Goodbye

Singer/guitarist Scott Garred's farewell in the title track from this new EP is more comforting than absolute certainty about what awaits just over the horizon. Small wonder that it's slated as the lead-off track on Silver Scooter's forthcoming album, The Blue Law, scheduled for February release on Peek-A-Boo Records. Silver Scooter began as a deceptively simple pop trio with the uncanny ability to hit as many emotional chords as musical ones. With their third full-length, the band has evolved into a sophisticated pop quartet that now hits those chords with articulate precision. This four-song EP precedes The Blue Law by several months and offers a sample of what's to come with three Scooter originals, plus a stunning rendition of New Order's "Run." Following the release of their previous album, Orleans Parish, Garred, bassist John Hunt, and drummer Tom Hudson added longtime friend Shawn Camp to Silver Scooter's permanent line-up on guitar and keyboards. Shawn played bass with Scott and Tom in their PacNW college band. He also created the painting on the cover of Silver Scooter's first album, The Other Palm Springs, as well as the photo assemblage that graces the cover of The Blue Law. As always, Silver Scooter uses the studio as a tool to silken, not slicken, a tasteful sound that was already tight, controlled and in many ways, perfect. However, beneath the studied polish of their new record breathes a beast. Bass lines rumble with a nearly unperceived menace, the way powerful ocean currents are felt by pleasure cruise passengers on an otherwise placid sea. Guitars churn out chunky chords, occasionally stepping to the front for a subtle melody. And, in the midst of a groove so steady it defies metronomes, hints of organ and additional percussion embellish Silver Scooter's elegant pop songs.