Val Emmich's re-release of his 2003 debut album, Slow Down Kid, thrives by epitomizing everything a re-release is supposed to be. It brings to the forefront a beautiful album that went largely unrecognized the first time around, subtracting the bad and adding more good, achieving a sense of well-roundedness.
In 2003, Slow Down Kid was a sloppy try at a debut that had some real clunkers confused as songs ("Rat Race" being the worst of the bunch, a failed attempt to mock the lead singer's child acting career gone wrong). After a little retuning and a couple new songs produced by Mark Trombino (Rilo Kiley, Jimmy Eat World), the new Slow Down Kid knows when to rock and when to turn on the sentimental charm.
The record gets off to a smashing start with "Medical Display," a light-hearted song about wanting to be able to do everything for a person and feeling utterly powerless at the same time. Emmich's vocals carry the track, as is the case on most of the record, when he sings, I just want to see you / Maybe someday / Many miles away / I'll be ready to release you. Quite poignant lyrics for the opening number.
In a blatant rebuttal to the first track, on "Bury Me," Emmich screams, Go ahead and bury me / Go ahead and let me sleep / I'm numb to everything / I cannot feel a thing. The track oozes single material for the harder alt-rock scene that the music landscape seems to be locked into and coincidentally, the song was recorded specially for the re-release.
Several other tracks stand out as well. "Shock" is the single off the first incarnation of Slow Down Kid and builds to a beautiful explosion at the end. "The Patient Patient" is a heart-wrenching plea to a former girlfriend. The album ends with the title track, a gorgeous piano ballad that the casual listener might compare to Ben Folds Five.
If you're looking for a comparison, Emmich sounds as if he graduated from crooner school in the vein of Pete Yorn and Butch Walker while bringing all the raw emotion of Chris Carrabba from Dashboard Confessional without the whining. His band sounds most like Midtown or Los Angeles rockers Transmatic.
And what a vast band Emmich has to work with. Twelve musicians round out Slow Down Kid, making one wonder if the expanded band is a product of the tweaking of the re-release and the recording of new songs. Will the band sound the same in concert as they do on the record? Will the tight drumming be quite as tight? Will the guitar be quite as rocking? All questions will be answered on the next tour this winter, but one thing is for certain. If you give Slow Down Kid a chance, Emmich's beautiful instrumentation and expressive pleas will get stuck in your head and your CD player.
