Silver Scooter

As told by Peekaboo Records, with some updates:

Silver Scooter began in the late '90s as a deceptively simple pop trio with the uncanny ability to hit as many emotional chords as musical ones. With their third full-length, 2001's The Blue Law, the band evolved into a sophisticated pop quartet that hit those chords with an articulate precision, using the studio to silken, not slicken, a tasteful sound that was already tight, controlled and, in many ways, perfect. However, beneath the studied polish of their latest record breathes a beast.

Singer/guitarist Scott Garred sings in perfect pitch about smashing his car into an ex's fender. John Hunt's bass lines rumble with a nearly unperceived menace, like strong, deep ocean currents barely felt by pleasure cruise passengers on an otherwise placid sea. Guitars churn out chunky chords, occasionally stepping to the front to deliver a subtle lead melody. Hints of organ and additional percussion embellish Tom Hudson's restrained, inspired drumming. And occasionally, in the midst of a groove so steady it defies metronomes, seemingly random guitar lines careen in and out of control, as if the guitar was played by two people instead of one.

In fact, one guitar was actually played by two people during the taping of "Terrorism Lover," when Garred wrestled for control of a Gibson Les Paul with longtime producer Dave McNair. Silver Scooter recorded much of The Blue Law in this grab-bag fashion, using what most bands call finished songs as mere starting points. Not surprisingly, it works well, and The Blue Law might not only be Silver Scooter's best album to date, but also its most touching, dense and rewarding. This album realizes the promise of Orleans Parish, entrenching itself in record collections everywhere as the album that never leaves, no matter how many times it says "Goodbye."

With The Blue Law's growth in sound and musical maturity, Silver Scooter also expanded from a trio to a quartet, adding longtime friend Shawn Camp on guitar and keyboards following the release of Orleans Parish in 1999. Camp had played bass with Garred and Hudson in various college bands in the Pacific Northwest. He also created the painting on the cover of Silver Scooter's first album, 1997's The Other Palm Springs, as well as the photo assemblage that graces the cover of The Blue Law.

The band is now on indefinite hiatus; Garred records full-time as Super XX Man (pronounced "super double-X man").

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