Album Reviews

- by Tom Dumarey

With ‘Alone In The City’, Portland’s Stoner Control has a new album that comes with 9 songs of the loose and jangly variety. They have taken the energy associated with pop-punk, the melodies of bands like Big Star and coupled it to the slacker sounds of say, Pavement.

It’s not exactly hard to figure out what producer Hutch Harris saw in this band that made him want to work with them. There are plenty of moments on here that made me think of The Thermals. And The Posies, Built To Spill, Teenage Fanclub and Superchunk.

All of the songs on ‘Alone In The City’ bounce along nicely and sound so spontaneous it’s almost hard to believe they were written prior to entering the studio. If that makes any sense. Yet for all of its upbeatness, the material seems drenched in melancholy and comes with a sense of longing that only makes them even more endearing.

Track listing:

1. Hollywood Hills    
2. Gimme Some Space    
3. Local News    
4. Never Be You    
5. Foregone Conclusion    
6. Wanna Go to the Movies?    
7. Short Round in Menajejob    
8. Little Baby    
9. iPhone