THE DRUIDS ~ TOTEM ..... review

The Druids, a four piece hard/psych/space rock band from White Oak, Maryland are Eli "Stone Druid" Watson (guitar/vocals). Danny "Spacehawk" Alger (guitar/vocals), Jeremy "Weed Warlock" Dinges (bass) and Gary "Iceman" Isom (drums/percussion) and should not be mixed up with any of the countless similar named bands currently in operation, such as The Druids (UK, hard rock/glam) or Druid (Ohio, psych/blues).This version of The Druids, although sharing certain musical characteristics with those mentioned, is a different animal altogether, something their new release "Totem" more than testifies too.

UK space rock pioneers Hawkwind played a huge part in shaping Desert Psychlist's appreciation of underground rock and it seems that the West London based cosmonauts have had the same effect on The Druids. It's not that Hawkwind's swirling space rock grooves are uppermost in The Druids overall sound it is just that, although not glaringly obvious, those grooves are nevertheless there sitting just below the surface and occasionally bubbling to top in the form of a vocal inflection or swirling spacey effect. The fact that the band include a song aptly entitled "Hawkwind" just compounds our theory.
First track "Cruising Astral Skies" does somewhat debunk the above statement by settling into a mid tempo hard rock groove that leans towards a more proto-metal sound but then "Atlantean" comes along and although somewhat doomier than anything Dave Brock & co may have come up with it does have a swirling space undercurrent and low-key vocal melody that just screams Hawklords. The aforementioned "Hawkwind" follows, an instrumental that leaves the listener in no doubt about its influences while "Moonshine Witch" brings a touch of bluesy bluster to the table and a hint of 60's psychedelia. "Sorcerers" places The Druids love of psych, space and 90's stoner rock together in one neat package and is followed by the excellent "Turtles Dream" a song that finds the band channelling a little Allman Brothers like swagger into their heady mix. Those Hawkwind vibes are never far away and resurface again on "High Society", the band lyrically referencing their lysergic cosmic leanings with lines like "lunar ships", "hidden realms" and "mushroom brews". "Totem" closes its account with "Sky Submarine" a song whose initial riff, if listened to closely, is a twisted, heavily psyched take on Black Sabbath's "Hand of Doom".

The Druids "Totem" is like a musical collage made up of the musical remnants that have influenced and shaped the bands sound, the band cleverly arranging those remnants so that they sound fresh, original and truly their own.
Check it out …..

© 2019 Frazer Jones

LàGOON ~ THE UNWELCOME ..... review.

Portland Oregon's LàGoon wormed their way into Desert Psychlist's affections via their second full album release "L'affaire de Poisons", a stunning blend of garage rock attitude and punky aggression, an album that demanded attention from its very first note to its last. The band return this spring with a new collection of songs, collated under the banner of "Unwelcome", and it looks as if it's business as usual for this dynamic duo.

"Sneering" would be the best way to describe Anthony Gaglia's vocal styling, the singer/guitarist has a distinctive tone that although not quite on the same level of sneeriness as that of (Sex Pistols/PIL frontman) John Lydon it does however possess a similar level of punkish arrogance and new wave snotyness. Having said this LaGoon's overall sonic impact probably has more in common with the primitive proto-punk/garage rock of Michigan's The Stooges than it does that of London's Sex Pistols, Gaglia's crunching, heavily distorted  guitar tones, pushed hard by Brady Maurer's tight punchy percussion, very much recalling the biting refrains of, the now sadly departed, Stooges six-stringer Ron Asheton. The band claim their influences to be "many different genres of heavy music, and the culture that surrounds skateboarding", Desert Psychlist has very little first hand knowledge of what makes up  "skateboarding culture" but on the evidence of songs like "The Thirst", "Alligator (In Your Head)" and "Live Through Death" maybe it's time we found out.

Raw and primal yet balanced with clever subtle hues and textures "The Unwelcome" is an uncompromising, radically different but wholly enjoyable blend of stoner fuzz and garage grit that is well worth taking the time to.....
Check out....

© 2019 Frazer Jones

GYPSY CHIEF GOLIATH ~ MASTERS OF SPACE AND TIME ..... review

There seems to be a subtle shift towards a more "classic rock" sound within some quarters of the rock underground of late. Whether this is a natural shift brought about by the instrumental and technical evolution of some of the scenes musicians or whether the bands in question are responding to a growing demographic that are now looking for a little more to their music than just a fuzz drenched riff and songs about weed and wizards, Desert Psychlist doesn't know. What we do know though is that over the last month or so Desert Psychlist has seen a growing number of albums and EP's passing across our desk that jam grooves of a more refined musical dynamic.
One of those bands currently approaching their music from a more "classic rock" direction are Gypsy Chief Goliath, Al Yeti Bones (vocals, guitars), Adam Saitti (drums), Darren Brush (bass), Dustin Black (guitars), John Serio (guitars) and Mark Calcott (keyboards) , a sextet from Windsor, Ontario who have just released their fourth album "Masters Of Space And Time" (Kozmik Artifactz)

Gypsy Chief Goliath's previous work ,although showing hints of moving towards a more classic rock sound, has been somewhat heavier and a touch more sludgier than what can be found gracing their latest effort. Those of you familiar with Gypsy Chief Goliath's previous work should however not be dismayed as "Masters Of Space And Time" still retains those more raucous elements of their sound, its just here they are a little more polished and refined. Bones, whose gruff big bear tones were a dominant force on past recordings, must have also been putting a little of that polish on his vocal chords as here we find him mixing up his gruff throaty bellows with vocals of a more restrained and melodic nature, and dare we say it, even coming over a little soulful in places, his mix of harsh and dulcet tones bringing a whole new dimension to GCG's sound. Bones, Serio and Black's three guitar attack, incorporating crunching riffage, swaying dual harmonies and scorching leads, is underpinned throughout "Masters Of Space And Time" by some industrious rhythmic power courtesy of Saitti's solid tight percussion and Brush's earthy bass tones. These grooves are ably bolstered and enhanced by Calcott's  keyboards, the ivory ticklers parping fills and swirling textures combining with the contributions from his fellow band members to add an extra degree of classic rock authenticity and depth to proceedings and take "Masters Of Time And Space" to a whole new level of enjoyment.

Gypsy Chief Goliath were heading towards a more "classic" sound with their excellent 2016 release "Citizens of Nowhere" (Pitch Black Records) but with "Masters of Space And Time" the band have not only arrived at their destination, they are beginning to make it their home.
Check it out ….

© 2019 Frazer Jones

LOTEK CRUISER ~ LOTEK CRUISER ..... review

"Sludge", stoner rock's delinquent cousin, is a genre that causes much confusion and debate among those who regularly write about underground rock and metal. Is sludge defined by its thick swampy grooves? Well not really, Desert Psychlist has come across many a band described as "stoner" or "desert" rock with grooves just as dense and swampy. So is it big meaty bear like bellowed vocals that decide what is and what is not "sludge"? Once again we hit a brick wall here as for every band described as working in the field of sludge metal there are least one or two with vocalists who sing in clean clear tones. "Sludge" it seems is in the ear of the beholder.
Canadian groove meisters Lotek Cruiser, a five piece collection of ragamuffins from Ontario, play grooves that are dense and swampy, the band also coat their grooves in meaty powerful vocal tones that they also mix with occasional cleaner tones. So are they "sludge"? Well Desert Psychlist is going to leave that to you decide by giving their self-titled debut "Lotek Cruiser" a spin.

Whether you come to the conclusion that what Lotek Cruiser bring to the table is sludge, or some form of stonerized metal, there is no denying that what these Canadians do is big. loud, heavy and, on the evidence presented here, mightily impressive. Lotek Cruiser's modus operandi is one of attack, you won't find much ambience or serenity among the ten songs on display here but what you will find, weaved into the fabrics of raucous riffage, pummelling percussion and full on gnarly vocal, power, is subtlety. Now using the word subtlety in the same sentence as raucous and pummelling might come as a surprise to some but when you delve deeper into Lotek Cruiser's grooves you come across those subtle shades everywhere. Prog-like solo's and chord progressions, little snippets of funky bass and tribalistic percussion, although not immediately obvious, raise their heads above the parapets of intensity every now and then and when combined with the powerful mix of harsh and clean vocals give songs, with titles like, "Buried Under The Morning Sun", "Surrender" and "Scars" a fresher more interesting dynamic and a wholly jaw dropping impact

Sludgey, stonerized , doomic and metallic, "Lotek Cruiser" is all these things and more, a highly enjoyable album that deserves to be at the head of any discerning heavy underground rock fans playlist for the duration of 2019 and beyond.

© 2019 Frazer Jones

ORDOS ~THE END ....... review

Back in 2013 an album called "Ordos", by a Swedish band of the same name, landed on Desert Psychlist's desk, a highly enjoyable collection of blackened doom and heavy stoner metal songs that although still a little raw and naïve in places promised much for the future. That promise came to fruition with the bands next release "House of the Dead", a truly remarkable album that took everyone by surprise and culminated in Desert Psychlist voting it our best album of 2017.
This year Ordos return with "The End" (Moving Air Music) and although the band has seen a few minor line up changes since "House of the Dead" the bands dank doomic drive and edgy blackened attack still remains intact and undiminished.

Ordos sound like no other underground band out there at the moment, ok there maybe some bands who can match their intensity and drive but when it comes to writing and arranging songs that can harness that intensity and drive into something that is not just a heavy noise then Ordos are the Grand Meisters. Ordos are without doubt "heavy" but that heaviness is tempered by something the old jazzers used to call "swing" and an almost (but not quite) operatic approach to their vocals, take for example the song "The Hunter of Hades" yes it has brutal groove, yes its vocal is full on and just light of demonic in places but then when you listen to the mix of neo-classical and bluesy guitar motifs that tear through the deep growling bass and complex but strident percussion you begin to realise that there is far more to this band than what first hits the ears. This is what makes Ordos such a great, and for that matter important band, these guys throw into their doomic grooves everything from swaggering bluesy bluster through to extreme grinding black metal but they do not do so haphazardly, the band seem to instinctively know exactly where best to throw in those elements so as to maximise their impact and enhance their overall dynamic . From first track "Exordium" to final track "Omega" expect everything from being brutally bludgeoned to being gently caressed, the band shifting through and between these extremes of dynamic with an unbelievable level of musical skill and vocal prowess that, at all times, is truly breath-taking!

The levels of sonic intensity and musical depth Ordos achieved with "House of the Dead" raised the bar for heavy doomic underground rock, with "The End" Ordos have not only maintained those levels but they may have actually pushed that bar up another notch.
Check it out ….

© 2019 Frazer Jones

WILLOW ASH ~ A BANQUET IN THE GRAVE ..... review

Desert Psychlist has always had a leaning towards grooves that don't conform to the norm and are a little off the beaten track, imagine our delight then when we pressed play on Vermont based Willow Ash's  "A Banquet In The Grave" and discovered an  EP that takes the whole stoner/doom thing and turns it completely on its head.

The pentagram and occult inspired font announcing the band's name, depicted on the EP's cover artwork, may suggest, to some, music of a blackened metallic nature, however Willow Ash's grooves, although containing blackish elements, slide more into the arena of stonerized doom. Now the whole stoner doom thing has its detractors but the angle with which  Willow Ash approach the sub-genre is quite unique and refreshing, the band eschewing the low, slow brutal dirges they have utilised on previous releases for a more intellectual, slightly more considered feel that finds them decorating their songs with guitar tones that lean towards the more indie/post-rock end of the spectrum and grooves that although heavy are just shy of crushing. Vocals, on the EP's three non-instrumental songs "Beyond Where The Trees Turn Black","Banquet In The Grave" and "god (Reason Above All Else" are also non-conformist and are cleverly pitched a little back in the mix and consist of a blend of clean lead and remote, almost dissonant, harmonies with the occasional slide into harshness adding an extra element of dank atmospherics to proceedings. Fourth track, "Back Patio", however muddies the waters by throwing listeners a curveball, the band jamming a jazzy lounge bar instrumental  that although at odds with all that has gone before comes as a nice but totally unexpected surprise.

Heavy without being leaden, doomic without being overly dank, progressive without being prog "A Banquet In The Grave" is also unsettling, disturbing and in places downright weird but then that's the beauty of this little gem of an EP, it doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is and what it is....is different and utterly brilliant.
Check it out ….

© 2019 Frazer Jones

DR. AWKWARD & THE SCREWS ~ GETTIN' OUT OF STYLE .... review

With "Greek Rock Revolution", a documentary highlighting Greece's burgeoning underground rock scene, looming on the horizon Desert Psychlist expects to see a huge peak in interest in Greek flavoured grooves. Never wanting to be late to the party we at Desert Psychlist thought we'd get the ball rolling by pointing you in the direction of Dr. Awkward & The Screws, a heavy blues quartet from Athens who have just released their first full length album "Gettin' Out Of Style"

Dr. Awkward & The Screws may not have made the cut for "Greek Rock Revolution"( the documentary features Naxatras, Planet of Zeus, Puta Volcano, 1000 Mods, Nightstalker, Villagers of Ioannina City and Tuber)  but on the evidence of "Gettin' Out Of Style" they more than deserve to have been included.
Dr. Awkward & The Screws are primarily a blues based combo with stoner(ish) tendencies, a combo with chops to spare and one that among its talented musicians possess a vocalist of distinctive quality and tone. First track "Take Me Down" explodes from the speakers with Pylarinos (Kostas)Kwnstadinos and John Amariotakis chopping out an enticing blend of clean and crunching guitar tones underpinned by solid tight percussion courtesy of drummer Thoukydidis Karpodinis.  Vocalist Grigoris (Greg) Konstantaras delivers, over this raucous wave of stuttering bluesy hard rock, a vocal that sits somewhere between Dave Sherman (Earthride) and Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) as well as supplying some very tasty bottom end via his earthy bass tones. This is the way it rolls for the duration of "Gettin' Out Of Style", the good Dr and his cohorts laying down thick fuzz drenched delta influenced blues grooves enhanced by an unconventional but highly enjoyable left of field approach, an approach that pays huge dividends throughout.

Instead of trying to round this review up with one of our usual why you should buy this outros we thought we'd just quote one of the blues genre's greatest songwriters/performers Mr Willie Dixon, "The blues are the roots and the other music's are the fruits. It's better keeping the roots alive, because it means better fruits from now on". Don't worry Mr Dixon Dr Awkward & The Screws are still keeping those fruits alive, a little darker and fuzzier around the edges, but still alive!
Check 'em out …..

© 2019 Frazer Jones