(Matador Records)
The new Preston School of Industry album from former Pavement songwriter Scott Kannberg is a lot like a road trip across the country, especially the long drive in the middle. There are some highlights along the way, but mostly you just can't wait to be done with it.
Kannberg, also known as \Spiral Stairs"" from his days as the ""other"" songwriter in his previous band, began this project as a forum for rejected Pavement B-sides.
Many of the songs can be characterized as a mixture of Pavement's fuzzy, distorted noise rock and the similar direction of Wilco's alt-country, though most are not nearly as exciting. Kannberg is an adequate vocalist, but not as melodic as his songs seem to require.
Though Kannberg is from Stockton, Calif., and records in the Pacific Northwest, the album has a definite Midwest feel to it and gives the impression of movement across the plains.
The trip across Middle America might be uneventful, but there is the occasional exciting moment. That being said, the Mount Rushmore of this album is definitely song four, ""Line It Up."" The sleepy tracks that precede it are forgotten as they are pierced by Kannberg's kickass guitar riff. This song is exactly the jolt a listener needs as they drive down the endless highway that is this album. It wakes you up and makes the next thousand miles bearable, kind of like a pit stop at a fast food joint.
The next few songs cannot reach the coolness of ""Line it Up."" The lyrics are often overly repetitive, which gives the songs a catchiness but also lack of depth. Some cool guitar interplay does make an appearance, giving these middle tracks a little redeeming quality.
In the penultimate number, Kannberg actually enlists Jeff Tweedy and company from Wilco to back him for ""Get Your Crayons Out!"" The liner notes attribute Tweedy with playing ""skronk guitar"" and credits multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach on ""ashtrays and tuba keys,"" whatever that means. The abstract sound and weirdness of Wilco is very apparent on this track, and the multiple layers of noise do a nice job of covering up Kannberg's singing inadequacies.
In the final song, the listener has reached the destination and there is a definite sense of closure on the more bass-driven ""Tone it Down."" This is a solid finish to the album and the lack of ringing guitar featured extensively in the first nine tracks is a breath of fresh air.
So is much like a voyage by car through the more boring parts of the country that are best spent sleeping, but occasionally your mom does have to wake you up to witness something cool.
