Release Date:
09/24/2002
Artist:
Ryan Adams
Roots-rock wunderkind Ryan Adams writes songs with the frequency that most of us pass gas. He does so, it seems, without sacrificing quality for quantity. Adams reportedly had enough unreleased material for four albums, and Demolition is but a 13-song sampling of that backlog, a tossed-off gem that for most artists would be a career highlight. The opener, Nuclear, is a tight mass of sly, steel guitar lines and driving power chords, the kind of maddeningly appealing rocker that makes you sure Adams will one day stumble upon a massive hit.
If his songs are any indication, Adams falls in and out of love on a near daily basis, which might explain his songwriting prolificacy. The gentle acoustic guitar and strings arrangement for You Will Always Be the Same recalls the quieter material on Adams 2000 solo debut, Heartbreaker, while Starting to Hurt is a howling ode to feeling good about feeling bad. With the exception of the sullen, drifting, synth-heavy closer, Jesus, nothing here takes wild chances musically, but if Demolition is genuinely indicative of the consistent quality of his demos, keep them coming.
If his songs are any indication, Adams falls in and out of love on a near daily basis, which might explain his songwriting prolificacy. The gentle acoustic guitar and strings arrangement for You Will Always Be the Same recalls the quieter material on Adams 2000 solo debut, Heartbreaker, while Starting to Hurt is a howling ode to feeling good about feeling bad. With the exception of the sullen, drifting, synth-heavy closer, Jesus, nothing here takes wild chances musically, but if Demolition is genuinely indicative of the consistent quality of his demos, keep them coming.