DUSKWOOD - “The Last Voyage” - (Ripple, 2023, Somerset, England) -

I’m sitting here listening to DUSKWOOD’s “The Last Voyage & gazing at the digipak. Shit, I didn’t know these guys even had a first voyage, let alone a last one. Fact of the matter is, they had a debut album in 2016 and two EP’s in ‘20 & ‘21, all of which escaped grizzled old yours truly’s attention. Now they’ve fashioned this sophomore full-lengther (& first on Ripple) & despite its terminal-sounding moniker, I’m thinking the quartet is just getting started.

 

Here’s the thing. This here rekkid is a pounder and the only thing final about it is that it brings their current lyrical story to a close. Straight from the horses mouth, DUSKWOOD says ““We wanted to create something that would immerse you. Writing songs about our small-town lives, or the next new trend just doesn’t interest us anymore. Hopefully what we’ve created will allow you to kick back with a glass of liquor, close your eyes and get swept away to another dimension.”

 

Indeed, from the thematic standpoint, “The Last Voyage” isn’t a chronicle of someone sleeping off a drunk at the local pub. It relays the ending chapter of the story of a wandering space cowboy & song titles like “Gammon Lord,” “Blackhand,” “Iliad” & “Skyriders” support that notion. And it’s not just the lyrics that convey an epic adventure. Sure, there’s aspects of stoner royalty like KYUSS & Maryland maulers CLUTCH in the musical pedigree. But these tracks and the other 4 that complete the album lend their own depth to the proceedings and give DUSKWOOD a leg up on the rest of the burgeoning genre.

For me, just the name DUSKWOOD conjures up images of windswept desert landscapes, tumbleweed dancing madly backwards across bad roads and the silhouette of a lone gunman projected against the backdrop of a menacing tower. So many of the tracks here profess this soundtrack-like scope. Hugh Landon will open a percussive storm on the horizon, Aaron Tinsley sets bass thunder rumbling across the desert floor. When Greg Watts then opens the riff deluge wide, full & loud it’s the perfect tabula rasa for Liam Tinsley to intone his ethereal vocal tales across in grand fashion. Seriously, if Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower Series” had a metallic bedfellow, this would surely be it.

 

I really like what DUSKWOOD has done on this album. It not only has emerged as a standout release for 2023 but it’s made me committed to go back and listen to their previous records soon. It also makes me believe that while this may be the last voyage of the space cowboy, DUSKWOOD will have a lot more tales to tell in the future.

 

-Ray Dorsey

 

DUSKWOOD:

Aaron Tinsley - bass

Greg Watts - guitars

Liam Tinsley - vocals

Hugh Landon - drums

 

www.ripple-music.com