The Vehicle Birth

Tragedy (Crank!)
by Celine Hania

I’ve heard of this Boston band over the last couple of years but never gave them a chance until Tragedy fell in my lap and I saw them open for Archers of Loaf. They’re good both on CD and onstage. “People that don’t talk a lot are thinking about what they’re going to say.” Somehow I don’t see the relation between that lyric and “we need to find the girls, playing with their hair.” With other songs, like “Crack Farm,” “Yankeedom,” and “The Discovery of Oxygen,” their quirky, nonsensical lyrics are reminiscent of They Might Be Giants. As for the music, we all know what indie rock sounds like, and though they sometimes conform to the repeated guitar emo crunch with slightly off rhythm, lulls, and the other typical indie stereotypes, they don’t annoy you. It’s well done, not overdone, not tedious, and by no means boring. “Marathon” really resembles what a 26 mile run would feel like – hard, painful, and constant. It’s also one of my favorite songs. Their slower songs, “Lifehighschool” and “Daycap,” bring Hum to mind, while some of their other stuff has a Sunny Day Real Estate feel. If indie’s your thing, than this is one CD that belongs in your collection.
(1223 Wilshire Blvd. #173 Santa Monica, CA 90403)