Motel Motel

New Denver (The Rebel Group)

By Marcell Minaya
Published: August 2nd, 2009 | 12:16am

New York-based Motel Motel are hearty Brooklynites with roots in the Big Apple, New Jersey, and Colorado, making their travels evident on the debut LP, New Denver. The band, comprised of five musicians, lead a bill of talented multi-instrumentalists. Heavy drums, percussion, guitar, piano, organ, and groovy bass are all rocked to the forefront in a fusion of alt-rock and indie-folk Americana.

The quintet is a quadruple threat of a band, writing, arranging, recording and producing all of the 13 songs on their latest effort. This grand feat and strenuous labor of love was accomplished with vigorous determination while everyone managed full-time jobs. The hardship paid off as Motel Motel delivers an excellent, 72-minute musical experience.

Containing the sporadic, lush nature of At the Drive In and the soaring wailings of Thursday intermixed with country-like underpinnings, Motel Motel's unique sound can be perplexing to narrow down as its shift in tempos, rhythms, and vocal styles. Exceptional tracks include the drum-tastic, pulse-racing "Combate" as well as "Tammy's Bodega," a tune that feels like a two-parter coalesced into one.

New Denver is intensely gratifying from start to finish. Unexpected transitions, instrumentals, and punch-drunk vocals shape what is to become the group's undeniable signature. It's an incredible rarity when feelings of impatience begin to creep at the realization that another dose of Motel Motel is probably about a year away.

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