Album Review: Night Torn Mad - Release "1.21"

Night Torn Mad, the Louisville, KY based band, started off the week with the release of  their first record "1.21" on Little Heart Records and is available on iTunes The band will be closing out the week with an album release party tonight, 10/23/2010, at Scull Alley.
Night Torn Mad consists of Kris King (vocals, rhythm guitar), Jeremy Heyer (drums, percussion), Aaron Williams (bass guitar) and Matt Thomasson (lead guitar), whom all of which are in no way new comers to the Louisville, KY music scene.  Kris is a former member of Mr. Blonde and current member of The Villains. Jeremy is a founding member of the the band Furje and also a current member of Double Down. Aaron Williams is former bass player for Mr. Blonde and current member of Double Down. Matt Thomasson is current member of Double Down.

With that being said, what can one expect from "1.21'? Well , with influences ranging from The White Stripes/Raconteurs, Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon, The Strokes, Radiohead, Bob Dylan, and Levon Helm, their is a bit of everything. However, its undeniable that the unifying theme and overall sound of the record is undoubtedly what lead guitarist Matt Thomasson described simply as "Red Blooded American Dirt Rock." With, a description like that one may still be asking what exactly that entails.
Thomasson, accustomed to playing heavily influenced prog/psych rock, went on to say, that "That 1.21 is a collage of 4 talented musicians, from different walks of life collaborating with each other, and growing together. Night Torn Mad is an equal distribution of creative input. None of it is technically difficult" (although one would be hard pressed to to just up and nail Thomasson's leads in my opinion). When speaking of 1.21 Thomasson added, "we consciously chose to make music that was fun to listen too. The lyrics are art, for the listener to determine, with the songs written so the listener can make their own. The lyrics may seem vague, or unclever, but they are designed so people can easily digest them, and make them a part of themselves."

On 1.21 these goals are achieved with flying colors through its entirety.  The record's ripping opener "Escape From Mars", serves as a blueprint for the criteria stated above from Kris King's sing along chorus, Heyer's faux garage rock drum beat, Williams' undistorted driving bass line, complete with a drop out-low end,bridge setup, for a ripper from Thomasson. The elements are there and they work perfectly.  The song "No Fame" definitely serves as a cornerstone of the entire record, with its Tom Petty esque riff and infectious chorus it achieves pure rock n roll without coming across as cheap. Not to mention the added bonus of Thomasson really strutting out on the track as he fully displays his signature no holds barred lead guitar style. The record includes the ballad "Throw me in The River", with a quintessential KY rock sound and lyrics to match. The record's closer "Fall of Rome" is something else in its own right, Williams' driving bass groove pairs perfectly with Thomasson's infectious lead theme guitar lick, mixed with a guitar tone and vocals from Kris King reminiscent of early 90's Dinosaur Jr.
If you are in the Louisville, KY area tonight then most certainly check out Night Torn Mad at Skull Alley.