Welcome dear faithful readers, and all
newcomers! Thankfully, today we take a break from the depressing and
terribly personal stuff to talk about something truly important. No,
not politics, religion, nor even science. I'm talking about the
really important stuff, Music.
In truth, this blog is coming several
weeks too late. Other things just kept getting in the way. But at
least its not a four year gap, like the last one! This is just part
one, btw. What I'm going to do is just briefly review all the albums
that I felt good enough about to save to my Spotify 2014 playlist.
That means that most of the records will get a positive review, but
not all of them!
So, without further ado (which is think
is Latin for “bullshit”) here are the first four albums on my
list.
Purson – The Circle and the Blue Door
Well, I goofed on this band. This was
some of my favorite music from 1014. That is, until just a few
seconds ago when I found out I was wrong, and it actually came out in
2013. Oh, well, it's still damn good. Lead by veteran British
rocker Rosalie
Cunningham, they are a good blend of modern psychedelica and
straight ahead rock. Their Facebook page says they are Big Psych,
Facemelter, and Fuzz Wowowpopsong. Stand-out tracks include The
Contract, Leaning on a Bear and Spiderwood Farm. In fact, the
latter is just and instant classic, and will be in my playlist for
years to come.
The song arrangements are often quite
inventive, and the pacing and moods one the album are properly
varied. All the players are at the least competent, and as a band
they are quite tight at times. Still, it feels very organic and not
forced at all. I would happily go see this band if I ever get the
chance.
Instant Album Rating: 8.75 out of 10
The Golden Grass – The Golden Grass
According to their Facebook page, The
Golden Grass plays a “soulful mix of heavy-country-funk-boogie and
progressive-psychedelic-freakbeat,” but if you just want to call
them a Stoner Band, that's fine by me. The album opens with “Please
Man” which is an early 70's soaked hard rocker. And that is pretty much what you get for the rest of the record. Even the vocalist,
Professor Plum Brandy, sounds right out of 1971. Brandy also plays
electric guitar in this power trio, with The Golden Goose on drums
and Heat Lightning on bass.
Yes, they are from Brooklyn.
The album itself is also very old
school. Only five songs, clocking in around 36 minutes. So, its
borderline as to whether its an LP or an EP. Most of the songs are
pretty standard retro-rock, but really well done. If I walked into a
bar one night and heard these guys playing I would be very, very
pleased.
Instant Album Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Radio Moscow – Magical Dirt
Damn, I am so of two minds with this
album. I first heard of Radio Moscow back in 07 or 08 when they
released their self titled debut. I lost track of them until this
one, and on first listen, I was just blown away! They call
themselves Psychedelic Blues, and that's about right. Again, Stoner
Rock works just as well. (Psychedelic and Stoner Rock seem to be a
big thing right now.) But whatever label you put on them, they just
fuckin' rock! The drums are crisp and frantic, reminding me a lot of
Mitch Mitchel, but maybe even faster. In fact, the theme of this
whole record is old school power trio rock played at blinding speed,
best listened whilst driving way too fast.
Hailing from Iowa, Radio Mosco is
singer/guitarist Parker Griggs and whoever he can get to stay with
him long enough on bass and drums to be called a member. Seriously,
it seems each album and tour there is an entirely different line up.
Either Griggs is a major asshole or he doesn't pay very well I would
guess.
Stand out tracks are just about any of
them. The arrangements are tight, complex and just fun. The guitars
are fuzzed out, overdubbed to the breaking point, and panned to the
left or right just like the old days. The only problem I have, and
it is sometimes a big one, is with the vocals. They just don't cut
it for me. Griggs has less range than George Thorogood and is
slightly less pleasing to the ear. But if you can get passed that,
it is a an amazing album, just not as amazing as I first thought it
was.
Instant Album Rating: 8 out of 10
during the instrumental sections, 5 out 10 with vocals.
Black Moth – Condemned to Hope
While generally part of the new Stoner
Rock scene, they have a bit more of a metal feel to them,
particularly early Sabbath era Metal. Two things jump out at you
when you check out this band: first, they have a female vocalist.
Like Purson and other bands I found this year, it really works well
for them. I can't imagine why it took so long for good rock music to
discover the female lead. Heart did it well, and Janis should have
showed everybody that a lady can rock as good as any guy. But it's
still rare to hear.
The second thing that stands out is
that the cover was painted by Roger Dean, legendary artist of many
Yes and Asia covers.
The Leeds band shows a great
understanding of the riff and its fundamental importance to fuzzed
out Metal Rock. They feel heavy and lumbering, like three in the
morning feels when you're just leaving the bar. But, like some metal
(or indeed staggering drunks) there are a few missteps. The lyrics
on “The Undead King of Rock 'N' Roll” are as cheesy as you would
expect from the title, and the delivery of the vocals is equally
iffy. But this is really picking nits, as for the most part
Condemned to Hope is a solid album, yet another pleasant surprise in
my search for new music.
Instant Album Rating: 7 out of 10
That's it for today. There is plenty more great music from the last year to cover yet, enough for 3 or 4 more posts like this! And I promise that not all of it is Stoner Rock, but yes, some of it will be. There is also some Progish stuff (of course), some weird(er) stuff, and maybe a surprise or two. Please come back, and please comment.
1 comment:
Again, an informative and entertaining read. Thanks for the suggestions as I feel I am often lost adrift in the gradious sea of music.. I appreciate the quality introductions and deliveries. Nice to give you an uninterrupted audience!
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