ALBUM REVIEW: Get Off – Motor Sister
There is always some trepidation when an established cover band releases a record of their own material. Add names like Scott Ian (ANTHRAX) and John Tempesta (WHITE ZOMBIE) into the mix and the pressure is certainly on. Though that hasn’t deterred MOTOR SISTER with the release of their record Get Off. Drawing its name from biker culture, the term Get Off means to jump from a motorcycle before an imminent crash. Armed with 12 tracks of “no bullshit hard rock”, the supergroup looks to avoid the same fate as Sons Of Anarchy’s Jax Teller. Following 2015’s Ride, Get Off is comprised of 11 original tracks and is rounded out with a MOTHER SUPERIOR cover. We’ll get to that in due course.
MOTOR SISTER open the album with the high-octane Can’t Get High Enough. With the base instrumental tracks being recorded live, the track feels warm and fuzzy. The sharpness of Ian’s re-tracked guitar riffs blends well within Joey Vera (bass, ARMORED SAINT) and Tempesta’s rhythm section. “I’m not the jealous kind” comes the thick voice of Jim Wilson (MOTHER SUPERIOR) with an intoxicating cadence. The headiness of the vocals hits full force with the addition of Pearl Aday (PEARL) whose soul laden pipes enhance the true rock ‘n’ roll feel of MOTOR SISTER.
For those who believe Aday’s role may be a token gesture, the aggressive Coming For You is set to disprove the theory. Aday takes the reigns and steers the ship towards old school metal. While the change in tone is appreciated, Coming For You falls short of the sharpness it needs. In contrast to the previous track, Ian’s solo here is much longer and encourages us to indulge in enjoyment. Though it does have to be said that after Coming For You, Aday doesn’t take the lead vocal again in this record, opting for dual or backing vocals. It comes as a shame as her voice adds a bluesy tone to the dynamic and should have been capitalised on.
When looking back on the past, we tend to do so with rose tinted glasses. Everything seems to be better than it was purely because of our sentimentality. Musical content is no exception. Bringing their love of 90s hard rock into the modern day, MOTOR SISTER also resurrect some things which would have been best left alone. Slower Sooner Or Later settles in the middle of the road for a tale in exercising patience. This need for patience soon extends to the listener as the song doesn’t escalate as quickly as some may hope. Doing this allows for cracks to show within lyrical content; “sometimes you don’t believe that the change is ever gonna come” feels especially clunky. Later, 1,000,000 Miles shows promise with its dirty riff and fast drums but the vocal delivery feels disjointed, as if the two elements weren’t meant for the same song. Again, looking at the lyrical content, 1,000,000 Miles becomes a shopping list of the things they hate which feels “20 fucking pages long” after a couple of minutes.
Fragmentation becomes a regular occurrence with Get Off. Is it enough to detract from the album as a whole? Not at all. It is however enough to jar certain songs. Bulletproof’s depiction of a relationship turned sour should be laced with venom, yet Wilson’s vocal delivery takes the sting out of the words as he opts for a more melodic approach, slowing his displeasure against the rest of the song. Again, this doesn’t turn us off the track completely – a bass solo from Vera creeps in and paves the way for a crushing guitar solo. Its predecessor, Pain, serves as the record’s ballad which exposes the emotional anguish before the bitterness. “Love is one of those things I could never master” is wonderfully morose. This languishing is one of the highlights of the album but gets derailed by a faster instrumental toward the end with no real build up. Yet MOTOR SISTER quickly recover as Ian’s solo is utilised perfectly to bridge two movements of the song together, if only slightly too late.
At its crux, Get Off is a record which embraces the fun factor this band feels when they’re together. As an homage to KISS, Time’s Up gives a nod to the temptation of a one-night stand. Tongue in cheek? Buy us dinner first, but there is no subtlety here. Telling the tale of a femme fatale leading us into a rather dangerous bout of symphorophilia that could have featured in 1996’s Crash, the playful nature of the jaunty guitars covers up the true nature of what’s being discussed. MOTHER SUPERIOR cover Rolling Boy Blues may feel like a cop out of a closer to some, but this is a staple of MOTOR SISTER’s live shows. In a situation of damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t, the choice to include the track at the end is the most fitting. Surprisingly, this is the band at their tightest. Sounding more polished than some of their original material, Rolling Boy Blues sets the bar for this band to work towards.
As we wait for the album to settle after a couple of rotations, Get Off is a grower not a shower. If anyone’s in search of a perfect metal or hard rock record, this isn’t it. Instead, it’s a jam session with friends -footloose and fancy free. It feels close and intimate between these MOTHER SUPERIOR superfans… and the band’s vocalist. Have they managed to set out of the shadow of the band of their inspiration? No, but that will take some work and some time. It’s a solid effort from a crew of exemplary musicians.
Rating: 7/10
Get Off is out now via Metal Blade Records.
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