Being Dead : "When Horses Would Run"

 The jangle of this odd Texas-based project carries a thick 60s vibe. There is a low fi, sound not unlike the new Twin Temples album. These guys however are not tied to that sound as they strip things down to vocal harmonies going into the second song. They take some jarring turns in the arrangements while staying true to their persona. The song veers off into a screaming freak-out. "Muriel's Big Day Off" is less focused, which is a pattern that continues with the almost pointless "God vs Bible" that works off a theme too simple to be more than an interlude. 

"Come On" owes a great deal for punk since it is under a minute and a half. Like the folk version of grindcore. "Daydream' finds them strumming their way back into a more cohesive place.     It flows really well and might be the second-best song with the opening track still the strongest at the halfway point of this album. "Treeland" finds them bang it out with a raw garage rock jangle. Lyrically it is also the most interesting. The title track, kind of drones on with a stark emptiness despite sounding like pop music from the 60s. They did a great job of capturing the sound. 

"We Are Being Dead" obviously feels like it should work live, on an album it feels like an odd interlude that is making fun of even being in a band. "Holy Team" just breezes by without commanding my attention, while "Misery Land' hits more like a depressive lullaby. I had to go back to give "Living Easy" another listen, but I like it as it sounds like something the Manson family would have been listening to. The last song sounds like they are making fun of Neil Young, mixed with their normal blend of weird. I will give this album an 8, there are some cool sound and ideas, the songs do not grab me, but think the accomplished what they set out to with this album. 

Miranda and the Beat : "s/t"

 This band is interesting , as the first song is a steamy groove driven R&B song that takes you back to when R&B was created with real instruments. The singer recalls a young Tina Turner. This is a drastic turn from  where they go on the second song, which has a 60s garage pop vibe to it. Both are authentic the first song works better as it has more of it's own identity. I had to give "Concrete" a second listen as the first one did not grab my attention of the bat. It has more of a frantic punk energy. They get more explosive in places. The first three songs all touch on different styles. Yet have a signature sound. This works for me. It gives the album the kind of wide ranged dynamics I prefer. 

"I'm Not Your Baby" finds them returning to the more r&b style though, it is less groove driven, and drips with less sex.  "Not My Guy" is like a ballad from 1950s girl group pop. "ODR" is an under a minute punk burst that I am not sure what the purpose of is. If Amy Winehouse was making music that was more brooding and bordered on post-punk the results might be not unlike "When are You Coming Home" .  The go back into darker 60s freak out mode on "Too Afraid" . They certainly are capable of conjuring all the needed retro sounds. It might be tempting to compare them to Death Valley Girls, as in concept they do similar, but they are dark in a different manner. 

"Let You Go"  is more of a rock song, very deliberate in it's pulse, with flourish of dramatic organs decorating the climax. "Don't Feel the Same" is lo-fi garage rock with a 50's twang. The vocals are much different here, one of the other girls must be singing lead. This album captures a diverse array of sounds very well. I will give this one a 9 and see how it grows on me. This drops May 26th . 

Lucifer : "Lucifer 2"

This band picks up where it left off with their thickly inspired homage to Sabbath. Though there is more sultry tone considering the vocals of Johanna Sadonis. Things are more polished on their sophomore effort. "California Son" adds a touch of Deep Purple to their sound before locking into the trade mark Sabbath chug. I'll once again go on record to explain the difference between stoner metal and doom here as that is often confused. The key that makes this stoner metal or rock is the uptempo and lack of a dark or mournful sound. There is a little more of a boogie here. "Dreamer" has a darker mood that reminds me more of Dio era Sabbath, which is a good thing as you don't hear as many bands mining from that era.  "Pheonix" is more like a Pat Benatar take on the genre. It's not as interesting, but it grows on me.

Their cover of "Dancing With Mr. D" makes you think this song was orginally by Sabbath rather than the Stones when you hear their take on it. "Reaper on Your Heels" finds them kinda going through the motions of radio rock from the 70s. The drummer is working hard, but I don't hear the song writing really having it's own personality here. They are still good enough musicians to make the warmed up left overs over to some extent. They look towards a more doomy direction on "Eyes in the Sky", it simmers but never really sizzles. The vocals seem to meander a little more. The fact Johanna's vocals are given room to breathe, certainly helps "Before the Sun". She is certainly hot and this is conveyed in her vocals here. The guitar solos on this album don't really wow me, but the capture the time period aimed for.

"Aton" has more of a Mountain feel. Her vocals work around the riff pretty well and the song has a dynamic flow so it succeeds. "Faux Pharoh" has more drive that propels the song to a more captivating place. The chug is convincing. I'll give this album a 8.5, as they prove themselves good at what they do, they manage to make fresh some of the old retro conventions. The album does hit some redundant murk that generally plagues this kind of Sabbath worship, though her voices helps keep them from being a Sabbath tribute band trying to pass songs off as originals.

Wolftooth - "S/t"

The first song is pretty hammering. The vocals remind me a little of Ghost, but it might just be the production on them. There is some Sabbath worship, but it doesn't kick into high gear until the lumber of the second song. These guys strike me as being a little more doom than stoner rock on this one. "Sword of My Father" is pretty damn catchy. I find myself liking these guys though something in my gut tells me this is either... A) A joke like Goblin Cock or B) A bunch of hipsters though how many hispters can there be in Indiana? and every one but the dude with the gray beard looks like they used to be in a hard-core band. I can hear the trash and NWOBHM on "White Mountain" but the vocals do not soar. They are rather plaintive like an indie rock band, but manage to get the job done. So a far cry from Pallbearer. Here is where they also begin to lose some of their momentum despite this song being slightly more up-tempo. There is a cool groove that the song finds it's way to and these guys are obviously skilled at there instruments.

There is a more Mastodon feel to " Frost Giant". The vocals are smoother and coast along the chug of guitar. Where Mastodon would go into some proggy wanking, these guys go for a more melodic Sabbath approach. You do have to give it to these guys they can lock into a chug that hasn't sounded this good since "Holy Diver". However they lack the vocal power or melodies of a Ronnie James Dio. There is a more meandering blues to the intro to "Season of the Witch" until they lock back into a groove. They tighten the groove and the vocals become slightly more Ozzy like with bursts of twin harmony guitar. "Forged in Fire " finds the boogie fighting against the gallop, but the gallop seems to win. Overall the album compensates for mediocre vocals and knows it's strengths playing into them more often than not, it's the power of the chug that propels them and good to hear some hooky riff rock so I'll give it a 9.

Electric Wizard : "Wizard Bloody Wizard"

The band's 9th album opens with the nihilistic blues of the lead single "See You In Hell". Despite the album's title it's somewhat less of a love affair with Black Sabbath and more of a homage to the fuzzed out garage rock of the 60's. The drummer was obviously influenced by Mitch Mitchell's drumming on "Manic Depression" here. Not as aggressive as what we have heard from them in the past, but it sounds better the more you dial up the volume. The band took it upon themselves to handle the production in their own studio. Sonically this allows for less bells and whistles as it's stripped down to what the band sounds like just plugging straight into their amps. The creates a dry more more ranged sound, and thus a more retro affair.

 The tempo shifts into more a methed out boogie on "Necromania". Lyrically "Hear the Sirens Scream" sounds like he went into the vocal booth with no lyrics prepared and just vamped off the top of his head. This song also has a more of a jamming feel to it and is not as focused in it's attack. It begins to drag a little once they hit the seven minute mark and I begin to wonder if it's going anywhere else or just more of the same. The answer they give me after declaring "drugs are their religion" is a guitar solo. It could have stood to come more forward in the mix rather than sitting back in the wall of guitar.

A keyboard does appear at the beginning of the three minute drone "the Reaper". "Wicked Caresses " embraces a darker more traditional doom approach. It doesn't wallow in the linger tempo and hover under 90 bpms, when not in the total doom of the verse riff. They stay on a slower doomy shuffle for the closing anthem "Mourning of the Magicians" . He returns to claiming he will sill you in hell so I had to check to see if I had let the stream loop back around to the beginning , so this one didn't hold my attention as much as the first few songs. I also notice that his voice lacks the effects it's normally drenched in on their other albums. I can hear how this gives it more of a Coven like sound and less of a mid 70s Ozzy. But it makes the vocals cut through less like another instrument and showing he is a one trick pony here.Other wise this is a pretty solid album, I'll give it an 8.5, it has less apocalyptic thunder than albums like "Dopethrone" but I like the trashy exploitative mood it creates in the simplicity of the songs. They also prove you don't need long pondering wandering to be doom.

Hexvessel : "When We Are Death"

This is way more rock n roll than I thought it would, but this band is fronted by Mat McNerney who we also know as Kvohst the lead singer of Grave Pleasures / Beast Milk. This album finds this project now occupying a more similar sonic space as Grave Pleasures , just dipping into a another decade . So perhaps Kvohst is a time lord and he hops back and forth from the 80s to the 60s collecting melodie. The folk has been dialed way back on the opener. This eases back into a mellower psychedelic trip on the second song, but the rock element are still dominate over the folk, which is not a complaint, perhaps if you are really invested in these guys being a neo-folk then it might need more time to grow on you , but the songs really handle the slightly morose melodies well. This is not totally happy hippy music that is just the undercurrent. It is totally groovy, but a lava lamp is not a requirement.Then things really ease back for "Cosmic Truth" that has more of a Moody Blues feel. There is more of a straight up 60's rock feel to "When I'm Dead" .

They take on a more folk tone for "Mirror Boy" which is a more morse song, with a very haunting melody.The vocals are very passionate. Things take on a more tripped out rumble with " Drugged Up On the Universe" the guitar carries a slight prog slant to it and the keys lay the atmosphere on sick, the vocals follow more of a Hawkwind like pattern and are not as centered on the sort of melodies present for the bulk of the album. This is a heavier song than what has been presented thus far , so it compensates for the lack of focus. There is a blues soaked groove to the dusk tinged swagger of "Teeth of the Mountain". I would speculate that "Green Gold" is about smoking pot, the lyrics try to point in another direction. Mcnerney sounds like Brendan Perry on this one and the lazy guitar melody gives a surreal backdrop to what is an other wise straight forward affair. The drugs must have really kicked in on "Mushroom Spirit Doors" aside from the Beatles like chorus, the riff is angular and the song is a little off in its center of gravity.The drums offer up a more primal pound to summon their tribe of shaman on " Hunter's Prayer". The music sits in a more minimalist fashion behind the vocals than the majority of the songs, giving the song a similar feel to "Spanish Caravan" .


 They close up the album with more psyche rock minded "Shaman You". The vocals are stronger here than the previous two songs and this one is darker than what you might expect from something with such strong 60s influence. A band like Bloodrock might be a good reference point here. With the more surreal swirl this songs comes with also brings less focus to the middle section, but the skeleton of the song is pretty solid and it returns to the more hook oriented chant of 'you are a false magician".I'll give this one a 9.5 and see how it sits on me Kvohst's performance is stellar as usual.

 


10

Lana Del Ray : " Honeymoon"

She is obviously more mainstream the majority of the artists I cover, but has enough melancholy to her sound to have her place along side some of the other female artists covered here. She said this album was going to be filled with muddy trap energy and inspired by late night drives listening to Miles Davis. The title track that opens the album is well...boring. Sure ballads are her thing, but she has written them in a much more compelling manner. The second song is more redemptive of the flat opener, and has more of a west coast slink to the lazy dream pop. Her vocal phrasing is more emotive here and doesn't sound like she is trying to kill her self with sleeping pills while in the vocal booth.

"Terrence Loves You" is another song that is barely there, though the vocal lines in places prove to be engrossing. The vocals are really well recorded, since she is far from belting. The instrumental is as minimal as her diaphragm support until she goes up in her head voice to sing about Major Tom. So a Bowie reference is going to be worth something in my book. "God Knows I Tried" does have the 60s Nancy Sinatra feel and is darker than the first three songs. Her voice sounds fuller here. The first single from the album 'High By the Beach" comes closer to her more superlative work. There is more hip-hop beat, trap or not could be debated. She kicks out more rhythmic melodies to compliment it.The album begins to find it's groove on " Freak" . While she has a great voice, it's how she works interesting lyrics within the context of steamy beats that makes the magic here.  "Art Deco' keeps this vibe going in the right direction.

"Religion" has her trade mark croon over a more minimal accompaniment. The lyrics are smarter and when the drums come in they create more of a Portishead vibe. "Salvatore" is more ballad like  and the beat takes the back seat, with strings backing her more dramatic almost operatic vocalization. "the Blackest Day" finds her vocals taking on more soul and a touch of Stevie Nicks on the verses. The chorus isn't the album's strongest , but it works with the swell of organ behind it. The beat builds and the vocal layer multiple to display some of the years best production. "24" finds her voice naked against the minimal pulse that is dialed back behind. This 60s western soundtrack creeps in like the sunset. Her voice glides upwards flirting with her head voice. There is nothing really wrong with "Swan Song" I just don't feel like it is as strong as some of the other cuts, the music site behind her cool croon like it is business as usual. She closes the album with a cover of the Animals " Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" that retain in the organ some of the trippy 60s feel. Overall this album might not be " the Ultra-Violence" as the lyrics are not as biting and the ballads are sleepier, but she excels when she does what she does best so I'll give this one a 9.

Up From the Underground : Nate Paladino's "Good Boy"

Right from the opening passages of guitar that opens this ep, you can tell there is something different about Nate Paladino. The smug irony of the lyrics to " My Kind of Bitch" has a dark yet honest sense of humor to them. It takes you back to early days of the 50's  doop wop rock n roll. It seems like something that would be much better suited for this season of American Horror Story than having Evan Peters sing the less time period appropriate Nirvana. There is also a hint of indie folk to songs like the first single "Buy Your Heart". It keeps the swing of  "Earth Angel" covered by a guitarist from Orange County whose riffs reflected the California sun.  This sunny disposition does away with the tongue in cheek darkness of the opener, but it is still well executed.

"Don't Say Maybe" takes on a dirtier  Jerry Lee Lewis style of rockabilly.The piano bangs in the background making this  a pretty color by numbers tribute to this style of Elvis era rock. The guitar playing owes a great deal to Brain Setzer. His voice takes on the mock warble of the King at times. The more western feel that recalls more of a Roy Orbison feel sets the tone to " Come Back to Me." Less heart wrenching than say " Only the Lonely" it is sung in a much less dramatic fashion than Roy, never going up into that classic head voice, instead it brings to mind Bright Eyes ' country album.The blues of "Something to Prove' brings the album up into at least the 70's. He adds more husk to his voice. Not the grainy worship of whiskey and cigarettes that Tom Waits has, but that's  what is being aimed for here. The instrumentation is more in line with something Joe Cocker would have backing him, but the lyrics have that more deprecating Waits feel. Tom Waits never gets this upbeat even in his earlier work.

The album closes with another song that not only steers clear of the earlier retro sound, but brings Bright Eyes to mind. Though he doesn't have the overly emotive quality as His voice returns to his normal plaintive mid range. The guitar is crisp and as lyrical as the folk melody he pours his contemplation over.  This ep is a good escape back to the beach for those of you who do not relish the coming dark of the winter months. At times  Paladino  might relish weaving  some of the songs together with retro sounds, over all it's indie flare and attitude dripped over clever singer songwriter pop that avoids sounding like your run of the mill CW soundtrack fare.  The album is not drenched in the rock a billy reverb and all the sounds are pretty refined and crisp. If you are in the mood for some pole dancing, ... I mean really when are you not ? You can check out the video for the first single "Buy Your Heart" below. While Paladino's the mellow brand of indie folk might be more suited for burning one at at park on a sunday morning, it isn't going to become a strip club classic anytime soon.
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