Two years after forming in the ashes of Deadpan World, The Guns of Detroit are slated next week to release their first CD -- an eight-song indie-label offering that should cement their standing as one of College Station's most likely rock bands to garner a national following.
That's not a prediction. As with all up-and-coming bands, a lot is dependent on perseverance and blind luck for such a scenario to occur. But guitarist/singer Randall McKay and Co. have proved on Monsterattake's that they have the chops to transcend the local music scene, and they very well might accomplish that.
Monsterattake's was scheduled for release late last month, and the group even held a CD release party at Revolution in Bryan. But a snafu with the CD pressing company left the initial batch useless, and band members resorted to handing out burned copies to fans instead.
The album is expected to hit iTunes and be available through ionikrecords.com beginning Monday, band members said.
McKay, whose distinctive high-pitched range occasionally evokes Kings of Leon singer Caleb Followill, formed The Guns in 2005 with girlfriend Jessica Kempen -- a novice drummer who had played synthesizer in their previous band.
At first the duo was compared to the White Stripes, but these days those comparisons are no longer relevant. Fellow Deadpan alum Daniel McKay -- Randall's younger brother -- was added to the group on bass months later, giving the band a fuller sound that today makes them sound more like the bastard children of Seattle-based progressive rockers Minus the Bear.
The group was picked up last year by small Kentucky label Ionik Recordings, prompting them to record Monsterattake's in a bedroom studio set up by fellow local musician Matt Shea (The Hangouts, AttariMatt).
The album's leadoff hitter, Apocalypse Later, would probably be the most likely candidate for radio play if the band were to receive that kind of exposure. A crowd favorite at live shows, the song incorporates simple, straight-ahead rock with pop elements while repeating, "You've got the beat I need" -- a phrase guaranteed to stick in your noggin and bounce around there for weeks.
Kempen, who came up with a raw version of the song before the McKay brothers added layers to it, claims the different sound is the result of her limitations as a musician.
"All I can play are two-string power chords," she said. "All I know how to do are pop-punk songs."
Most of the album's other songs fall into more of an '80s-era, progressive rock groove with tracks such as Caligula's Sister, Quick Hands and Heys and Hellos.
While perhaps not as radio-friendly, Quick Hands is the type of catchy anthem you might expect to hear at Emo's in Austin, or hell, perhaps someday on a stage at Austin City Limits festival. Animals Out Killing, meanwhile, is perhaps the most inspired by the '80s (only partially because the main lyrics, "You're in the danger zone," are reminiscent of Kenny Loggins' Flight in to the Danger Zone from the Top Gun soundtrack).
"Lyrically, I was trying to go back to Top Gun, the '80s workout sort of beats," Randall McKay told Spotlight. "Our music has a lot of that in it."
One of the strongest songs on the CD is Rabbit Holes, thanks in part to Randall McKay's strong vocals and Daniel McKay's driving guitar (with Daniel a stronger soloist, the two often switch off guitar/bass responsibilities). The guitar line at times sounds somewhat reminiscent of old Alice in Chains, at other times like a slightly slowed down Dick Dale record.
The only two soft spots on Monsterattake's are throwaway track Syeh Dna Solleh (Heys and Hellos written and played backward) and the last track, Flew Fly. Solleh is just silliness that isn't quite as funny after the first couple listens. Luckily, it lasts only 39 seconds.
Although the weakest of the serious tracks, Flew Fly isn't necessarily bad. It just doesn't transcend the local music scene and set new standards as the rest of the album does.
Then again, if that's the worst criticism that can be offered, The Guns are doing pretty well for themselves.
• Craig Kapitan's e-mail address is craig.kapitan@theeagle.com.
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