Megafauna : "Olympico"

The first thing that strikes me about this band from Texas is how the vocals of Dani Neff help set them apart. They are sugary in an pop fashion that does not succumb to normal pop sensibilities. There is harder rocking under the surface of these songs. It opens with a fairly brisk groove as she declares the time has come to "say goodbye to normal people" .  The second song it takes longer for the harder elements to creep in, but the songwriting has more going on than the legions of bong worshipping rockers that come closest to what is being done here. There is an almost garage rock quality to the guitar attack rather than anything resembling Black Sabbath or Thin Lizzy which is the direction most bands head in.  This sound is more pronounced on "Bi-postal". The vocals taking on a quirky coo further distance this band from their peers."Capsize" finds the guitar getting more direct and almost as aggressive as AC/DC in the manner the riffs begin to go for the throat. Her vocals continue to offset this fact. 

They take a drastic turn into 60's lounge tinged bossa nova on "Sometime Island" . Things continue to head in a weirder direction on the dreamy jazz like shuffle of "Yellow". Her vocals float with a more subdued ambiance here. The song is more listless and wanders around rather than grooving with rock undertones. The guitars and vocals both sit in a really nice place for this one. They return to a more tense rocking motion with "Dozer". The palm mute guitar moves with a anxious twitch that clashes against the vocals. The chorus takes a more angular approach. I can here a slight post-punk influence if we are talking Gang of Four. 

"Lookout Mountain "finds them soars back off in more of a Pink Floyd direction. The heavier guitar riff, is a little more King Crimson like, but it circles the same 60s acid rock pentagram. She flexes her vocals chords in places her a little more. I appreciate hearing her belt it a bit. Then when the pace picks up at the four minute mark we are back in stoner rock territory. They allow the drugs to fully kick in on the more sublimely serpentine "Rage of the Queen" that goes full on prog. I will give this album a 9, as I like it a great deal and can get down with their unique creative vision here.