Album Review: The Motorcycle Industry - The Only Friends Worth Having

It's not everyday that you'd expect to find your new favorite band sitting on your doorstep. From the day I received The Motorcycle Industry's full-length, in late 2008, the Brooklyn three piece set the bar pretty high, until now. ‘The Only Friends Worth Having’ EP is four tracks of pure ear candy.

Opener, ‘Paul Newman and a Ride Home,’ with its contagious harmonies of, ‘Once your gone, you're gone for good,’ by front man John Langan, is so infectious that it'll be stuck in your head for days. With guitarist, Michael Weiss', Back To The Future style solo, after the second chorus, you’ll think you were riding in the DeLorean with Doc Brown, being transported back to 1985.

‘French for Tigers’ proves the band have mastered the art of writing a perfect song, and make it look so easy. ‘Electric Education’ shows the more serious side of The Motorcycle Industry, with a stripped down acoustic, whereas keyboard oriented track, ‘Possessed,’ shows a progression from anything the band has done in the past. It's more up beat, but still has the same classic characteristics of the band.

‘The Only Friends Worth Having’ is a complete step away from their debut LP, ‘Electric Education,’ and will give most fans a shock at first. The band have definitely gone in a more poppier direction than before, but if this is the way The Motorcycle Industry is going, count me in. 2010 is going to be their year for sure, without a doubt.

5/5

‘The Only Friends Worth Having’ is out February 19th on Audubon Records.

http://www.myspace.com/themotorcycleindustry

- Jon Ableson