SYNCOLIMA ~ WAVELENGTHS ... review

 

Mansfield, UK's Syncolima came into being after bassist Stoff and drummer Gaz Evans pulled the plug on their previous band Witchtripper and began looking around for a guitarist who could also handle vocals. The pair approached Josh Morgan, who had previously been plying his skills with Supersonic Death Monkey, Morgan agreed to give things a go and after a productive jam session it become apparent that this was something that had wings enough to fly, and so Syncolima were born. The band didn't waste much time documenting their existence and soon released an album, "Where The End Meets The Beginning" which saw Syncolima fusing together elements of hard rock and metal and then adding into that mix pop like hooks and ear catching melodies, not exactly a mainstream rock sound but one that at times came pretty close. This year the band return with their second album, "Wavelengths" a tome with much the same flavour as its predecessor only this time containing a little added spiciness.

"Beautifully Unsaid" kicks things off , a raucous blend of crunching guitar refrains and strident rhythms married to a clean, slightly gritted vocal, a song with the sort of crossover appeal bands like Thin Lizzy and UFO once boasted of, crunchy enough to please the rockers but with a groove that could possibly appeal to a wider demographic. Desert Psychlist has to admit to having reservations about next track "Riff", not because it doesn't rock, because it does, but because its sermon like vocal is more geared towards audience participation and doesn't quite work (for us) as an album track. "Communicide", however, is the perfect album track, a song that rocks when it needs to and lays out languid and lysergic when it doesn't while next track "New Beginnings" finds Syncolima toying with a little proto-doom, not quite Sabbath-esque but certainly in that ballpark. Title track "Wavelengths" is an undulating gem that routinely shifts between hazy and heavy with Morgan tailoring his vocal and guitar tones to accommodate the songs changes and Stoff and Evans laying down an almost fusion type groove to drive those changes. "Death of an Enemy" and "The Dregs" are out and out heavy rockers  that are sure to become live favourites while "Down In The Muck" twins a 70's heavy rock groove with a 60's flavoured vocal melody then signs out on a Celtic reel played at warp speed. "Dead and Gone" follows and is a hard rock gem with an almost theatrical dynamic that is both playful and rocking, The band bring things to a close with "Pound of Flesh" another undulating tome that twins languid passages with heavier sections and sees Morgan chopping out Lizzy/UFO flavoured guitar refrains and lysergic laced guitar solos while Stoff  lays down exceptional bottom end in support, Evans' tight solid and powerful drumming the glue holding it all together.

Syncolima are not a doom, a heavy metal, a stoner, a psych, a glam or even a pop band but at the same time they are all those things and more, they are a band unafraid to dip their toes into any genre that takes their fancy just so long as they can make it rock. They have a sound that is unmistakably British and owes a debt to Thin Lizzy, UFO, Stray and bands of that ilk but one, that like those bands mentioned, is international in its appeal. "Where The End Meets The Beginning" was a great debut, "Wavelengths" is a superb follow up, their next will be a MONSTER!

Check 'em out ..... 

© 2023 Frazer Jones