Garage Rock: Chariots Race's Existence EP

Hüsker dü Hüsker Dü? (Do you remember Hüsker Dü?) Hopefully you remember the seminal indie band of the 80’s.

Hüsker dü Chariots Race? (Do you remember Chariots Race?) Maybe not, or at least not yet. Guitarist Greg Steffke’s lead vocals paired with Erin Wolf’s voice create that falsetto wash common in Hüsker Dü. Add to that guitar licks which pick up tones from the Minneapolis indie bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum. Run that through the early 90’s with bands like Mother May I, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, and others blasting out the power rock of the 80’s with a new spinning intensity. “Western Thrill” sounds like the sound of Galaxie 500 with its atmospheric guitars, but Chariots Race has taken that 500 down off its blocks in the field and has moved it back onto the road. The song actually culminates in a classic rock guitar solo (is that Black Sabbath?).

Marian the Librarian, I mean, Brian Simons plays bass guitar, girding the rhythms with the pluck of punk, the slap of jazz funk, and the energy of rock. Simons by day is a reference librarian at the Manitowoc Public Library who sometimes has to do research projects for a local pastor in town (me!).

When “Covent Garden” starts with a rhythm played on the side of the drums and a vocal sung through a tin can, and then jumps into the rushing water, you’re ready to go flying down the rapids with them. This is the kind of thing that makes me hope that you’ll all hüsker dü them.

Thank you to the Chariots Race and Divot Records for the review copy.