offbeat - october - 2002

POP THAT ROCKS AND ROCK THAT POPS
 

Motorway
Motorway
(Independent)

It's only momentarily obvious how remarkable good pop songs are. When you first hear the Pooh Sticks' 1993 Million Seller, you notice that a verse from Column A is matched with a chorus from Column B, but they could have chosen a number of other possible choruses instead. It's like the parts are modular, and the only challenge is hooking the parts together. Once you understand that, you see the artist's hand in the inventive touches-the joining of the parts, the sly, melodic quotes, the subtle, textural features-but after the first listen or two, you never hear them again. Pop songs are so catchy that the fine touches are obscured by the simple, immediate pleasure of a good tune. Such is the weird alchemy of pop, and such is the case with Motorway.

Enjoy the grand, arena intro to "Firefly" while you can because once it turns into jangly guitar-pop a few times, it'll never sound unusual again, nor will you notice the song doesn't really have a chorus because you'll only notice it's missing a time or two. Soon enough, it'll feel like one's there. Appreciate all the weird sounds in "Elizabeth" because eventually, the guitars, the melody and the hook will make that all sound more background than it is. Make your first listen count. Notice how often drummer Eric Padua uses floor toms instead of his hi-hat to make more sonic space in the high end; notice how backing vocals add momentum as well as deepening sounds. Notice how intimate both Pete Winkler and Colin Brown's voices sound, particularly during the verses. Notice just how many guitars Mike Blum found a way to wedge in, and notice how they're all a little different and how they all add something.
Then play the disc again a time or two and notice that you can't hear anything you heard the first time. Instead, it all sounds like really interesting, attractive pop that rocks.

-Alex Rawls