Geezer - Tales Of Murder And Unkindness from Pat Harrington on Vimeo.
September 13th sees the long awaited vinyl release of Gage
by New York's
own, Geezer.
The ep was originally released as a download in 2013 and
garnered rave reviews from a myriad of music blogs and fans alike. The well
deserved reception was hooked to the fact that the music is a deep and heavy
exploration of classic, soulful blues and raw emotion that takes the listener
on a powerful ride through the epic influences of legends like Son House and
Muddy Waters, but is easily able to inject a modern, heavy element to create
something fundamentally majestic yet raw and unfiltered.
STB Records wanted a bit extra for the vinyl release, so
Geezer recorded a new track exclusive to this offering and that's when the ep
began transitioning into a much more ethereal and delicious product. The new
song, Tales of Murder and Kindness, stretches well beyond 14 minutes in length,
and ultimately serves to define the entire release as extraordinary. It's a
veritable tour de force of stoner power, taking the heavy blues sound Geezer is
known for, and melding that with mind bending psych elements that defined the
Hendrix era to create an incredible summation of all that the stoner genre
entails.
Indeed, few songs have been able to pull off the full blown
stoner experience in the way that Tales of Murder and Kindness has and the
entire project, deemed as the first in STB's new heavy blue series, has to
certainly be counted among the best of 2014 on any worthwhile listing. Sad,
powerful lyrics anchor Mississippi
sludge riffs that give way to a virtual kaleidoscope of psych extravagance. The
mind is left to pleasantly explore and ingest these influences and tones much like
a child in a sandbox on a starlit night. It's a powerful and soothing
expression of nearly a hundred years of music placed upon an altar that a
thousand giants built and cherished, and this one may stand the test of time in
ways that will continue to define the genre for a long time to come. Yes, it's
that damn good.
The vinyl, as mentioned previously, is the first in the STB
heavy blues series and has been designed as a sleeker, more elegant partner to
the regular STB discography and the sound quality of the engineering and
pressings are first class.
Three versions are available for purchase including an 85
copy die hard complete with a custom foil rendition of the cover art encased in
a custom burlap sleeve on 190 gram black vinyl, an obi version of 100 Grimace
purple in ultra clear with swamp green splatter and a "not so
standard" version of 125 on a sexy orange/oxblood swirl.
In the end, Gage is an incredible offering of great sound
quality and masterful musicianship that really sets the bar high for labels to
beat for top year end honors. Miss this and you will kick your own ass with
both feet for years to come.
Ripple Music will also be releasing this version soon on
both compact disc and digital download formats, so please keep an eye opened
for those dates.
- Oldfatbroke
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