Centro-Matic - Flashes and Cables EP
(Misra)
Those days are gone, we've got only pictures now...
With this, Centro-matic offer up a perfect summation of their nostalgic approach to pop. While Flashes and Cables is certainly a well written, competent stab at mid-90's style indie rock, it offers up nothing substantial enough to set it apart from any number of bands operating in the same vein. If you are wondering what exactly I mean, think shitty distortion pedals, 4-piece setup and slightly strangled vocals wrapped around simple song structure and melody- and a few ba -baa-da-da-dums for good measure. Should I compare them to other bands? Is it fair? As a reviewer, I should be offering you something to help you make your decision, so is a reference point such a bad thing? Is it enough to tell you that one of the tracks features a chord progression from GBV's Gold Star For Robot Boy? Yeah, it is.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Flashes and Cables. On repeated listens, it even reveals itself as a pretty catchy record. Ultimately though, it strikes me as one of oh so many albums that wind up on a reviewer's lap that are good enough to make it into rotation but never really stretch into a lasting impression.
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