A Day in Black and White My Heroes Have Always Killed Cowboys

[Level-Plane; 2004]

Styles: post-punk, vintage emo, D.C dischord
Others: Fugazi, Q & Not U, Rites of Spring

Richmond, Virginia's City of Caterpillar defied convention during their short lifespan by combining two seemingly opposing genres of music into one incomparably bulldozing whole. Through a carefully measured mix of the slow, arcing build-ups of post rock and frenzied splatters of screamo, they created a new and unique genre of doom-driven, emotional music, one that would inevitably spawn imitators. A Day in Black and White's My Heroes Have Always Killed Cowboys is among the first wave of releases issued by those under the pall originally cast by their aural grandfathers. Thankfully, instead of an uninspired iteration on the theme, ADIBAW offer a new, heavier variation on the sound.

The opening segment of the first track, "Forward/Backward," blatantly pays homage to the genre's sonic forbearers, as a trembling guitar plucks a line from a gossamer musical aether, soon to be joined by a complimentary second guitar and droning bass, all slowly rolling toward a scream-accompanied build-up; voila, the patented City of Caterpillar formula. Thankfully, before the end of the track, pummeling, tom-destroying fills and flawless drumming execution quickly distinguish ADIBAW. "There Are Objects & Objects" offers more murderous drumming, a neck snapping crescendo, and a memorable sing-along ending. The album flows amazingly well overall, despite
structural similarities between tracks, while the instrumental final track caps the record perfectly.

Only two aspects of My Heroes really leave something to be desired. The short running time is the more easily fixed problem of the two. With even five- to ten-minute tracks, you'd need more than five songs to fully round out this supposed LP. Unfortunately, the second problem is a tougher nut to crack: ADIBAW's vocals are annoyingly nasal, and worse, they are also rather static across the entire record. Hopefully the band can incorporate some new, more innovative vocal elements into their next release, as that is the one major thing restricting this from being an extremely exciting release rather than just an entertaining one.

1. Forward/Backward
2. There Are Objects & Objects
3. Storming the Bastille
4. The Gaze
5. The Illusion of the End