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With the current renaissance of the one-man band genre, it's pleasing to see that we now have a modern-day figurehead worthy of rock’s glorious past.
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Far from being a one-note repetition of life in the Big City, Malin's production has turned The Heat into a multifaceted rock and roll onslaught.
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BlenderOrgan-laced acoustic ballads like "Block Island" are a tad too drowsy for the disc's tough topics. [Aug 2004, p.134]
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Malin's strained whine makes his earnest lyrics sound more pretentious than they probably are.
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Overall, it's a solid, unashamedly honest portrait.
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The Heat doesn’t offer a dramatic change from its predecessor stylistically.... What it does have is more energy, better material and more focus.
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Q MagazineSees him progressing further towards becoming a punked-up Bruce Springsteen. Trouble is, someone's got there already--his best mate, Ryan Adams. [Jul 2004, p.118]
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He's skilled and inventive with his work as a musician, but the aches and pains of songs like "Swinging Man" and "God's Lonely People" fall short of what Malin delivered on The Fine Art of Self-Destruction.
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MagnetA hungry batch of songs that finds Malin wandering the avenues and uncovering compelling stories wherever he goes. [#64, p.100]
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UncutWhereas the fucked-up, punk attitude [Ryan] Adams feigned on Rock'n'Roll was based on little more than pique, The Heat is all genuine passion, brimming with energy, anger and great tunes sandwiched between the dense guitars. [Jul 2004, p.114]
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The Heat compares favorably to PJ Harvey’s Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, offering the same NYCentric references (“9-11 baby boom”), gruff, understated guitar work and narrative aptitude. These are Malin’s stories from the city and they don’t disappoint.
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These are familiar tales of lost women and running men, but the sting and color in Malin's language and voice put you right by his side in these noisy bars and deserted bedrooms.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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Sep 15, 2014
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PeterMSep 24, 2005the rockers are great, with the slow tracks a bit boring. well worth it. but get '...self destruction' instead - that's a maserpiece
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ZachLFeb 13, 2005