No one could say that Awesome Car Funmaker's first two releases, Green Means Go and Of Lovers And Monsters were failures. They showed the promise of a local act on the rise. They were littered with shards of brilliance but showed only scraps of the pop-rock behemoth the band's live shows have proven them to be. However, on their latest effort, E For Everyone, ACF finally captures the true sense of their mammoth sound.
The album opens with a surprisingly composed image of the band. Don't Try"" is a smooth, relaxed reflection on the superfluity apparent in American consumerism. Although significantly more calm than other tracks, it stays fresh and doesn't drag on before launching into the rest of the album.
The classic ACF that fans have come to love is not entirely absent, though. Tracks like ""Break Out the Cake"" and ""NASA or CIA"" maintain the pop-dance-rock intensity that characterizes the group.
""Ant County Fair"" is the perfect illustration of how ACF have grown as a band. They dial down the velocity without losing any of the dance-ability of the track. They mix a swaying guitar melody with a swelling synthesizer and signature falsetto as the verse grows into a powerful distortion-driven chorus.
""Sloppy Girl,"" the album's first single, combines synth melodies with a driving bass line, and encapsulates the frenetic melodies that make the band so great.
""Divided States of the Absurd"" is an intimate encounter with a Vietnam veteran, lead singer Ryan Corcoran's father. Although the eccentric lyrics vanish, the track is still definitive ACF, albeit a more mature version focusing on the common disillusionment with war.
The album's final track, ""An Ode To Escape or Explode,"" is a fitting end to an album full of themes of disenchantment with Mid-western life in general. It is the climax of a life built on banality. As the song proves, when ""everybody's on the edge of death; / We are certainly alive,"" and in search for a time when ""everything's uncertain,"" ACF have one message: ""Carpe diem.""
Since 2003, ACF have mesmerized audiences with a relentless onslaught of energy and enthusiasm for each song. One of the problems with earning a name on stage gimmicks and songs about the living dead (2006's ""Brand New Zombie""), though, is that any musical profundity gets lost in the novelty. Recorded at Chris Walla's Hall of Justice and produced by Beau Sorenson, E For Everyone is a triumph in production, somehow capturing both the energy in each track as well as the sonic intricacies.
Though there's no substitute for experiencing the ACF Monster live and in-concert, E For Everyone provides the best documentation of the beast yet, and is a glaring triumph for one of Madison's most likeable bands.
