Pilot Speed

Into The West (Wind-Up)
by Scott Hefflon

I’m a big fan of Muse, and Pilot Speed‘s singer has some of that vocal power, even if the songs don’t floor you nearly as much, they aren’t as rich and dense (when a Muse chorus drops, it really drops, like in the movies when the water races through a tunnel, lifts people off their feet and rushes them wherever the hell it damn well feels like), but this is Pilot Speed’s sophomore release, and they’re from New Zealand, now living in Canada, for fuck’s sake. Not really sure what leniency that should grant them, but it oughtta grant them some. Actually, the singer really nails it when he goes for it, it’s the drum-machine-backed indie rock band that doesn’t engage much. Muse got damn near metal at times, and if you were lucky enough to ever hear Aaron from The Sheila Divine belt out “Like A Criminal,” you know the feeling of your knees giving out beneath you.

Not that bands need to be be as good the very best in their field or not release their music “until it’s ready.” Pilot Speed have a lot to offer. There’s just something very backgroundy about everything but the vocals, and Muse was a band, and Bono has a band that makes it all sound easy, and these guys have yet to master that. But again, for a sophomore effort, these guys are burning brightly.
(www.winduprecords.com)