved as songwriters and can now be heartfelt without sounding melodramatic. Though Motorhome may think they’re only Almost Vegas, their dirty, country-fied rock’n’roll sounds fully there.
www.myspace.com/motorhome