Swearing At Motorists - Number Seven Uptown

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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Review

No longer heard in Guided By Voices, the band's former drummer, Don Thrasher, has got together with Dave Doughman to form Swearing At Motorists. Well most motorists need to be sworn at, but with this duo its seems that when they're not cursing wheel maniacs, their swearing isn't particulary aggressive. These are everyday stories told from a slightly different angle. It's an album that's over before you notice. One day in 40 minutes sums it up neatly.Whereas there's plenty of action outside, Swearing at Motorists stay indoors, avoiding the rush and waiting till it is all over. What was all the fuzz about anyway is probably a question justifiedly asked by Swearing at Motorists often enough. Frank Allison has played music in a similar style for many years, but Swearing At Motorists are much less country folk. They're from Dayton, too big for small town wackiness, but not a place with a huge selection of movies either. 'Maybe Zorro' poses such a question. There are just three films to choose from, and the track is, as a result, correspondingly short. A lot of the tracks come on and disappear, leaving just a trace of an impressionistic story. Pizza, guns, pictures 'n booze all get mentioned but only in a very casual way. 'Number Seven Uptown' isn't really about suburban boredom though. It's a very genuine album. There isn't a lot of money wasted on production and mixing but it is done with care. And for the most of it, there were only two musicians to be recorded, a pair of mid-tempo indie rockers getting an occasional helping hand from a lapsteel, mandolin, trumpet and organ, and this way the concept of the album remains true.Swearing At Motorists should be your favourite past-time.

Track Listing:-

1 Flying Pizza
2 Inadvertent Christmas Song
3 Thin Man From North Main
4 Prelude To A Miss
5 Numbers Have Too Many
6 Dog WIth The Lampshade Head
7 Bullet
8 Calgon Take Me Away
9 Maybe Zorro
10 Talking Pictures
11 Flying Pizza (Acoustic)
12 Left On Forest
13 Three Wishes
14 Drunk On Monday
15 One More Next Time