Ride the Fader

AMG Review of Ride the Fader

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Working from the basic foundation they established on Gone Glimmering, Chavez spins off into new territories on their second album, Ride the Fader. Equal parts post-hardcore punk and prog-metal, Chavez's music is intellectual guitar rock -- riffs are fractured and self-consciously asymmetrical, winding in on themselves and then turning inside out. What prevents Ride the Fader from becoming a tedious, pompous exercise in experimental rock is visceral directness, combined with detail. Chavez is a powerful, muscular band, capable of giving their densely packed songs a startling immediacy.