Bands names after other, more famous bands' songs have always sent up a bit of a red flag for me -- like, what better way to signal both your "respect the classics" cred at the same time as your crippling unoriginality? But, the exception proves the rule and I needed a lead-in for this, so here we are. Skip the later full-lengths and go straight to the source with these guys: debut album (22 minutes qualifies as an album now?) Pareidolia is a chunky spread of thick riffs, distorted female vocals, and... pinch harmonics? In my doom/stoner? Yes, Virginia.
C
I wasn't a fan of Eric Wagner's other recent work with Blackfinger as an object of Trouble-style stuff, but my ears perked up when stumbling upon this record. The lack of Bruce Franklin is certainly felt (although Matt Goldsborough's tone is so faithful to OG Trouble I had to check to make sure it wasn't actually Bruce) but this is close to a full reunion as we are likely to ever get because Bruce is working hard on that 2nd Supershine album (please). It treads the same ground as Trouble always has but it's refreshing to see lifers like these able to keep things so fresh this late in their careers.
B-
Falling more in line with Ufomammut or Electric Wizard, Monolord's Vænir is more interesting than this type of music usually is (add some points for that artwork) as they do a good job of supplying enough life-sustaining riffs to keep the listener from suffocating between songs. I find it hard to evaluate this kind of spacey stuff as part of the point seems to be to bludgeon you into submission with it's "heaviness" (ugh) so you can cruise through the rest of the disc in a zonked out riff-high. Whatever you want to call it, Vænir kept me interested throughout several plays so we have a winner.
B
No comments:
Post a Comment