When Kyuss first connected up their amps to a generator in the middle of a Californian desert back in the early 90's little did they know they would be kick starting a scene that would still be thriving thirty plus years later. It may also have come as a surprise to them how much their blend of punk and heavy rock would be embraced by audiences and budding musicians living many miles away in Europe, so much so that even today there are more stoner/desert rock related festivals and events in Europe than there are in the music's North American birthplace. One European band to have taken that desert rock sound and put their own spin on it are Denmark's Fusskalt who hail from the Danish town Skanderborg. Fusskalt first came onto Desert Psychlist's radar via their 2015 release "Overdrive" a collection of hard rocking tunes drenched in fuzzy crunchiness that immediately had us going back to check out the bands previous releases "Songs For Speedin' and Chasin (volume 1)" and its follow up "(volume 2)". Fusskalt really came into their own though with their 2018 release "Intercooler" an album that found the bands sound taking on a more mature and refined dynamic, a sound that still retained its raw edginess but felt slightly less abrasive. Not long after "Intercooler" original vocalist Lars Frederiksen left and so the band had to cast the net wide to search for a new vocalist and in came Nikolaj "Niko" Sune Krogh-Poulsen a vocalist in possession of his own distinctive tone but a tone not so radically different that it would change the bands overall musical attack. It is Niko along with stalwarts Nick Jensen (guitars); Thomas Brandt (guitar); Janus Kinke Pedersen (bass) and Jonas Emil Nielsen (drums) who are responsible for new release "Faceless Man" an EP that sees the band taking that maturity and refinement displayed on "Intercooler" to a whole new level.
Desert Psychlist is not 100% sure why opening number "Fuzz Cult" is so named as its lyrics make no mention of cults or cabals but let us tell you that if the band did decide to start up some fuzz based religion and used this slice of southern tinted desert rock, boasting gritty clean vocals and backing "woo-woo's" reminiscent of the Rolling Stones "Sympathy For The Devil". as its anthem then we at The Psychlist would be signing up to join faster than you can say "banging"! "River of Gold" follows and is a song that lyrically tackles insecurity and depression head on against a backdrop of thrumming stonerized groove over which Niko tells us he's "fucked up" and "terrified" in wearied but powerful tones, a big shout should go out to Thomas Brandt here, his lead work on this tune is sublime. Nielsen's solid rolling drums combine with Pedersen's low rumbling bass and Jensen's fuzzy riffs and chunky power chords to give Niko a platform to wax lyrical about his feelings of loneliness and invisibility on the strident "Sirens", Brandt again pulling out all the stops here with his lead work. Title track "Faceless Man" is part a lament, part a torch song and part a slow burning hard rock behemoth that is fronted with a powerful vocal that is soulful and reflective in the songs verses and angry and pleading in the chorus with the songs musical dynamic following a similar path to its vocals with passages of bluesy languidity rising up to huge crescendo's only to then slowly drift down again. Last number "Hippielort (The sacrifice I make)" is a song that sits somewhere between 90's stoner and 70's hard rock but with present day versions of both dynamics mingled in, as is the case with every song on this superb release each member is on their "A" game. Those non-Danish speakers among us who might be wondering about the word "hippielort" in the songs title will be pleased to know that "lort" translates to "shit" in English.... so basically this is a song about "hippy shit"!
With not much news coming out of their camp and no new releases since 2018's "Intercooler" many might have wondered if Fusskalt had hauled up the white flag and called it a day, thankfully that was not the case and this year sees the band return with not only a brand new EP, "Faceless Man," but also a brand new vocalist, if you thought they were great before wait until you hear them NOW!
Check 'em out .....
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