Hollis Brown is a four-piece outfit from New York. Formed in 2009, the band is Mike Montali (Vocals/Guitar), Jonathan Bonilla (Guitar), Adam Bock (Keys), Andrew Zehnal (Drums) and Ozone Park is their third album, following up on 2015’s 3 Shots. Ozone Park is named after the neighbourhood in Queens where the band grew up. Hollis Brown has an impressive resume, having been picked by Adam Duritz to support the Counting Crows on a three-month US tour, as well as shows with Citizen Cope, Jackie Greene, Jesse Malin, Toots & The Maytals and The Zombies. After 3 Shots focused more on a social conscience, Ozone Park is based more on relationships. With a soulful heartbeat that pulses vibrantly throughout, this is an album full of quality. The bouncing funk rock of Blood From A Stone and Stubborn Man, with its pop overtones, open the album. A smart cover of Jesse Marlin’s She Don’t Love Me Now changes the direction, the acoustic and electric guitars working in total harmony.
Mike Montali’s warm vocals are a deep joy to listen to, with the subtle interplay between guitar and keyboard in total harmony with the songs. This is Americana, it’s soul, it’s rock ‘n’ roll; hardly surprising given the melting pot of music that the band grew up amongst. Do Me Right has a RHCP riff before moving into more alternative territory, a pulsing bass line driving the song forward, whilst the soulful Forever In Me changes tack with a metronomic beat, simple organ chord and Montali’s clear vocals taking centre stage. Someday Soon and The Way She Does It are perfect for a lazy Sunday morning, the relaxed laid back feel not detracting from the synchronicity between all the band. Ending with the fuzzed up Bad Mistakes with its hints at The Rival Sons and another funked up song in Go For It, Hollis Brown demonstrate that not only is variety the spice of life, it’s also a sign of quality. 8/10
Misth: Fallen From Grace (Granaten Records)
Misth: Fallen From Grace (Granaten Records)
This is the sophomore release from Stockholm progressive/melodic metal band Misth. At 84 minutes in length it appeared a bit of a beast to tackle at first glance but appearances can be deceptive, and it turned out to be an enjoyable and beautifully crafted album. The background to Misth is interesting, with singer Mary Rădsten originally singing in pop band One More Time in the 1990s. Rădsten teamed up with a band called Mercury Fang, and out of the ashes of that band Misth emerged, with the current line-up comprising keyboard player Jörgen Schelander, drummer Martin Larsson, guitarists Hakén Granant and Fredrik Glimbrand and bassist Olle Boden. The band released Rise Of A New Day in 2013 and now follow that up with this rather special album.
Influences which include Marillion, Dream Theater, Rush, Porcupine Tree, Katatonia and Anathema are evident from the opening track The Impossible Dream, a high energy song with a beautiful melody and feel which provides the gateway to the rest of the album. Rădsten’s powerful clean vocals immediately stand out, crystal clear and inviting; accompanied by swathes of rich keyboards and vocal harmonies which all indicate that this is something special. At times thumpingly heavy, at others delicate and sensitive, Misth have created a formula that is so often absent in the progressive field. The album hypnotises you and several spins later I am still discovering subtle details and jewels overlooked in earlier plays. Moving On is majestic and symphonic, a slight Eastern flavour similar to the pomp of prime Rainbow whilst Fools Of Innocence contains a chunky riff which leads the dance throughout this layered track which also benefits from some rampant drumming and soaring vocals. Misth can do the soft stuff as well, with Silent Night, which opens with strings accompanying Schelander’s haunting keyboard as the track crackles with emotion before erupting into a vivacious crescendo.
Throughout Fallen From Grace the musicianship is first class, and nowhere more so than the eleven and a half minute Masquerade. Suggestions of classic melancholic Queensryche start of the track before it moves up a gear, grit and fire kicking in with a classic string accompaniment to the chugging guitars, Rădsten’s vocal performance astonishing in its power and beauty. As the pace increases, so does the quality of the playing, shades of Dream Theater and Rush [La Villa Strangiato towards the end of the track no less] as it progresses. Then a real gem in Won’t Let You Down, uplifting and magnificent harmonies on the chorus, with some superb guitar work. The album closes with Wishing Well, a Zeppelin/Rush style [Think Jacob’s Ladder] intro before another scintillating track bursts into life. I don’t know what it is about this release. Maybe it’s the progressive elements that whilst intricate aren’t over elaborate, the perfect contrast and balance or the simply incredible variation in vocal delivery but this release captivated me from start to finish. Fallen From Grace is a fantastic album and despite the length, it’s worth the investment. Stunning in every way. 9/10
Caskets: Orbit/Head First (Self Released)
Alternative, grungy but with a hardened edge, Caskets is a four-piece from London whose latest offering Orbit/Head First was released back in February. Two tracks, the first being unsurprisingly Orbit. A weighty 8:41 in duration, Caskets throw it down with an earthy organic sound, full of down tuned guitar work and fuzzy riffs, they stray into stoner country at times. Head First, a mere seven minutes long meanders but contains a couple of decent hooks to keep the listener entertained. Caskets deliver their recordings in small pieces, with this EP the fourth release since debut Caskets in 2016. Comprising Laurence Bowers on drums, Dylan Perryman on guitar, Saul Perryman on vocals and bass and guitarist Dominic Powers, Caskets have sufficient bite to maintain interest throughout. It’s not my usual listening, but the neat guitar work on Head First certainly commands the attention. 6/10
Whitesnake: Flesh & Blood (Ward Records Ltd)
If you want 83 minutes of misogynistic, crass and highly sexually inappropriate lyrics from a 67-year-old man whose made a living out of such dire songwriting, then I highly recommend the latest album from David Coverdale’s Whitesnake. Welcome to 1983 once more. Formed in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from Deep Purple, Whitesnake were originally a hard rock outfit whose soul lay in the very depths of the Blues. The early albums Trouble and Lovehunter [despite its well dodgy artwork] were soaked in the blues, with songs like Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues and Take Me With You as much a showcase for the expressive guitar work of Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody as they were for the band. Even then, Whitesnake was lyrically suspect but it was an era where the trouser snake bulged.
A change to a more commercial sound with Ready And Willing, Come And Get It, Saints & Sinners [which featured the original version of Here I Go Again] and 1984’s commercial breakthrough Slide It In followed, although it was remixed by Geffen for the US release [John Sykes and Neil Murray replacing Micky Moody and Colin Hodgkinson’s guitar and bass parts respectively]. 1987’s Self-titled album saw the band move to their platinum peak, riding the MTV wave with the ballad Is This Love and the re-recorded version of Here I Go Again. 8 million sales make Whitesnake the biggest seller in the band’s catalogue. Since 1989’s Slip Of The Tongue, it’s fair to say that Coverdale and Whitesnake’s fortunes have been variable to say the least. With only drummer Tommy Aldridge remaining from that 1989 line-up, the last two decades has seen sporadic releases, inconsistent live performances and of course, 2015’s The Purple Album which I fucking hated – see my review: http://musipediaofmetal.blogspot.com/2015/06/reviews-whitesnake-monster-review-by.html
Eight years after Forevermore, the ‘Snake return with their 12th studio album. Lyrically it’s as abysmal as always, Coverdale still churning out those toe-curling lyrics that raised your parents’ eyes back in the eighties when 12 years of age you innocently ran around the house singing “I’m a love hunter baby”. Yes, those innuendos and misogynistic lines are as cringeworthy as they were back in 1982. Clearly time and events of the last 20 years haven’t reached Coverdale in his LA mansion. “When you’re resting beside me at the end of the day, the warmth of your body takes my breath away” [When I Think of You (Color Me Blue)];“Making love in the cool of the night, I’m gonna treat you right” [Gonna Be Alright]; “I can’t keep my hands to myself, baby I’m screwed” [Shut Up And Kiss Me]. Yeah, not alright. Musically the production is slick and polished, although if you are hoping for any kind of return to the blues-based rock of the late 1970s then you’ll be sorely disappointed. Coverdale knows that his market is very much the American radio-friendly rock and aims his snake directly at it.
And if you want hard rock that you can drive with the top down in the Californian sunshine and IF you can ignore the lyrics, this album would probably work. Opener Good To See You, the pumping [no innuendo intended] title track and the feisty Get Up all race along at speed. The inevitable ballads are as uncomfortable as ever; When I Think Of You (Color Me Blue) and the appalling After All which contains the line “After all, You have my love and my devotion, After all, it’s deeper than the ocean” both induce a nausea that is unwelcome and disturbing. The end of Get Up, a track which the current Deep Purple line-up could have delivered so much better, includes Coverdale moaning in such a way I trawled the internet to see if he’d had an asthma attack during the recording of it.
Coverdale’s band remains the outfit responsible for The Purple Album. Just needed to put that out there. Tommy Aldridge on drums, guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, bassist Michael Devlin and Michele Luppi on keyboards; their performance here typically brash and American, lots of showy guitar and big, booming drums. And they do their job well. But I cannot and will not shy away from the fact that Coverdale’s lyrics detract from anything the rest of the band do. Yes, there are hundreds of bands who write in similar style, and I have favourites from the 1970s and 1980s where the songs are just as questionable, but in 2019? Yes, it’s just music and maybe I’m being oversensitive, but that’s me and this is my opinion. It’s our role as reviewers to challenge and question. It’s your decision as a reader to think. This is an album that may be polished and professional, but its inappropriateness is astonishing. 4/10
Coverdale’s band remains the outfit responsible for The Purple Album. Just needed to put that out there. Tommy Aldridge on drums, guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, bassist Michael Devlin and Michele Luppi on keyboards; their performance here typically brash and American, lots of showy guitar and big, booming drums. And they do their job well. But I cannot and will not shy away from the fact that Coverdale’s lyrics detract from anything the rest of the band do. Yes, there are hundreds of bands who write in similar style, and I have favourites from the 1970s and 1980s where the songs are just as questionable, but in 2019? Yes, it’s just music and maybe I’m being oversensitive, but that’s me and this is my opinion. It’s our role as reviewers to challenge and question. It’s your decision as a reader to think. This is an album that may be polished and professional, but its inappropriateness is astonishing. 4/10
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