The final studio record from
the Archers of Loaf
is a far cry from their early days of fast, dirty, and unrelenting
indie rock
anthems, but it is also a phenomenally progressive album for the band as well as a fitting swansong. The opening,
"Fashion Bleeds,"
is the closest the band comes to its days of yore, with a chugging drumbeat and vocalist
Eric Bachman
's strained vocals leading the way. The presence of a keyboard that soon starts to drift in sets the tone for the rest of the record, a dark and moody venture with some unexpected styles emanating from the group. They still get raucous and loud on occasion, but sometimes they mask it under a wave of distorted sounds or in the guise of a slowed-down dirge. The closing title track is also of note, in that its sinister keyboard and drum machine sounds, along with
Bachmann
's oddly throaty and melodic vocals, are exactly what the singer went on to do with his next group,
Crooked Fingers
. In fact,
White Trash Heroes
sounds more like a mix of the two groups than an actual
Archers
record, a fact that anyone familiar with the latter group will certainly realize to be a good thing. This is certainly not the simple and sloppy
outfit that churned out short poppy hits in the mid-'90s, but the band clearly developed into something equally astounding and, with a few listens, the emotion and craftsmanship of these songs prove to be a truly impressive feat. ~ Peter J. D'Angelo