If Dave Doughman wasn't making music and being a near-constant road tour demon vagabond, he might very well not be on this planet anymore. His energy, passion and skill, however, are not, as they are too specialised for a regular human being to possess. As a result, if all of humanity were Dave Doughman, there'd be no planet Earth. So either way, we are stuck with the proud Dayton, OH's Swearing At Motorists, a two-person juggernaut rock machine that is the saviour of life, as we know it. Unlike their previous albums (this is the first to feature drummer Joseph Siwinski), this one is more refined, bringing in various outsiders (presumably Siwinski siblings and others in the Siwinski lineage) to create a smoother rock experience. Doughman is up to his regular brutally honest (and sometimes sweet) introspective self, singing about the girl from the road (or the one left at home) and the overall need to "move on" with life, jettison disparity and leave it to the buzzards on the side of the road. The music is food for your brain; Swearing At Motorists still have that '50s rock ballad, au Mexican feel to them, burning your brain in the right way, whereas something like syphilis and bad Mexican food would burn your insides the wrong way. Dave Doughman might know something about this and he'll be in your town soon to tell you about it. Long live rock.
(Secretly Canadian)Swearing At Motorists
This Flag Signals Goodbye
BY Roman SokalPublished Jun 1, 2002