For many of
us, this winter has been one for the record books in terms of weather systems.
Flooding out west has become the norm, reservoirs are overtopping, roads are
giving way, and mountains are being crushed by record snowfall. A lot like the
current weather, bandcamp continues to over pour its feed with stellar output
both saturating the scene and washing away any doubt that music has hit a
plateau. Today I flood you with another round of bonanza picks.
The Soul Jacket – Black Cotton Limited
The Soul
Jacket wraps us with a heavy layer of baby making blues. The soft, delicate
textures combine with deep sultry vocals and down home southern rock bliss
providing the soundtrack to every man's desire and each woman's heart. As my
bandcamp compadre Steve Rodger always says, " GODS HOLY TROUSERS!" Ya
this is that good. Think the Spaniard equivalent to Blackberry Smoke.
Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree – Medicine
The only
problem with this 'Medicine' is that the utterly spellbinding, doom-driven
ambiance only fuels the psychedelic flame of dirge lit riff worship. If you're
looking for a cure, you're in the wrong place. If you wish to slather your
craving for euphoric blues with the sweet nectar of atmospheric doom then
you've come to the right place.
Regulus – Smoke
This is
excellent. Took me a while to find but I'm glad I did (Sergeant Thunderhoof brought
me here). High octane, smokey blues with a hard rock backbone and grizzled
vocals that sear like a hot hibachi. Favorite track: The Dregs.
I grabbed the full discography for 30% off a
couple weeks ago and there isn’t any bad material. This is smoking folks.
Red Bowling Ball – Alongside the Traveller
Red
Bowling Ball delivers all strikes with a damn near perfect game of heavy ass
blues. Alongside the Traveller is both an invigorating listen as it is an example
of artistic grit and pummeling rock and roll ecstasy.
Val Cale – Black Stuff
The
ringing psychedelics permeate with progressive blues, balanced by heavy
grooving riffs and cool, crisp vocals piercing like a primitive spear through a
savage summer hide. Black Stuff Matters!
Holy Monitor – Holy Monitor
Holy Monitor
were somewhat of a random find but what I heard was convincing enough with just
a song available on pre-order for what seemed like ages. Low and behold upon
the official release we are greeted with one of the more complete, well
balanced, modern psych rock albums I’ve heard in some time. Wide open and
spacey at time, the vocals reverb with a mellow intrigue and the jangly pop
riffs bounce amongst progressive hooks and retro keys. This is a very
intriguing listen from start to finish. I can’t quite pin it down to one
particular style.
3 Wheeler Band – Space Tribe
I agree
with the rest. This is fast paced, groove laden, heavy
rock n roll. Bluesy solos, trembling bass, and grizzled vocal chops make
3-Wheeler Band more than just a dangerous ATV with guitars.
The Legendary Goodtimes – This is Rock
& Roll
This is
Rock & Roll certainly brings us the goodtimes. If your idea of good times
is rock solid rhythm reinforced with groovy ass bass, walloping drums, funk
driven guitar riffs and blues infused vocals crusted in soul, you're bound to
bob your head in unison with a perma-smile intact.
Take a
moment to digest if needed. I’ve attempted to match the weather as mentioned,
and this is just one storm system of riffs to plague the digital campgrounds.
Forecasts are showing 100% chance of killer riffs, landslides of stoner fury,
psychedelic undercurrents of doom, and atmospheric rivers of rock and roll in
the coming months. Be prepared. You might want to stock up on supplies. Head
over to bandcamp.com to ensure your safety.
-The Huntsman
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