Conny Ochs : "Doom Folk"

It was midway into the first song that I asked what has taken me so long to really give this Conny Ochs a serious listen.His songwriting is pretty remarkable. It's like if you took 60s pop songs and made them darker. In some ways it's like stripped stoner rock in others it's like the AOR out of California in 70s but on different drugs. His voice  is a plaintive midrange. Never throwing his voice dramatically around but like Ryan Adams he does make the most of the modest range he does have and puts the notes in all the right places. "King of Dead" might not be as strong as the opener and the harmonica gives it more of a 60s folk flair, but it's certainly well written. There is more of a "Born on a Bayou" like swagger to "Drunken Monkey".

The first dipping of his toes into something that resembles a ballad on "Moon" finds it being  the first song that I feel doesn't feel measure up against the others. He pulls it back together with the smoky groove that gives "It's all Too Bright" more of a slither.  "Crawling" is another with a smoldering groove. It's when he backs down into more traditional folk that I feel he is not as strong. It's still pretty a decent song , but It could be anyone.There is more of a driving rock feel to the strum of "Oracles" guitar. This gives him the chance to go into his  higher register. Which is far from Robert Plant, but still impressive.  "New Ruins" has a similar feel thought marginally darker. Overall I would not say his sound is as dark as say Chelsea Wolfe or this album really has anything to do with doom despite it's title it is very honest.

The  album ends with "Sweet Delusion" which is back to a more folk direction. Not doom folk, just folk music no different than if Jeff Buckley did it , just with none of his high powered yodeling. I think the strong  songs on this one balance every thing out , so I will round this one up to a 9.5 and see how it sits with me. If you are here for the doom part of the equation, you might find that despite this not being a heavy album it is a really well written one.