The Martha Dumptruck Massacre

The Night We Fell EP

The Night We Fell is the first release by Syracuse basement-party veterans, The Martha Dumptruck Massacre. This four-song EP covers a remarkable amount of musical ground, from flailing guitar rock to plaintive acoustic meditations, in just over 12 minutes. The songs are reminiscent of early Sonic Youth, but less concerned with bizarre guitar tunings as striking an emotional chord.

The opening track, ‘Give Me Sirius,’ creates an overwhelming feeling of helplessness as singer and guitarist Joel Alter’s vulnerable but endearing voice fights to be heard over the huge waves of guitar crashing down all around it. The dynamics of the song are tremendous, with the trio shifting quickly from the subtle calm of the verse to the swirling maelstrom of the chorus and then back again.

‘Give Me Sirius’ sets the tone for the rest of the EP and lays out an edgy yet emotional blueprint for the band’s sound. The album’s most powerful moment comes when the roar of ‘Sweet Self-Destruction’ dissolves into the heartfelt acoustic ‘God Loves New York,’ which feels like the quiet aftermath of a devastating storm.

Despite the song’s title and lyrics like, ‘Tell me you’re not/ with a girl in the explosions/ Is there a better feeling/ than knowing that you’re wrong?’ Alter insists that the song is not about Sept. 11. Either way, ‘God Loves New York’ is a beautiful and moving song that hits hard and perfectly caps off a solid first release.

Published on February 3, 2003 at 12:00 pm