Born to Be a Motorcycle

Born to Be a Motorcycle Artist: Bunky
Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 656605901022
EAN: 0656605901022
ASIN: B0007LXP0E


Release Date: 2005-03-01

Born to Be a Motorcycle


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Indie Rock Indie Rock
Categories | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Baba
  2. Yes/No
  3. Funny Like The Moon
  4. Gotta Pee
  5. Boy/Girl
  6. Chuy
  7. Cute Not Beautiful
  8. Glass Of Water
  9. Heartbunk
  10. Lipstick Life

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  1. Liz Janes and Create
  2. Apologies to the Queen Mary
  3. Illinois

Album Description

Comprised of noted musicians and sound engineers Emily Joyce and Rafter Roberts, Bunky has emerged as one of San Diego's premier live bands, nominated for Best New Artist in Sign On San Diego's Best of 2003 and Best Pop at the 2003 San Diego Music Awards. 'Born to Be a Motorcycle,' the result of three years of work by these perfectionists, promises to surprise even those who think they've heard it all. This ear-tickling collection of weird pop bliss touches all the bases with a blend of punk, art-pop and even ballads. Combine that with a bagful of quirks, expert engineering and absurd humor, and you have an album as lively as an armful of eels. Bunky rocks and croons with equal skill, sometimes in the same song. Joined by a cast of San Diego all-stars (members of Rocket From The Crypt, Castanets, Pinback and more), Bunky emerges full-grown and poised to fly.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Born for this.......2006-12-26

One thing you can say for Bunky -- they have more than enough energy!

This oddball San Diego band blasts out in "Born To Be a Motorcycle," with their rollicking hybrid of arty indiepop, sultry jazz and colourful punk. It takes a little while to get into their sound fully, but it's worth the ride once you've tottered through it. Just don't be surprised if you get dizzy.

"All the kids/alone in the kitchen... I just gotta know/I don't wanna die!" howls Emily Joyce over a frenetic rock beat and a cataclysm of horns. The sound softens up a little with "Yes/No," a peppy pop tune with handclaps, periodic brass blasts, and silky vocals, "If you're cookin' in the kitchen... all the spices that you're missing/are in my heart my heart my heart..."

And then Bunky kicks the style of the first two songs over, for a jazzy folky ballad that erupts halfway through into a rollicking guitar tune ("I was born to be a motorcycle!"). After that, anything goes: slightly demented pop tunes, surreal experimental stuff, dreamlike folkpop, and the shimmering finale "Lipstick Life."

Bunky is a bit more crazed and rollicking than many of Asthmatic Kitty's veteran bands, and has more in common with the recent Shapes and Sizes album. This band is willing to try anything once -- punk, screeching experimental, shoegazer, and generally sounding like Yo La Tengo getting drunk.

It's also a minor superband, with members of Black Heart Procession, Pinback and the Castanets, as well as the two leading people: Rafter Roberts and Emily Joyce, who have worked nonmusically (recording and engineering) with the Liz Janes, the Rapture, Gogol Bordello, the Starlight Mints, and many others.

In this band, however, they lend their talents in a more artistic way: strong vibrant guitar, blasts of energetic brass, smashing percussion, and a colourful dash of synth to make the peppy tunes and surrealistic lyrics pop out. Joyce's high warbly voice is a good counterpart for Roberts' smoother, if somewhat less prominent voice.

Bunky may be born to be a motorcycle, but they were also apparently born to make some solid, fun indiepop. This debut album is one of Asthmatic Kitty's weirdest and most amusing.

5 out of 5 stars

Music Album:

  1. Open for Engagements ~ The Quarrymen
  2. Razorblade Romance ~ H.I.M. (His Infernal Majesty)
  3. Dead Moon's Calling ~ Mad Sin
  4. The Getaway People ~ The Getaway People
  5. Jet City Rockers ~ Cowboys
  6. The League of Crafty Guitarists Live ~ Robert Fripp & The League of Crafty Guitarists
  7. Shawn ~ Shawn Phillips
  8. Julie Doiron & The Wooden Stars ~ Julie Doiron , and Wooden Stars
  9. Friends & Relatives (Dlx) ~ Yes
  10. What's My Age Again, Pt. 1 ~ blink-182

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Guateque ~ Various Artists

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Ademas La Salsa ~ Pablo Milan%C3%A9s