REVIEW: Car 44, Platinum Holes (Thirsty Ear)
- Joann D. Ball
From zero to 100 in a matter of seconds, Car 44 revs up its indie rock engine on the debut CD Platinum Holes (Thirsty Ear). Driving Car 44 are vocalist Dahna Rowe, guitarist/backing vocalist John Conkle, bassist Rob D. and drummer Billy Crawford. And in no time flat, they have made their mark on their local Virginia Beach, Virginia music scene. Platinum Holes arrives just months after Car 44 was named Hard Edge Rock Band of the Year in Nine Volt Magazine's First Annual Music Awards. The band's hometown music magazine also gave the Best Singer award to Rowe and the Best Songwriter award to band leader John Conkle. And now, the New South's indie rockers are ready to move beyond the local and regional scene for the national big time, fully equipped with their loaded guitar rock sound primed and ready to go.
The well crafted Platinum Holes was fine tuned by former Rollins Band guitarist Chris Haskett who produced the record, and mixed by Rollins Band engineer Theo van Rock and his partner Peter Rave. Thanks to these extremely able mechanics, Car 44's first run, which clocks in at almost fifty minutes, is a trouble free success. Rowe's commanding vocals are precise and clear, and glide smoothly over Conkle's fully ignited, hooky guitars which run on top of a revved up, highly fueled rhythm section.
Car 44 fires up Platinum Holes with the super charged power rocker "Baby It's Me." On this opener, Rowe declares "Baby I got all you need, all of your necessities." And that is most definitely the case, as the band thunders through the propulsive "Fools" and burns rubber on a 'my way or the highway' tale called "Rid of You." Car 44 then changes gears and slows it down for the hauntingly beautiful "John Thomas Lover," which is surprisingly the best track on this otherwise turbo charged release. On the melodic "John Thomas Lover," Conkle's textured guitars are breathtakingly hypnotic as Rowe sings with an ache-filled yearning for a special man to be there in a time of need and fill all of those platinum holes with love and support. On "Rock Star," which Rowe also penned, the longing is not for a lover but for real rock and roll heroes and icons in an era when music is product, images are fleeting, and songs no longer last forever. Car 44 puts the pedal to the metal again on "Fall 4 Me" and charge full speed ahead through the remaining seven tracks, blowing through the hard driving "M-12-11" like a speed demon through a red light.
By putting the money on Car 44, Thirsty Ear's A&R wiz Laurie Stalter has picked a real winner. Right outta the box, Car 44 delivers thirteen great songs with intelligent lyrics and fueled by indie rock attitude. Car 44 is this year's model and Platinum Holes is one of 2000's best independent label rock debuts.
