CD Review: Satellite Lot - Sleepwalk in a Burning Building

Satellite Lot’s newest album is a blast from the past, full of idiosyncrasies from 80’s New Wave with influences from bands like Talking Heads, The Smiths, and Depeche Mode. This band goes back to my favorite era of music with layered synthesizers, expansive use of drum kit, and reverb vocals.

Sleepwalk in a Burning Building starts off very strongly with the first four tracks. “Up Against the Far Right Wall” immerses the listener right into the 80’s new wave vibe with synth-bass, bouncy popcorn synth, and Police-esque vocalizations by female vocalist Sydney Bourke. “Never Again” has a very Shins-meet-80’s feel to it, and that’s supposed to be a very flattering analogy. “Liberation Front” makes great use of laser-synth, and it has a pretty trumpet part that adds a lot to the mood of the song. “Disappointed” dives into a Smiths feel with sullen but outspoken vocals about a hurt relationship. In these songs, the lead singer’s voice is consistent but has enough range to make for a solid vocalist.

The songs that follow are fairly solid, but they aren’t as catchy or varied. The album starts to really pick up again with “One Day…” which starts off with minute-long intro of ethereal, Johnny Marr-style guitar playing and dreamy synthesizer. It then kicks into a ripping guitar riff that dominates the rest of the song. The echoing vocals blend in well with the straight-out rock sound. I’d say this is the strongest track on the album.

“Invalid” is an introspective song with heavy synthesizer that drops out for a crescendo vocal and guitar that starts out very cold and heats up as the song reaches the peak height.

The album finishes off with “Rule Your Own”, an 80’s rock anthem with small references to The Psychedelic Furs. The main course of the song is up-tempo and then halts to a slowdown of intertwining guitars and howling synthesizers. The song stops before the actual track is over and then resumes with a ghastly echo of the slowdown, almost as if to assure that the band will resonate with the listener.

Sleepwalk in a Burning Building is a very tight album overall. It may seem a little repetitive in the beginning with all the crazy synthesizer use, but after a good listen, the listener will find that most of the songs stand strong on their own. I’d highly recommend this album to anyone who’s interested in Portland’s rising music scene, and especially to people who appreciate the crossover of electronica and rock.

You can stream the entire album on Last.fm and see if you like it as much as I do!