Thirty Doradus, Daniel (drums/vocals); Olli (bass/vocals); Jens (guitar) and Christoph (guitar), describe their music with all the straightforwardness and efficiency we have come to expect from Germans, they don't try to dress things up with all the usual bells and whistles they say it how it is and that is that Thirty Doradus play "heavy psychedelic blues with progressive elements and deeply layered sounds and rhythm arrangements". Although bluntly accurate that statement does not really tell you everything you need to know before dropping the needle /pushing play on their equally straightforwardly titled release "EP" which is why we at Desert Psychlist are writing this review, efficiency is all well and good but a release this good deserves a few flowery words.
Things start well with opening number "Under My Stone" the song coming straight out of the traps on a wall of shimmering guitar textures and thundering rhythms before settling down into a hazy loose and bluesy psych groove over which smooth clean vocal tones tell a tale of chosen isolation and escapism, the songs occasional eruptions into a heavier dynamic adding tension and depth to the songs overall impact. Next song "Rimless Hole" finds Thirty Doradus jamming a slow lysergic blues groove around a smoothly crooned vocal, the band using this groove to launch off on musical tangents into territories that include both prog and jazz fusion, often seeming in danger of losing themselves in those territories but always managing to navigate their way back to the songs initial bluesy core. "Parasomnia" finds Thirty Doradus flexing their alt-metal/grunge muscles on a deeply fuzzilicious mid tempo workout, the song employing all the necessary loud/quiet/loud dynamics associated with genre but boasting much more complexity and intensity. Up next is "Gargoyles" a song that mixes off-centred bluesy funkiness with equally off-centred grunginess and features seriously off the scale musicianship from all concerned. Finally we come to "Blue Fish" a moody prog/psych hybrid routinely interrupted by bursts of heavy rock bluster, its not quite the big curtain closer you might have been expecting but that said its still a pretty impressive tune.
There is no reason why, unless knowing the band personally or living in their hometown, the majority of us would have been aware of Thirty Doradus' existence, and lets face it their description of their music and the simplicity of their debut releases title is not exactly a big selling point. That said anyone pushing play or dropping a needle on this understated gem is in for a real treat, a truly remarkable collection of songs deeply rooted in the blues but tinted with elements from a wide range of other musical sources.
Check it out ....
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