Full disclosure: I have zero musical talent. But if I did, I would want my band to sound just like The Golden Grass does on their new album, Life Is Much Stranger. The New York trio have hit an absolute home run with their fourth album and first for Heavy Psych Sounds, a label that is killing it this year so far. These guys play proto/retro/stoner rock layered with heavy psych leanings and have been pretty consistent with their output thus far. Life Is Much Stranger, however, is next level; it is gigantic in stature, is perfectly produced, and the songwriting is the pinnacle of what the band has produced so far which is quite the feat given the difficulties the band had collaborating during the pandemic.
So, what do I hear when I listen to Life Is Much Stranger? Think of all of those killer proto bands that are showing up in reissues and comps these days (Dust, Farm, Orang-Utan), sprinkled with some Stones/Crowes magic, with touches of prog, psych, Southern, and boogie that makes this record but familiar and like nothing else at the same time. The opening track, Howlin, is a song of the year contender that is catchy as hell and will have you singing some pretty dark lyrics to yourself at random times during the day. With a SHAMC Crowes type riff to lead it off and a total Southern rock feel, Howlin just absolutely rips, especially when the tempo picks up and the solo kicks in. The background vocals and drums stand out as being recorded with a chef’s kiss as well. Just perfect.
So, what do I hear when I listen to Life Is Much Stranger? Think of all of those killer proto bands that are showing up in reissues and comps these days (Dust, Farm, Orang-Utan), sprinkled with some Stones/Crowes magic, with touches of prog, psych, Southern, and boogie that makes this record but familiar and like nothing else at the same time. The opening track, Howlin, is a song of the year contender that is catchy as hell and will have you singing some pretty dark lyrics to yourself at random times during the day. With a SHAMC Crowes type riff to lead it off and a total Southern rock feel, Howlin just absolutely rips, especially when the tempo picks up and the solo kicks in. The background vocals and drums stand out as being recorded with a chef’s kiss as well. Just perfect.
Springtime On Stanwoods doesn’t bring down the quality at all, with a killer proto vibe and nice layered guitars, is again super catchy, and I love the boogie breakdown, and of course the liberally used cowbell. Island In You Head has that Stones/Crowes vibe I mentioned, especially that riff (which also sounds like a Hold Steady riff) but includes some killer psych touches as well. I love how the band just goes off for two minutes as these guys sure can play. 100 Arrows is the most up-tempo track on Life Is Much Stranger, and would be their most proto of the songs but paired with some retro rock stylings which you hear the most in the chorus, and is once again catchy and expertly played.
Not Without It’s Charm reminds me of some serious 70s dad rock in the best kind of way with that killer layered guitar sound and catchy as hell chorus. This is a song that could have been on the Umbilicus record from last year, which will make sense to like eight people know the album I am referencing (but if you have not heard that go listen). I hear Thin Lizzy vibes on Life Is Much Stranger too. Just listen to The Answers Never Know. The closer, A Peculiar Situation, ratches up the boogie partnered with some Stones Goats Head Soup vibes. So what’s not to love here?
So, to summarize, Life Is Much Stranger rules. The songs and the playing, the undeniable catchiness, the just the right amount of throwback without it being a cheap imitation, and the overall huge but not overdone sound of this album makes it a top five contender on my album of the year list. I know we have a long way to go but The Golden Grass have transfixed me on Life Is Much Stranger and I don’t see a way out any time soon. So if I ever start a band you know who I am calling first. 10/10
The Crooked Whispers - Funeral Blues (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]
There may not be a more fitting title for an album this year than Funeral Blues, the latest dark and evil riff fest from Los Angeles via Argentina doom/occult/heavy psych band Crooked Whispers, brought to you by Ripple Music. Funeral Blues is eight tracks of pure evil ready to take your soul and devour it piece by piece.
The elephant in the room when listening to Crooked Whispers is the vocal stylings of Anthony Gaglia, which is more of a high croak then it is someone signing. Think some of the early black metal stuff but over slowed down doom and instead frantic screeching guitars. The vocals will not be for everyone, but if you do enjoy that style or just love dark and heavy riffs you will dig Funeral Blues. Suicide Castle right off the bat is pure evil with killer riffs and those vocals in full effect. This is definitely the scariest album in the Ripple catalog. You get more riffs but the vocals almost to a normal signing voice on the excellent track, Stay In Hell.
So, to summarize, Life Is Much Stranger rules. The songs and the playing, the undeniable catchiness, the just the right amount of throwback without it being a cheap imitation, and the overall huge but not overdone sound of this album makes it a top five contender on my album of the year list. I know we have a long way to go but The Golden Grass have transfixed me on Life Is Much Stranger and I don’t see a way out any time soon. So if I ever start a band you know who I am calling first. 10/10
The Crooked Whispers - Funeral Blues (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]
There may not be a more fitting title for an album this year than Funeral Blues, the latest dark and evil riff fest from Los Angeles via Argentina doom/occult/heavy psych band Crooked Whispers, brought to you by Ripple Music. Funeral Blues is eight tracks of pure evil ready to take your soul and devour it piece by piece.
The elephant in the room when listening to Crooked Whispers is the vocal stylings of Anthony Gaglia, which is more of a high croak then it is someone signing. Think some of the early black metal stuff but over slowed down doom and instead frantic screeching guitars. The vocals will not be for everyone, but if you do enjoy that style or just love dark and heavy riffs you will dig Funeral Blues. Suicide Castle right off the bat is pure evil with killer riffs and those vocals in full effect. This is definitely the scariest album in the Ripple catalog. You get more riffs but the vocals almost to a normal signing voice on the excellent track, Stay In Hell.
This is where the band will bring in the folks that are scared off by nontraditional signing because for Gaglia he is practically crooning (relatively speaking) and combined with the absolute killer guitar work this is a winner. The title track is some more face punching slow doom riffs and that evil croak returning from the depths of hell for some more scary as hell heavy occult doom bubbling up from the depths of hell. Oh, and how about that creepy as hell female background vocal? The guitar tone is killer on this album, with songs like When Nothing Is Left and Crippled Shadow as perfect examples. My favorite riff is from Deathmaker, and that is saying a lot because this thing is filled with riffs.
The vocals will turn some off, but otherwise the new Crooked Whispers album is a winner. With the evilest of riffs and the ready for Halloween, scare your socks off occult doom vibes, Funeral Blues will be sure to keep you shivering in the corner hoping the monster doesn’t look in your direction, but your end is inevitable, so just give in to the evil and check out the new Crooked Whispers slab from hell. 8/10
Paul Gilbert - The Dio Album (Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group) [Mark Young]
Reviewing an instrumental album is new for me, they are not something that I would normally listen to as a rule of thumb although individual tracks say by Metallica (Orion) for example can act as palate cleanser for the rest of the album.
Considering that within the overarching genre of rock music there is a history of epic, guitar driven arrangements which are full of virtuoso moments but are also considered overblown, overlong, and possibly a target for gentle ribbing or maybe not-so gentle ribbing so I guess it is a question of taste.
Paul Gilbert is a talent that you potentially have never heard of. Co-founder of Mr. Big and a member of Racer X and has been active in music since the early 80’s and has continued to keep going with different endeavours and has tried to avoid repetition where possible, which brings us to what we have here.
It is entirely possible that you might find the idea of taking the most classic Dio moments and recording them this way to be distasteful or a waste when you think of how to improve upon those legendary tracks. Putting that to one side, what we have is a respectful reimagining of the original material. This is a faithful recreation of the source material with his guitar replacing Dio’s vocal lines. Everything else is more or less the same so I suppose your enjoyment of this would depend on how you feel about the idea in the first place. Each of the tracks takes in each of the main phases of his life from Rainbow through to Black Sabbath and then to his solo career, all delivered with the razor-sharp guitar ability we know that Paul has.
This would not have been an easy undertaking to sit and analyse how he would do it, but he has in a way that puts his unique spin on things and fans of his instrumental work will no doubt love this. The thing that made these songs what they were in the first instance is the voice, which elevated them into the classics they are and because it is missing it also means that a lot of the power is also missing. Giving this a rating is difficult so I’ll approach it from the perspective of is it any good? It is but I’m not sure if you will still play this in 6 months’ time unless you are a major fan of both Paul Gilbert and of instrumental arrangements. 6/10
Cultura Tres - Camino De Brujos (AJM / Bloodblast) [Mark Young]
Right, a quick stop over in South America, with Venezuela natives Cultura Tres, a band who have been going since 2006. Self-proclaimed as 100% heavy metal, it bodes well. Of the ten songs here, there are no ballads, and it is a finer world for it. They have promised a furious and intense album and have enlisted Paulo Jr from Sepultura to add the bottom end. What you have here, is 45 minutes of punk-infused metal, that sounds not a million miles away from Sepultura. Whether that is intentional, or due to having Paulo Jr in their ranks is anyone’s guess but rest assured, despite having a similar sound It is its own beast, and it is a belter.
From the album opener The World And Its Lies through announcing itself and being true to their promise of wanting to kick you all around the room and is closely followed by Time Is Up, as that flies into a classic break-down with wah solo over the top, ending with a melodic passage that closes out nicely. Signs begins with an air-raid siren type bend and squeezes as much as possible out of this as they offer their own take on groove. Its full of dynamics that all fall within the heavy end of the spectrum and I love it. They pull this back into a top-class lead break, full on wah and emotional chord changes within it before getting back on track to kicking your teeth in. This is the longest track on here, and for me shows there is lot more to come from them.
The vocals will turn some off, but otherwise the new Crooked Whispers album is a winner. With the evilest of riffs and the ready for Halloween, scare your socks off occult doom vibes, Funeral Blues will be sure to keep you shivering in the corner hoping the monster doesn’t look in your direction, but your end is inevitable, so just give in to the evil and check out the new Crooked Whispers slab from hell. 8/10
Paul Gilbert - The Dio Album (Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group) [Mark Young]
Reviewing an instrumental album is new for me, they are not something that I would normally listen to as a rule of thumb although individual tracks say by Metallica (Orion) for example can act as palate cleanser for the rest of the album.
Considering that within the overarching genre of rock music there is a history of epic, guitar driven arrangements which are full of virtuoso moments but are also considered overblown, overlong, and possibly a target for gentle ribbing or maybe not-so gentle ribbing so I guess it is a question of taste.
Paul Gilbert is a talent that you potentially have never heard of. Co-founder of Mr. Big and a member of Racer X and has been active in music since the early 80’s and has continued to keep going with different endeavours and has tried to avoid repetition where possible, which brings us to what we have here.
It is entirely possible that you might find the idea of taking the most classic Dio moments and recording them this way to be distasteful or a waste when you think of how to improve upon those legendary tracks. Putting that to one side, what we have is a respectful reimagining of the original material. This is a faithful recreation of the source material with his guitar replacing Dio’s vocal lines. Everything else is more or less the same so I suppose your enjoyment of this would depend on how you feel about the idea in the first place. Each of the tracks takes in each of the main phases of his life from Rainbow through to Black Sabbath and then to his solo career, all delivered with the razor-sharp guitar ability we know that Paul has.
This would not have been an easy undertaking to sit and analyse how he would do it, but he has in a way that puts his unique spin on things and fans of his instrumental work will no doubt love this. The thing that made these songs what they were in the first instance is the voice, which elevated them into the classics they are and because it is missing it also means that a lot of the power is also missing. Giving this a rating is difficult so I’ll approach it from the perspective of is it any good? It is but I’m not sure if you will still play this in 6 months’ time unless you are a major fan of both Paul Gilbert and of instrumental arrangements. 6/10
Cultura Tres - Camino De Brujos (AJM / Bloodblast) [Mark Young]
Right, a quick stop over in South America, with Venezuela natives Cultura Tres, a band who have been going since 2006. Self-proclaimed as 100% heavy metal, it bodes well. Of the ten songs here, there are no ballads, and it is a finer world for it. They have promised a furious and intense album and have enlisted Paulo Jr from Sepultura to add the bottom end. What you have here, is 45 minutes of punk-infused metal, that sounds not a million miles away from Sepultura. Whether that is intentional, or due to having Paulo Jr in their ranks is anyone’s guess but rest assured, despite having a similar sound It is its own beast, and it is a belter.
From the album opener The World And Its Lies through announcing itself and being true to their promise of wanting to kick you all around the room and is closely followed by Time Is Up, as that flies into a classic break-down with wah solo over the top, ending with a melodic passage that closes out nicely. Signs begins with an air-raid siren type bend and squeezes as much as possible out of this as they offer their own take on groove. Its full of dynamics that all fall within the heavy end of the spectrum and I love it. They pull this back into a top-class lead break, full on wah and emotional chord changes within it before getting back on track to kicking your teeth in. This is the longest track on here, and for me shows there is lot more to come from them.
The Land has that classic Slayer type note passage of a repeating motif that builds with the drums pummelling before it is expanded to take the song forward through into the solo break, which does re-tread some of the ideas in Signs, but I’ll forgive them for that. Proxy War snaps us back into it, moving swiftly with the ever-present percussion that marks them out as being from South America. Here there is a discordant riff that gives way to allow the solo to breath before coming back at us to finish the track off.
19 Horas has spoken lines which rise in volume as the musical lines around expand and take on an urgency before dropping into what appears to be like an extended jam with ambient noise bringing it to an end which then allows Zombies to explode out of the trap. This is probably the most punk song and will be responsible for several injuries in the pit when they play this live. It’s a scorcher that burns bright for the first third before they intone about Conspiracy Zombies and things slow down into acoustic territory as it ends quietly. De Maracay is a throw away filler, nothing to see here. Penultimate track, The Smell Of Death grinds its way through to finally pick up and bring that earlier rage before letting the title song in to close us out.
I guess the problem that people might have is that each song is very similar to the one that precedes it. All of them are well put together and are delivered earnestly and the fury they talk about in how the album came together is palpable, but they mostly sit within that mid-tempo range where there is only so much variation they can bring. If you imagine that music can also have a corresponding colour, and this would be grey.
It is this lack of variety that traps the album as you really expect there to be faster songs on here and marks it as being a bit one-dimensional which given the strength of the first three songs is disappointing because they definitely have more to give. 6/10
19 Horas has spoken lines which rise in volume as the musical lines around expand and take on an urgency before dropping into what appears to be like an extended jam with ambient noise bringing it to an end which then allows Zombies to explode out of the trap. This is probably the most punk song and will be responsible for several injuries in the pit when they play this live. It’s a scorcher that burns bright for the first third before they intone about Conspiracy Zombies and things slow down into acoustic territory as it ends quietly. De Maracay is a throw away filler, nothing to see here. Penultimate track, The Smell Of Death grinds its way through to finally pick up and bring that earlier rage before letting the title song in to close us out.
I guess the problem that people might have is that each song is very similar to the one that precedes it. All of them are well put together and are delivered earnestly and the fury they talk about in how the album came together is palpable, but they mostly sit within that mid-tempo range where there is only so much variation they can bring. If you imagine that music can also have a corresponding colour, and this would be grey.
It is this lack of variety that traps the album as you really expect there to be faster songs on here and marks it as being a bit one-dimensional which given the strength of the first three songs is disappointing because they definitely have more to give. 6/10
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