Motocaster has the heavy, low-end sound and punk fury that kids clamor for today, but they also have an affinity for the extended guitar solos and big rock endings of the early seventies. For a lot of people, that spells n-i-g-h-t-m-a-r-e, but no one can say Motocaster doesn't plot an unique course. Regardless of your feelings about masturbatory guitar pyrotechnics, there's no escaping the fact that the songwriting on Stay Loaded is often weaker than a typical Weird Al Yankovich cut. Stay Loaded is an interesting, bombastic debut that leaves plenty of room for improvement. Although Stay Loaded is a flawed and ominously bloated album, it'll be interesting to see what happens if Motocaster manages to cut down on the self-indulgent instrumentals and spends more time crafting tight, interesting music.

--Brian Bruxvoort