May 2002 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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May 2002 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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Pacer’s second album modestly amazes 7 May 2002
Wilmington, North Carolina husband-wife team Kim Ware-Mathews and Jeremy Mathews founded their band Pacer five years ago, reacting against a prevailing local fashion of loud & heavy music. But the avant-folk-rock sound they’ve evolved over the course of two albums is indeed heavy—not as some over-the-top kick-in-the-face; but as an understated, heart on the sleeve, stripped-to-the-bone opening-up. Their new record is the freshest and most gripping avant folk rock this side of 1980’s New Zealand—which brought us The Bats, The Chills, The Jean Paul Sartre Experience, and The Clean. Kim (previously with Tex Svengali and Health & Beauty) sings and plays drums, husband Jeremy (ex Voodoo Squid, Two Headed Dawg, Shake) sings and plays guitar. Bassist Bill Patterson (ex Cruise Control Pills) completes the trio and has been with Pacer from the start. Producer Jerry Kee (Ashley Stove, Kingsbury Manx, Polvo, Superchunk) worked with the band on the new LP at his Duck Kee #8 studio in Mebane, NC. Big Buildings, Small Stars—out 5 March on Kim and Jeremy’s own Eskimo Kiss Records label, with wider distribution since 16 April—is a diverse album, with some tracks sufficiently gentle for folks whose heart rate rises at the sound of new-age pap. But even those songs are raw and artless enough that the rest of us won’t wanna puke. There’s also a high energy indie rocker (Song About It), some jangly pop (Workin Too Hard), some off-kilter folk-core (Find The Time), a couple of poignant ballads (She Makes, Good In It All), and a time-warp evocation of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here (100 Million). There’s innocence in abundance as well as some goofy humor. The album is not consistently strong: I suppose I could do just fine without two of the tracks, Aquarium and Telemarket. Telemarket, in particular. I mean, a song, about one of the most annoying aspects of western culture, that doesn’t tell me anything new? Please. But weak spots aside, I love this record and its bounty of pretty lo-fi textures, melodic creativity, and guileless, personal lyrics. Most captivating, besides Kim’s clear & ringing vocal delivery, is the band’s knack for using timing changes within their songs as a musical device. No other band within my field of view does it better these days. So, I only recently discovered this record, and found it good enough and surprising enough that I just had to tell you about it, even though it’s slightly old news, as the disc’s been out two months. I give it three bites out of five. Rockbites ratings 5: life changing, 4: stunning, 3: captivating, 2: amusing, 1: annoying. Pacer play an acoustic show Sunday morning at 10 am, 19 May, at Folk’s Café in Wilmington. | Pacer | | Eskimo Kiss Records | | Find The Time (full length MP3) | | CD from Amazon US | | top of page | |
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