Burnt Orange Heresy

This eight-track limited-edition tour disc marks some of the best songs yet by Dayton, OH's Swearing at Motorists. The duo of guitarist/vocalist Dave Doughman and drummer Don Thrasher assembled a mini-album worthy of many close listens. Doughman starts off the disc with understated vocals and acoustic guitar on the tender "Cuando Nos Veramos." After a brief instrumental, Doughman's heart-on-sleeve vocals return on "Transconintental (Drunk Again)," which features more of the band's trademark tempo changes and somber Midwestern narrative. Thrasher's solid drum work provides a solid backdrop, and the song, like many of the band's efforts, comes to a sputtering, unexpected conclusion. The band attempts an electronic mini-song on "Send Weed" on track four, and it becomes clear that they decided to frame their traditional tracks with mini-instrumentals this time around. On track five, the band covers Richard Thompson's "The Calvary Cross." "Borrowed Sorrow" is new terrain for the band, as synthesizers dance in front of Doughman's vocal backdrop. The duo saves the best for last, finishing with the remarkable "Running Out (of Things to Say)." This is classic Swearing at Motorists, as Doughman aches out reflective lyrics, and the song structure offers a wealth of stops and starts. In the end, the disc offers less music than the band's full-length discs, but the music is no less awe-inspiring or well-crafted. The disc was recorded at House of Hits Studio in Dayton, with the help of guest musicians Rod Boggs and Tom Byrne. Secretly Canadian Records released the disc in 2000.