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Gasoline Heart
You Know Who You Are
2006, Mono Vs. Stereo
When you look at music today, you notice all the various subgenres of music. If the band is a punk band, then they‘re not exactly a "punk" band anymore – they’re old-school, new-school, crust, boot, emo-punk, country-punk, hardcore punk, etc. If a band is metal, then they’re not exactly metal – they’re thrash, grind…you get the idea. It gets confusing, and some things get lost in the shuffle – like rock music.
Rock music is almost a dead genre now. Sure, you could basically call anything "rock" lately, but those in the know realize that there is something lacking from most "rock" bands today: heart. This is where a band like Gasoline Heart comes in. Before we try to dissect any of this, let‘s get a few facts out of the way: yes, this band does contain members of alternative and punk bands, but they do not play to their past contemporaries.
Yes, most of the members of this band are Christians, but this is by no means a band that will try to save your soul with an evangelical message.
If anything, Gasoline Heart will save your faith in rock music as a genre, because that‘s what they bring to the table with You Know Who You Are. From the album‘s opening song, you hear the voice of a band with soul, depth and the ability to ask questions that most people forget to ask, or won‘t - a recurring theme throughout. You actually feel relieved and awake that someone who does believe isn‘t afraid to question for the sake of honesty, all the while breathing the air of the past through tones that Springsteen and Mellencamp once painted on the fabric of rock music‘s canvas. Where I think Gasoline Heart are at their best is in their ability to relate without telling overdrawn stories of the songwriters. They are personal, but universal.
You can paint labels on what they do as "Americana" or "alt-country," but I sure don‘t hear it here. What I do hear is a rock album that is nothing but - with the soul and sincerity that makes true rock music universal, the ability to touch you on a personal level without saying too much. You can call to mind Springsteen and Westerberg (both amazing comparisons to have), but at the end of the day, this album rocks.
- SJG
Copyright ©2007