MONOLITH GROWS! ~ BLACK AND SUPERSONIC ..... review

What's in a name? Well if your band started life flying under the banner Monolith only to find out later that there are at least a gazillion and one other "Monolith's" doing the rounds, then Desert Psychlist expects quite a lot, especially after you've released two EP's and an album under that name. Still these things happen and having realised their predicament the quartet from Modena, Italy have added the word "Grows!" to their title. It's the same band, the same sound but with a slightly longer name, just check out their new release "Black and Supersonic" (Burning Wax Productions) if you need reassurance.

Part heavy metal rockers, part fuzz driven stoners and part angsty grunge groovesters Monolith Grows! are a band who cover a lot of bases and cover them all well. It might seem, from someone looking in from the outside, that a band incorporating so many styles and elements into their sound would have to make certain musical compromises to accommodate them all but thankfully this is not the case. Monolith Grows!, Andrea Marzoli (guitar/vocals), Enrico Busi (bass/vocals), Massimiliano Codeluppi (guitar) and Riccardo Becero Cocetti (percussion), manage to swing back and forth between Alice In Chains-like slurring grooviness on "Ultraviolet In The Clear Sky" and " Low", to Kyuss/QOTSA-esque quirky desert swagger, "You're Gone","Satan Monday Bureau"(featuring House of Broken Promises Joe Mora) and "So Fresh", while on the way touching on old school classic rock and metal with "Here Comes The Hero", Silly Gods" and "Above the Doubts", managing to inject elements from all these influences and more into their grooves without ever losing sight their own unique sound, even when stepping outside of the box, as on the ambient "Interlude With Synths and Clean Guitar". The Nirvana-esque "Empire of Dirt" that closes proceedings rounds up ,what is for Desert Psychlist, a very interesting and highly enjoyable album and an  opus that will resonate with many of those listeners brought to today's heavy underground music via Seattle's mid eighties/early nineties alt/grunge scene.

"Black and Supersonic" is not an overly heavy album, but it does have it's heavy moments, neither could it be considered mellow and laid back, yet it has those moments to, what Monolith Grows! have created here is an album that ticks all the right boxes and is a damn fine collection of extremely well written and performed rock songs..... and that is something worth checking out.....

© 2018 Frazer Jones

MISSISSIPPI BONES ~ RADIO FREE CONSPIRACY THEORY ...... review

Concept albums inspired by novels are usually heady, intellectual affairs full of  deep meaning and serious thought, with not a lot of room for humour. Mississippi Bones do not adhere to that train of thought however, and when the six piece stoner rockers from Ada, Ohio, decided to tackle a concept they chose to base it around Jonathan Raab's "The Hillbilly Moonshine Massacre", one of the craziest, funniest, surreal novels ever set to print, and to write it from the perspective of one of the novel's main characters, Sheriff Cecil Kotto, and his conspiracy theory radio show.
This is "Radio Free Conspiracy Theory" grab a beer, relax and let Mississippi Bones treat you to one of the funniest, rockiest concepts albums ever recorded.

Structured as "live" broadcast, with Sheriff Kotto airing his thoughts on various conspiracies and theories, hosting a phone in while also trying to deal with a real life X-files like crisis happening on his own doorstep, "Radio Free Conspiracy Theory" is a masterpiece of audial storytelling and musical execution that sees Mississippi Bones supplying the musical interludes to Kotto's DJ'ing, theorising and general all round Earth saving. The fact that Mississippi Bones drafted in the novelist Jonathan Raab to help write the "radio" passages between each song, as well as employing a whole slew of  actors to voice the various characters phoning in, adds a whole new dimension to this project. However this project would not work without the excellent southern tinted stonerized grooves Mississippi Bones interrupt Kotto's musings and theories with, and while we are talking about the music, let's address the elephant in the room and get one thing out of the way before we start. The criticism that is bound to be levelled at this album, and for that matter Mississippi Bones sound in general, is that they sound both dynamically, musically and vocally similar to Clutch, there is no getting away from this, those similarities are undeniably there for all to hear, and so the best thing to do is either accept the fact, and enjoy what Mississippi Bones do, or go find something else to listen to. Desert Psychlist highly recommends doing the former, let's face it who could not love a band, who in a song called "101 Ways To Cook A Human", insert the lyric "They call us monsters, but who cares what dinner thinks? "

Do yourselves a favour, put aside your Clutch sized reservations and just enjoy Mississippi Bones' "Radio Free Conspiracy Theory" for what it is, a damn fine rock record based around a brilliantly funny and thought provoking concept that combines both story and music in a unique and highly enjoyable way.

Check it out ….

Sheriff Cecil Kotto

Mississippi Bones
© 2018 Frazer Jones

THE STONE EYE ~ KEVLAR, KRYPTONITE, GLORIA ..... review

Philidelphia's The Stone Eye don't mess about, less than a year from the release of their third album "The Meadow" the band return with another platter of intoxicating groove and fuzz drenched riffage, this time flying under the  working title of  "Kevlar,Kryptonite, Gloria"

The unassuming  artwork of an industrial smokestack looming over suburban dwellings may fool the listener into expecting something a little stark and equally industrial from The Stone Eye's new album and although there are moments of starkness and indie flavoured industrialism to be found among the eleven songs presented here, the overriding impression is one of swaggering bluesy, stonerized, hard/classic rock. The Stone Eye for all their angsty posturing and fuzzy seriousness are, at root, a blues band, ok not your regular twelve to the bar blues band, but a blues band nonetheless. That they cleverly hide their blues roots beneath a mountain of fuzz, discordant noise and occasional indie flavoured acoustics is to their credit but every now and then the mask slips and those blues credentials peek through the smokescreens of indie melodies, grungy dynamics and stonerized distortion and show themselves in all their naked glory and when they do it is quite breath-taking.

Overall The Stone Eye's "Kevlar, Kryptonite, Gloria" is a diverse and delightful album full to brimming over with solid musicianship and strong vocal performances and is packed to the rafters with songs that, thanks to strong songwriting skills and clever arrangements, are not reliant on just riffs to pull them through.
Check 'em out....

© 2018 Frazer Jones

DUNE PILOT ~ LUCY ....... review

The term "desert rock" came in to being thanks to bands like Kyuss, Unida and Yawning Man playing, impromptu gigs, called "generator parties", out in the surrounding deserts of their Palm Desert home base in the late 80's, since then the desert rock sound, a sort of hybrid of hard rock, punk, psych and Latin influences has spread wide and far and is now being played by bands who's proximity to anything even resembling a desert is probably a sand pit in their local children's playground.
Munich, Germany is not exactly a vast wilderness populated by tall spiny cactus and sun bleached bones but four guys from that Bavarian capital, performing under the extremely apt title of Dune Pilot, sure know their way around a dusty desert groove, as can be witnessed on their latest release "Lucy"

The desert can be a cold and desolate place in its night time period yet deadly hot, humid and unforgiving during the day and although Dune Pilot's closest encounter with such a landscape has probably been via the pages of a copy of the National Geographic, left lying open in the waiting room of a doctor's surgery, the band have somehow managed to reflect those extremes in their raucous sandy grooves. Those hot and humid elements come through perfectly on songs like the barnstormin' opener "Loaded", the raucous, romping desert rocker "Postman", and the Sasquatch-esque "Speak Up" but the band are just as adept at delivering  desolate and doomic, as can be witnessed on their more sedately paced tunes, such as the  slowly building "Griper" and the schizophrenic closer "Feed Your Conscience", songs that balance the albums more aggressive moments with those of a more restrained and reflective vibe and give the albums overall impact a more rounded and immediate dynamic..

Superbly executed, with strong performances in both the vocal and instrumental departments, "Lucy" is an album that proves you don't have to live in a desert to be able to play "desert" you just need a little imagination and bucketful of groove.
Check it out ….

© 2018 Frazer Jones

RED MESA ~ THE DEVIL AND THE DESERT ....... review

Red Mesa, the brainchild of Albuquerque, New Mexico based guitarist/vocalist Brad Frye, first tickled our senses with their 2014 self titled debut release "Red Mesa" a stunning debut that mixed subterranean doominess with large doses of dusty desert rock drive and southern rock swagger. Life, however, does not always run smooth when your in a band and after a while Frye found himself as the only remaining member of Red Mesa. With a slew of songs and riffs revolving around in his head Frye decided to carry on and with the help of Empty House Studio's Matthew Tobias on drums and with additional lap steel, guitar and bass contributions from John McMillian and Alex McMahon (and with the help of a crowd funding campaign) this makeshift band entered the studio, the result of which is a brand new album entitled "The Devil and The Desert".

Acoustic guitar introduces first track "Devil Come Out To Play" followed by Frye's voice calling for the horned one to join him in revelry, the guitarist/vocalist's voice distinctive and clean tinted with a pleasing drawl asking, pleading for the Lord of the Flies to "take my blues away". This one song alone sets the tone for the rest of the album and signals a whole shift in direction from the proto-doomic bluesy bluster of the bands previous album. Where "Red Mesa" took it's lead from the more raucous end of the stoner/hard rock spectrum here we find Frye toying with a more refined and down home dynamic, still rooted in the blues but with a more country/Americana edge, Frye even going as far as throwing in some jazzy fusion like colouring on the beautiful "Springtime In The Desert". This is not to say that Red Mesa have totally abandoned their more raucous roots as can be witnessed on the gritty blues drenched "Sacred Datura" and the swaggering hard rocker  "Route 666", it is however on those songs with a more sedate and restrained groove like "The Devil's Coming 'Round" and the eastern tinted "Desert Sol" that this collective really shine. Having said that it is the more doomic and dark title track "The Devil and The Desert" that is the highlight of the album, Frye's vocals here taking on a gruffer, throatier tone as he rages over a dark backdrop of doomic groove, underscored by grumbling, growling bass and thunderous, pummelling percussion, a groove around which Frye also weaves swirling lead lines and crunching riffage. Even here, with the band hitting their darkest and dankest groove, Frye cannot help but throw in a lysergic and heady mid-section to keep us bewildered, bemused and on our toes.

"The Devil and The Desert" is a brave and courageous album especially when you consider, that after releasing such a well received debut, Frye could easily have  taken the easy route and followed up with just more of the same, thankfully Frye opted to take a different path which has resulted in a more rounded and more complete release which will appeal to both those already familiar with his previous work and those coming to it anew.
Check it out ....

© 2018 Frazer Jones

BLACK MOON CIRCLE ~ PSYCHEDELIC SPACELORD .... review

Ariving in a in a blaze of shimmering, flickering light the Pychedelic Spacelord extends his arm, ancient runes tattooed on parchment like skin barely visible beneath his long multi coloured sleeve as he beckons me to join him. Unable to resist I move forwards and in what seems like nanoseconds I am transported to a place far removed from my home world Earth, a place with the appearance of a long lava tube yet with a weird transparency that enables me to look onto and into the vast surrounding cosmos. "These are the paths between matter and dark matter where we the Spacelords of The Black Moon Circle walk" says the cowled figure, his back to me . Suddenly a darkly beautiful music fills the air , a music that seems to touch my very soul. The cowled figure slowly turns removing his cowl and with piercing eyes that look right through me say's "And this is our new album"

Black Moon Circle, a collective of like minded musical astronauts from Trondheim, Norway, have been pedalling their brand of psychedelic cosmic rock around Europe since their formation in 2014 and in that time have released a slew of swirling space themed and psychedelic drenched albums and EP's, the band return this year with a new opus entitled "Psychedelic Spacelord", and what an album it is.

Consisting of just one song "Psychedelic Spacelord" is nonetheless a diverse and exhilarating collection of grooves seamlessly stitched together in one long movement Those that might expecting the usual references to Hawkwind, that occur whenever anyone reviews anything that has a space connection, will have to look elsewhere as although their are places where the two bands meet musically those places are few and far between and Black Moon Circle are a much more complex and complicated animal. "Psychedelic Spacelord" shifts and shape changes its way over forty six plus minutes, moving from ambient tranquilty one minute to full on heavy metal bluster the next, touching on a myriad of other elements and dynamics along the way, utilising keys/synths, violins and some really nicely pitched vocals to expand its sound around a core of guitar, bass and drums, the whole coming together to create a sound that is as spectacular as it is mind blowing.

If  "Psychedelic Spacelord"  were to be described as a planet then it would have to be that jewel of the Galaxy Saturn, on the outside serene and blessed with unbelievable beauty yet beneath its surface  a maelstrom of turbulence and unpredictability.

Check it out....

© 2018 Frazer Jones

GODS & PUNKS ~ CEREMONY OF DAMNATION PT.1 ........ review

Some avid Desert Psychlist readers may remember us reviewing an album entitled "Into the Dunes of Doom" released, last year, by Brazilian combo Gods & Punks, an intriguing collection of songs that blended elements of space and psych with those of a more stoner/hard rock flavour. Well the band are back with a brand new three song EP entitled "Ceremony of Damnation Pt. 1" the first instalment of what the band promises is an ongoing project.

"Ceremony of Damnation Pt.1" finds Gods & Punks shifting a little away from the desert fuelled doom roots of their previous release and moving towards a darker more complex musical dynamic, the band ramping up both the proggish and doomic aspects of their sound and experimenting with various levels of depth and texture. These levels reveal themselves almost immediately on the excellent opener "Welcome To The Ceremony", vocalist Alexandre imploring us, in helium pitched tones, to "step inside the tomb" and "worship the light or burn in fire" against a backdrop of grinding riffage, rumbling bass and pulverising percussion. Next track "Ground Zero" steps even closer to the edge of the abyss with a slow reverberating guitar intro that is then joined by the second guitar, the bass and the drums in a stone crumbling doomic groove that then subsides to allow the vocals to enter. The songs lyrics deal with a more personal themes like relationships and pain and the music reflects those themes in its undulating execution, brutal and heavy one moment mellower and more reflective the next. Final song "Blood Moon Sky" hits almost immediately into a raucous and fuzzed stoner refrain only pausing for the vocals before then taking off again. At just under the three quarter mark the song embarks on a enthralling ride through stoner and doom territories the band shifting back and forth between hard rock bluster and doomic devastation before finally finishing with a quick sprint over water, a Dick Dale type surf guitar motif taking things to the close.

Dark themes make for dark music and Gods & Punks are most definitely exploring a side of themselves they have not visited musically before on "Ceremony of Damnation Pt.1", whether this is a direction they want to pursue with subsequent releases only time will tell but until we find out lets enjoy their pain
Check it out ….

© 2018 Frazer Jones