review: laundry for the apocalypse
by Sean Clancy | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | September 2013
Veering from introspective grooves to powerful, blitzed-out power pop, this self-titled debut from Little Rock quintet Laundry for the Apocalypse packs quite a punch. Lead singer Aaron Sarlo, who also fronts Dangerous Idiots, has an excellent ear for fat, juicy hooks wrapped around smart lyrics. Among the 10 songs here are slow burners like “Mt,” the instrumentals “Carnal” and “Ka Blinka,” and the lovely and fiercely catchy “Sad Today,” with John David Hilliard’s emphatic, beautiful trumpet showing up at the end.
There’s also the punked-up “Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2,” which is, Sarlo bellows, “… the greatest thing I ever sat through,”in reference to the horror flick (and there is no snark involved here, we are assured. Sarlo is adamant in his Zombie fandom, even speaking with the singer/director for an excellent Arkansas Times interview in October). It’s also one of our favorite songs of the year.
Hot tracks:
Besides “Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2” and “Sad Today,” the intense and cathartic “No Despair.”