If there is one sub-genre of music that will guarantee that we at Desert Psychlist will kick back our chairs an indulge in some fist pumping idiot dancing then its heavy rock with a southern swagger in its gait. Usually these type of grooves hail from the southern states of the USA but in this case they originate from a quite different south, the south of France, Toulouse to be precise. The band playing these grooves go by the very un-woke name of MuffDiver and consist of Manu (guitar); Marc (guitar); Etienne (bass); Tommy (drums) and Fanch (vocals /guitar), a band that jam a groove that begs borrows and steals from stoner rock, alt-rock/metal and the blues but at its heart is as southern as deep fried chicken and black eyed peas. The French five piece combo have just released their second EP "CTRL+P" and its finger lickin' good!
Things get hot'n'nasty straight from the off with "To The Bone" a raucous riff laden rocker that struts and stumbles along at a fine old pace incorporating along the way all the cliches and tropes we have come to expect from music with a southern bias, multiple guitar attack, husky vocal tones and lyrics that reference smoking weed and drinking alcohol, but it doesn't matter because this is exactly what we want when listening to music of this ilk and MuffDiver deliver it perfectly. Things couldn't get more "down home" you might be thinking but then they do with next track "The Healer" which finds the band jamming a song that can't decide if its a country tinged lament or a furious southern rock torch song and so settles on being both. "Childish Cruelty" and its follow up "In Your Honour" we shall deal with together as they both deal with depression and suicide with a level of candour and intelligence rare in rock music, the former chronicling an extreme reaction to years of childhood bullying, against a backdrop of groove reminiscent of early Black Stone Cherry, and the latter a heart wrenching open letter written to a troubled friend who the author knows will never read it, the song played out to a soundtrack of swirling bluesy guitars and sympathetic rhythms with the songs lyrics delivered in a voice wracked with a myriad of conflicting emotions. After the raw and heavy emotional subject matter of the last two songs you will be in sore need of something to raise the spirits and "Complete the Mission" does just that, it is an up-tempo romp driven by thundering bass and tight solid drumming that sees all three guitarists furiously competing with each other to be top dog, and if that's not enough there's even some crazy parping harmonica howling around the gritty soulful vocals to seal the deal and leave you with a big sloppy grin on your face
© 2023 Frazer Jones
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