Bullet Train To Vegas – We Put Scissors Where our Mouths Are (CD)

The first few tracks on “Scissors” are a little bit weak, there is no denying that. A purveyor of this post-hardcore (essentially, more Refused-liked guitar lines and noise rock into the traditional “emo” sound) sound, Bullet Train To Vegas really start to shine during their third track, “The Camera Eye Backbite”. This track benefits from an experimentation with different tempos and general sounds, all connected together with lead vocalist Dan’s words. The weakness that mars the first few tracks of the disc is so much that the band’s short track run-time (averaging about two minutes per track during the first few songs) are not enough to keep the listener’s attention. “On The Disclosure” is the band’s first radio single, with Dan taking a Billy Talent-esque approach to eir vocals that couple with very inoffensive and compelling guitar work. The band’s noise influences come to fruition during “RFLCTR BTZ”, allowing the track to be used in some sort of herky-jerky dance track even as some of the band’s strongest suits (the aforementioned experimental nature and Bullet Train’s own meddling with traditional time signatures) make themselves well known.

The band goes back to a more radio-friendly sound during “And Sorrow’s Native Son”, while still maintaining the influences and disregard for structure that really was the band’s bread and butter up to that point. This track, tied for longest on the disc does what both of the first tracks were unable to do and maintain listener’s interest for an extended period of time. “Feeling God To The Lions” really shows Bullet Train spinning their wheels, as the track does not provide anything new to the repertory of the band. “Removing Ground” is a reversal of that fortune, as Dan takes the mantle of seventies-rock in eir vocals even as the guitars seem to lean a little to that side.

Bullet Train to Vegas does shake up the “emo” sound and really give the finger to complacent stalwarts like A Static Lullaby and The Chemistry, but much in the same way as Victory Records’ Giles, they are not able to put together a coherent album. There are solid, even good tracks on this disc (such as Removing Ground), but the fact is that there are enough weak spots on this disc to erase by and large all the gains of the band during the track. It is during “Fashion The New Black”, where the band drops all pretense and just straight-forward rocks that they can actually succeed. “We Put Scissors Where Our Mouths Are” is an album with tremendous growing pains, but I really want to see where the band goes from here.

Top Tracks: Fashion the New Black, RFLCTR BTZ

Rating: 4.8/10

Bullet Train To Vegas – We Put Scissors Where our Mouths Are / 2005 Nitro / 11 Tracks / http://www.bullettraintovegas.com / http://www.nitrorecords.com / Reviewed 27 May 2005