Music: American Speedway: Ship of Fools

Our Take

Philadelphia based American Speedway may be one of the best new bands to come to traditional rock ‘n roll in quite awhile. When I say that, I’m talking the whisky drinking, rough edged variety rather than what some of the lighter bands of today try to pass off as good old rock ‘n roll. American Speedway’s debut, Ship of Fools, sees the band rolling through 10 songs of fast paced hard hitting riffs that should appeal to the Motorhead and AC/DC fans looking for a newer group to latch onto.

To put it quite simply listeners will either love or hate the vocals, there’s really no other way around it. There are two distinctive styles prevalent throughout the course of Ship of Fools, both of which are extremely gruff and gravely. If you like artists such as Motorhead and even rougher punk bands, then this vocal style will definitely seem very appealing. The lyrics are appropriately sleazy and raw, discussing everything from drugs to finding a rough woman and definitely showcase a band you wouldn’t want to mess with.

American Speedway has some great riffs, and it definitely helps them stand out from the crowd. In a time where rock bands loosely resemble that of their predecessors, it is nice to see a band that goes back to the roughhousing, ass kicking days of the past and makes them part of the present again. Every riff will make the listener want to get up and pump their fists along with the music, and this alone is sure to warrant repeat listens. Ship of Fools does feel a little short coming in at just over half an hour though, but this isn’t that big of a deal.

Raw rock ‘n roll is back with American Speedway’s debut. It is great to see that there are newer groups out there that can provide the same kind of addictive sleaze and hard rocking riffs that many of the long running bands out there currently do. Ship of Fools is a very well done debut, and here’s hoping that we see more come from this exciting group in the near future.

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Chris Dahlberg
March 25, 2008