November is Doom - Burning Sister : "Ghosts"

 

This duo kicks up a big, dark, dirty sludge sound that rumbles with a more Jucifer-like 90s vibe. The chords come crunching down, but the heaviness is sonically enveloping with raw jagged edges like an indie rock band, back when indie rock was on small labels. The second song 'Stellar Ghosts," has a cosmic trippy edge but at least acknowledges doom's evolution from classic metal, rather than just being an aggressive psych sound. There is more Melvins worship than Sabbath. In fact, the rough-hewn, more Hawkwinded way they got after the song has a touch of punk to it. These guys are from Denver, so I can hear where a ton of bong hits went into the making of this album. There is a moan to the vocals that reminds me of Kim Gordon at times, to further my punk past suspicions 

"No Space or Time" chugs and lumbers along a more grungy path. Not as dark or delirious as the previous songs, it almsot feels celebratory. It has a playful shuffle, eventually descends into an ambiance. "Lethe / Oblivion" is darker and more tripped out as the vocals emerge from a reverbed-out haze. I can hear how this act might wrestle with the sound vs song debate, as the werid sonic swathe of sound bathing everything is a big part of their identity, keeping them from being another indie sludge band. The lo-fi production only adds to their charm here. It does collapse into a heavier stomp by the end of the song. 

"Swerve" finds the bass line carrying the groove, there is almost a Butthole Surfers vibe in how it winds around to bask in its own spaced-out drone. 'Dead Love" closes the album. It feels more like a garage rock take on doom, with some eerie atmosphere mix behind it. I will give this album an 8, it's fun and is a more casual jam with plenty of experimentation. I tend to prefer more vocally driven music most of the time when it comes to this sort of thing and the vocals are more of a texture so if you just want to the spced out stoner thing then this album is for you. 

pst555

David Gilmour : "Luck and Strange"

 

At 78 Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, is not fading away. The title track of his new album rivals almost any Pink Floyd song that is not on "Animals". It's some of Gilmour's best guitar work. Even his voice sounds great, he's not afraid to reach up into his head register for a few notes here and there. This is the last recording keyboardist Richard Wright appears on before his death. But the challenge is, will the rest of the album live up to this? This question is what we seek to answer in this review. Even regular readers Pink Floyd is one of my favorite bands. 

Gilmour's wife, Polly Samson, wrote most of the lyrics. The ambling "The Piper's Call" has more movement than the single. What he did with Pink Floyd is true without being confined to it. While I have not listened to much of Roger Water's more recent solo work, it's hard to imagine it being more like Floyd than the jams this song goes of into to highlight Gilmour's playing. Thus lies the question what makes you think of Pink Floyd more Gilmour's playing or Water's sardonic wit. I accept both "Momentary Lapse of Reason" and "Division Bell' as great Floyd album, so Gilmour's playing is what defines it to me.  Lyrically his wife penned the theme to explore aging and death. At his age, it's a closer reality, though I certainly expect him to outlive Ozzy, as he looks healthier in recent clips. "A Single Spark" is the first song you can hear the age in his voice. 

His daughter Romany sings on "Between Two Points".  She has a decent enough folk voice. The song is mellow and flowing.  'Dark and Velvet Nights' is a grooving blues tune, that allows him to rip out honey-sweet lick with an immaculate tone. The only thing about solo albums is you will find a foray into more conventional songwriting without Waters or Wright to balance him out, thus the song "Sings" , which nothing is wrong with it just sounds like your average middle-of-the-road meandering ballad. 'Scattered' is closer to something Pink Floyd might have done. His lyrical style of guitar soloing is highlighted in this song. The last song is just a more folk-inflected ballad to his daughter also lends her voice, which works well enough. The strong moments from this album and his stellar playing make me give this album a 10. He continues to amaze me. 

pst593

GAVIAL : "VOR"

 This is not what I expect out of Germany. Soulful folk with a boogie back bone. The reverbed out guitar of ''Moden Times" feels like a clearer indication of who this band is than the more introspective musings the album opened with. I would not say it's heavy when they find their groove, but it does not lounge in the sun cracking beets open either. This might be where their European footing factors in. It is darker than what you think of when blues based rock music comes to mind. Wovenhand is a fair comparison. Less apocalyptic in scope. These guys are not digging into their Bibles anytime soon. There is a tension with the sonic bombast. They make the eight and a half minutes interesting. 

'Collector" finds the band , jamming things out more, while holding down a denser groove that is infected with booming ambiance. Impressive sounds, but not as catchy as the previous song when it comes down to song writing. The vocals shift into a more soulful baritone that wanders the simmering sonic expanse they bring to life under them. Cleary he can sing. At time Jim Morrison in feel, the vocals are acrobatic. Not the range of Jeff Buckley but similar approach. The second part of "Circles" also wanders out into jammy territory, with a passing awareness rather than just making music the point of writing album is to make songs. 

At three and a half minutes we get to hear how well they do when things are stripped down to a no frills song. The vocals glide around rather than conforming into a chorus. The ambiance to "Passing' is like a jam the Greatful Dead would get lost in after the acid kicked in. Cool sounds that never get anywhere, and they take too long to not get there. The last song "Flamethrower" I had to give another listen to fully digest. After that came another listen to see if I heard right when the song just drifted off. Yeah that is what happens , but it works in the bigger picture when you consider what this band does. I will give this album a 9, I like what these guys are doing. 

the Black Angels : "Wilderness of Mirrors"

The 6th album by the Texas opens with the kind of hypnotic throb you want from them. It has a dark drone to it that creates a haunting pulse as layers of sound swirl around it. The ebb this sound down for the more rocked out "History of the Future". The reverb drowned vocals occupying a similar space. The bass bring more of a thump to drive the groove of "Empires Falling". The vocals have a clearer narrative as singer Alex Maas awakes from his stoned lethargy.  There is more of a 60s pysch-pop feel to "El Jardin" it's pretty well written not as upbeat as what Neil Diamon write for the Monkees , but heading in that direction. Dynamic it packs more of punch. 

The bleak groove to "La Pared" is a mesmerizing motion driven by the bass line.  There is more of strut in the step of "Firefly"  "Make it Known' is more grandiose in its sonic scope. The slinky manner it slithers around in the bath of atmosphere is not unlike later period Radiohead. One of the album's better vocal performances so far. The melodic guitar line that drips around the groove works really well. The lonely western strum of acoustic guitar on "the River" creates a cool mood, for the 60s sounding amble. The title track also latches onto a more 60s based sound, but while doing so they never get bogged down in being retro or basically make the kind of power pop that is garage rock.

"Here & Now" works off a more urgent folk strum. I like the vocals more emotive quality here. They continue to wander through a dreamy garden of space sounds as the album progresses. To say they are like a cross between early Pink Floyd and Stone Roses on this album would basically be saying they are a variation of Radiohead. Less introspective and more expansive in their drug use would be the best way to handle this comparison. The way they wander gives them more common ground with progressive rock than indie rock. There is more of a freak out boogie to "A Walk on the Outside".  "Vermillion Eyes" ambles down the same Absinth laced paths we have already danced down. "Icon" is more rock based and moves with more attitude in it's undercurrent not unlike back when the Rolling Stones were taking acid. There is an interesting array of ambient sounds sparkling from the corners of the last song. I will give this album a 9.5, for now and see how it sits with me, over all the scop of what they do and the context of how they do it is next level shit from the past that sounds just as original today.  

Gothober -Death Valley Girls - "Darkness Rains"

Been wanting to check out this band as every hot goth looking chick I seen recently have been wearing their shirts. While they are not as goth as their shirts lead me to believe. They do play a dark style of retro rock with enough 60s creepiness to it for me to cover here. The firs song has some punk chaos and vocals oddly set against it. The tremble to the vocals is somewhat death rock, though girl gang vocal continue to bring it back more onto the punk side of the dirty alley. They are all about swagger and attitude. There is danger like they are Thelma and Louise driving the car off the cliff. I can also here how they are descendants of PJ Harvey. Sometimes they can be too straight forehead as "Unzip Your Forehead" bored me.

" Wear Black "offers some darker colors and is a over all better song  perhaps better than the first three as well. I prefer this more wobbling reverb drenched guitar.  "Abre Camino" finds them growing darker and more ominous. They continue down this dark and story road with "Born Again and Again". This one is both droning and brooding with it's hypnotic pulse.  "Street Justice" finds them back in their early 70s punk mode. It is darker and more melodic with the guitarist as aggressive as Alice Cooper so all great components. "Occupation Ghost Writer" is more straight forward rock n roll that I did not find to be as engaging.  .

They are back into the sonic hypnosis with "TV in Jail On Mars" which sounds like it could also be the title of a song by the Misfits. I like this one do to the surreal sway it holds. I will give this album a 9 as some of the more straight forward garage rock like moments did not grab me, but this was tempered by the darker and more hypnotic songs that resonated with me. Their more introspective and drugged out side is the best and will keep my ears open for these girls in the future,.

 

Pale Grey Lore : " Eschatology"

These guys play a heavy handed version of drug laced Camaro rock. The vocals offer more hopefully floating sense of melody.The tight syncopated feel of what they do has as much as in common with Helmet as they do Kyuss. There is more to their songs than just bong worship. There is a more straight forward feel to the second song.  "Before the Fall" finds more melodic turn in guitar playing creating the atmosphere to open their up more. "Regicide" find the tempo shift into more of a boogie. It did not grab me at first and felt like an extension of the previous song, when I go back and listen to it I can hear the difference in the vocal pattern.  There is an even more dynamic shift on "Waiting For the Dawn" which carries a more relaxed 60's like strum. The vocals are simple , but sung well for what they are doing.

"thr Rift' finds them locked back in more of a boogie. They have a heavier and denser sound on "Void Cursed". It hit's hard and is heavy, though carrying the weight of a bad like Blue Cheer with a low end fuzz, not sure around here we would define this as metal, perhaps proto metal with less retro aspirations might be a better description.  "Silent Command" does have a kind of creepy hippie 60 s vibe. This is a lot like Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, in terms of mood and sonic space it takes up. It is darker , but not the most compelling song on the album. The more uptempo "Undermined" doesn't stick with me as much. There are some guitar harmonies that are interesting, but over all the song doesn't not grip me as strongly as those on the front end of the album.

The title track takes the album out on a higher note, with dark angular groove and a great deal of atmosphere haunting the song. The vocal melody is more of an atmospheric element as it serves as more of a layer to the sound rather than playing a driving part of the song itself.  I will give this album an 8.5. It might not maintain the same momentum it starts off with, but never really drops the ball, some of it is just more straight forward than what I am normally into. This album comes out Sept 6, if you are into psyche- stoner- rock it is worth a listen for sure.

Ecstatic Vision : "Sonic Praise"

For some reason I had it in my head these guys were an industrial band. Not a stoner jam band. Not really sure where the first song ended and the second song began it ran together in one jam. These guys are good at what they do , the mix seems like it could more balls to it. The vocals are throaty but sung, very similar to Lemmy's backing vocals in Hawkwind, with more effects on them.They hang on a bass line in "Astral Plane" which at twelve and a half minutes is the longest song. They throw in some sax to further the Hawkwind comparisons. At times the drone comes across like the live version of "Dazed and Confused" when the bongo linger in the back ground its more "Sympathy for the Devil".

The have more drive on the chanted "Don't Kill the Vibe" , but still I can't help but think a more organic sound in the production department would put this more in your face. More atmospheric than Monster Magnet's trippier moments, but not as effective as the Devils Blood. The title track and the last song also run together though the last song runs into more kraut rock thing and while it drones it hits a different groove.The guitar goes into a Indian scale while the bass latches onto a more Tool like riff, the combination is pretty effective. They close it with a very pyschonaut lyric about freeing their minds.


 If I still did drugs I would be all over this , but seeing as how I haven't touched them in 13 years I can appreciate this but don't feel the urge that this album is pulling me back to it .I am well adapted to psychedelic music and prefer that elements in music as long as it is dark and I think the thinner digital sounding production takes away from capturing a darker vibe, which Hawkwind had, to the point of where they eventually crossed over and influenced many latter day goth bands. I'll still go ahead and round this one up to an 8.




3.9

Lewis and the Strange Magics : "Velvet Skin"

If you have ever wondered why all the occult rock bands aside from Ghost  have female singers here is what happens when a dude steps up to the mic. It really brings out the early 70s vibe. Its not actual metal,  guess it is what is being called proto metal. Very Blue Oyster Cult meets early Pentagram. The guitar jangles into a shuffle. The singer sounds a little strained when he tries to reach up into a head register, never quiet makes it up into falsetto.  "How to Be You" mixes the strut of "Brown Sugar" with Alice Cooper attitude. The keyboard solos rip more than the guitar.The darkest part so far is when they come back in after the solo section. Some dark keys open "Suzy's Room", The shuffle of this upbeat song is a little bit of a mixed bag.

The first riff that could be argued as metal pops up in "Golden Threads". The vocals are a little lower and carry more balls in the delivery. The Deep Purple influence colors certain sections of this song. An almost funk beat starts of "Nina". He jives his way through the verse and the choruses are more sung. The guitarist has chops , but he works best in certain avenues. They venture close to prog on "Female Vampire". The boogie down groove works well against some of the more Yes like key board fills. These guys are talented enough to blend their jams into the songs. The first Black Sabbath like riff doesn't appear until "Cloudy Grey Cube".

There are Beatles like harmonies at the beginning of "Your Evil Trip". The staccato vocal is more Alice Cooper to me. Midway into the song the go off on a crazy key board solo. The lyrics don't make any sense  but if they are about tripping then they don't have to. I'll give this one an 8.5 , some of it is too up beat for me , but I like where they are going with this and are one of the only bands to get that time period right.

Electric Wizard: "Time to Die"

Once a upon a time this might have been considered black metal even though we now know it to be doom. The opening horror movie like sample sets a darker tone for the U.K. band.They have lost none of their powerful rumble and as doom grows desolate with each release trying to suffocate the band before them Electric Wizard has shown up to hold their ground. The ten minute opening track track sets the bar high for the rest of the album.The chant of "We Wanna get high / before we die" comes before the title that follows,so death is one of the album primary topics. The title track is less sprawling. The band has a tighter grip on their doom like attack. The vocals are more of an after thought here, and the song feels more like a jam despite being more singular in purpose than the opener. In some ways this reminds me more of classic St. Vitus, particularly in the arrangement.

They come back stronger on the 11 minute opus "I Am Nothing". Slower paced in it's rumble,with a vocal chant holding it's center. The song eventually launches into a sonic cosmos, where bands like Hawkwind tend to soar in their psychedelia. The fiendish samples return on "Destroy Those Who Love God". Here they take on a creepier sludge sound scape. The use of the organs set back in the mix are extremely effective in conjuring visions of the Manson Family paying Sharon Tate a late night visit. This is more of an interlude, but is still very entertaining in the picture it paints. They return to the death theme, this time with a more cerebral slant on "Funeral in Your Mind". The guitars take on a more seventies rock "We Love the Dead" carries a drugged out sluggish shamble to it's morbid declaration. The verses on this song are spacious. There is a less oppressive weight pounding down on you here. In this manner they look back to more traditional doom that came out of the 80's.
The rock groove keep coming with "SadioWitch". This sinister whine of the vocals continues to keep it's grim narrative in a similar fashion as it seem to stick with when not launching into a maddening chant. The lyrics are clearer here and seem to be comparing love to drugs. The love of drugs is certainly a prime element to the conception of this album.

"Lucifer's Slaves"   takes on a slightly more sinister ambiance, though it rumbles forward at a pace not unlike what the band has already established. It only slows further drag the dirge into the dirt of it's fresh grave. This had has employed more effective melodies in the past than they seem to be doing here , so I'm not sure if they feel they must offer up melody on the altar of sacrifice in order to be heavy. The bass is really the only instrument that wanders off to break away from the drone and do something interesting with it's fills. "Saturn Dethroned" is more of just and outro that might as well be a part of "Lucifer's Slaves" as it doesn't really do anything but let the keyboard have their moment in the spotlight, that could have taken place within the confines of any of these songs to have made them more dynamic.I'll give this album an 8. The weight of it catches you by surprise at first and lures you into it's orgy of black magic, but the longer you stick around for this party the more you begin to sober up and question the song writing. If you love these guys , then you will continue to do so, as like Motorhead, they are continuing to give you more of what you want from them.

Megaton Leviathan : "Past 21 Beyond the Arctic Cell"

The eerie 13 minute opener sails by on cold waters. Chilling chant like vocals echo out from the depths of the song. This doom but it comes across heavier in an emotional sense than a metallic one. Where most doom is very oppressive, with the low end weighing the song down, these guys are very spacious. I ma not sure if this is psychedelic, though cerebral. The grandiose strings that come in toward the end are more like something from King Crimson's "In the Wake of Poseidon album, some by more progressive, though it would even be difficult to define it as that since the song doesn't really have any changes just lumbering off the same tearful riff.

On "the Foolish Man " I am reminded of the new Earth album, but these guys have a higher success rate than Earth, they allow the drone to hypnotize with out limiting themselves to a numbing repetition.Exotic scales trickle off the plodding. This is done with a tad more sluggishness on "Arctic Cell" that pounds into things a little more like you would expect from a doom band. The vocals on "the Foolish Man" have a drugged mumble to them. Hey, it worked for Iron Butterfly, "Inna Gadda Divida" was supposed to be ..."in the garden of Eden, but they were too fucked up, so it comes with the territory. The gloom that coats this album does begin to grow on me more with each listen and I think the cool wandering passages of guitar that coast by in the back ground attribute to this.Arctic Cell progresses there are some very cleverly written punches and chugs scattered about the vast wasteland of a song. The staccato chug at the eight minute mark, helped bring the metal back.Building until the siren like female vocals bring in the dreamy tide around the crescendo.

It's hard to tell if the cover of Judas Priest's "Here Comes the Tears " is just plain terrible and they are out of their depth on this one or if they are going for a more death-rock take on this. The reason for this is that they do have a creepy under current running under their music and if some one like Atriarch did this I would approve.The almost goth like baritone vocals gurgle up on"Arctic Cell" , so it could go either way. Whatever the case the vocals are lacking, but I'm going to pretend they are going for more of a Pinkish Black thing here than become repulsed, they get points for being dark and busting out a decent solo.    

This album continues to grow on me so I will round it up to a 9, though this album is like creeper weed, so over time some of the elements I'm not as sure of I will warm up to.  It's fair to guess if you like atmospheric doom, that indulges in the psychedelic ambiance to the point it almost smokes the metal out of it, then you will be similarly impressed.
 

Crystal Stilts: "Nature Noir"

This is the 3rd full length from the band currently base in Brooklyn, it starts off at a lazy drugged 60's shuffle, with a Morrison like baritone moaning into the bathtub down the hall. The guitars nod off in a manner not unlike some of the less droney moments of the velvet Underground. It encapsulates everything I like about music from the decades, all underground New York Art scene and none of the hippy crap.

The drugged haze begins to clear for something with a little more spry in its step with "Future Folklore" but stays to the Quaalude left of the Stones even at their most Satanic and majestic. The Benzedrine boogie here is a more hopeless party indicative of the lyrics"back to the underworld/back to the sea / back to the garden just you and me."

They are more optimistic in their hung over strum on "Sticks and Stones". I prefer the lower more somber vocal tone to the first two songs. They stay in a dreamy strum of acoustics on "Memory Room" which keeps the more stoned slacker monotone than the album started with.  This band has often been labelled as being post-punk and I don't hear anything to back those claims until the Jesus and the Mary Chain appear. It shows back up on "Words Gone Weird" but unlike like most post-punk or goth, there is some sort of tension and this album is far too relaxed for that label, closer to being psychedelic.

They work the best when creating a bleak oasis of psychic garage rock like " Darken the Door" that wanders off into Doorsish exotic scales and circus waltzes. I have a sinking feeling there was more experimentation being done with drugs than the sonics which tend to return back to acid drenched meanderings that happen to have enough melody to hold them together despite the best attempts of the jangling guitars to lead them elsewhere.

The title track bathes in the heavy reverb of a western and still manages to find a subtle groove. The indie attitude is all over this thing far more than any punk sneer as it is far to dazed and confused to bite back, but it works for this album. Of course I can do without the camp fire guitar strumming and want things to keep the morose feeling and they tip toe this balance when they bring the album to an end with "Phases Forever".  I no longer do the kind of drugs needed to really feel this type of floating exit the album makes but I can recall it.  I'll give this album an 8,  seems like it will grow on me, overall I was caught by surprise by these guys as there is a certain down trodden feel to the album I enjoy a great soundtrack for coming down.

Naam: "Vow"

This Brooklyn band's tour van must billow out enough smoke to put the Mystery Machine to shame , if these guys are living like they sound. That's not to call them stoner rock. What plays like an intro is tracked as a separate song, but it's not too much to distract me when it swells into the drone boogie of  the title track.

These guys aren't just Sabbath worshippers like the Sword , but are a lot less metal, however this doesn't play against them as the album starts of with darker pill heavy brooding. The song starts to soar sky ward  not unlike the sort of high Hawkwind would have done in their hey day.

Their grunge roots start to show on "Pardoned Pleasure" which sounds like Mudhoney jamming with the Butthole Surfers. Their trippier side wins out over the garage rock leanings this song takes on at first before the slurred desert breakdown that goes into an angular prog groove.

"Laid to Rest " carries the same twang to it as when Nirvana used to cover The Meat Puppets. "On the Hour" creeps into the rocks, falling some where between Mudhoney grunge and stoner rock, with the keyboards keeping it from tipping over too far into the Sub Pop. In the final minute it beefs up a bit as it builds.

"Skyscraper" the hypnosis of the underwater drone is laid on thick. Everything floats in this narcotic bubble in a dark "Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun" manner. The stoner Sabbath thing does float to the surface in the opening riff of "Midnight Glow" though it's off set by the layered vocals in the verse, that carries more experimental resonance and the Sabbath lingers in the Geezer turn around coming out of what might be heard as the chorus, though like the keys to the van it was misplaced.  The punches in the song are more Deep Purple until the bass rumbles out from under it.

Their clouded memories are too burned out to write long prop epics but they do cram a wide range of sounds and dynamics into five minutes. "Beyond" touches the 8 minute mark but with metal these days that like the intro to other 15 minutes. The bass line to this one carries more Roger in its waters ,there is more attack but not in the metal sense. The pace picks up the most heading into the three minute mark. It's very "Obscured by Clouds" to my ears, but I have smoked a ton of pot to Pink Floyd in my day. The wink to the Violent Femmes, before the build doesn't escape me. I would like to hear them pull off that vocal break down in the middle section live. The middle eastern feel it drifts into is a winner in my book and gets them extra points. The drawl the singer takes on is weird considering they are from Brooklyn, but they might be getting their drugs from down south, gods know there are plenty of them to be had here.

Thats a rough song to try to follow up and close the album after with so they let the weird warble of keyboards serve as an outro for the final two and a half minutes . It twinkles like smokey stars but serves no other purpose. I'll give this album a 9 as some of the more Mudhoney elements might take me back to high school but they seem like a step back for a band that proves themselves capable of more , but otherwise color me a fan.



6.6 /7

Up From the Underground:The Tomas Doncker Band - "Power of the Trinity...A Slight Return"

O.k.  We are really going past the bounds of what we normally cover but there is more common ground than you might suspect,  if for no other reason than the fact this is a Bill Laswell project who not only helmed avant garde jazz metal outfit Painkiller but worked with  John Zorn and Swans and  it's not Dead Can Dance but if you are a fan of world music, then this release is worth checking out and frankly has me thinking that I quit smoking pot a decade too soon, as I would have gotten  a lot of play from this album back in my bong's glory days. There is a coat of psychedelics over their jazz-inflected funk. It takes you back to the glory days of Parliament Funkadelic.

From the start it's evident Tomas has surrounded himself with the cream of the crop, when it comes to the players he has on this thing. Bill Laswell's  wife Ethiopian singer Gigi, is featured on the opening track "Brooklyn2Ethiopia" appear on the album, along. The more rock tinged guitars are handled by Laswell protégé James Dellatacoma. The quasi-rasta spiritual overtones to the lyrical content is much more evolved, than your run of the mill funk outfit.

Laswell's bass playing  is prominent on "We Need Justice"  along with Trombonist Joe Bowie from the fusion act , Defunkt lends his talents to the track. There is a wider exploration and emersion of genres on this song, though none of the experimentation burdens the groove but enhances it along with the more etheric touches of female vocals that glide in over the second half of the song, brings texture that takes it beyond the urban funk and into other dimensions.

Laswell returns to provide the low end Curtis Mayfeild bump of "Peace ( Hold on). The song is flawless, the layers of backing vocals are as breathtaking as they are smooth. The soulful resonance of Doncker's voice is best displayed here and shines in the call and response section.

"Habesha Girl" takes on more of an electronic element. The vocals on this album don't bother with western pop conventions, yet are not devoid of hooks. Doncker's voice shines in the layered harmonies preceding the verses. The turn to dance hall, is a little jarring despite the fluid backdrop.

Afrika Bambaataa's right hand man Charlie Funk shows up on the track "Happy" that holds a 70's funk groove and is the album's most straight forward song, relying on the elegant guitar that slides in through the cracks in the bass line, to make it interesting.

Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmed appears on the blues soaked "Abet Guarage" This song seems like more of a live jam and doesn't adorn itself with the multi layered back drops the others have. It's a celebratory closer that makes sense but compared to the other songs lacks some of the surprises. I think it is more of a showcase for Doncker's guitar playing which amid all of the varied genres touched on here is most at home playing the blues as he highlighted on the Howlin Wolf tribute he released this year.

It comes down to a matter of taste, and how expansive yours is if you will dig this album, it's air tight in both execution and intention. Doncker has perfectly achieved to make the album that was in his mind and got by with a little help from his friends.