MOTHRASHIP ~ SMOTHER EARTH ..... review

To describe Mothraship's sonic assault we need to paraphrase Star trek's Bones and say "this is prog Jim but not as we know it", Mothraship are Beau Callies (vocals/guitars); Michael Gonzales (drums), Matt Bugielski (guitars/vocals) and Sam 'Rahldg' Wizer (bass) from Denver Colorado and bring to the table grooves that are complex and intricate yet at the same time are unashamedly feral and wild, a sound that is hard to describe but easy to fall in love with. Take a listen to their latest release "Smother Earth" to see/hear what we mean by that last statement.

A shuddering drone effect followed by ringing arpeggios introduces "My Own Kind (Intro to My Dead Horse)", the song, an introduction in itself for its following track, is filled with little twists and turns, the band shifting up and down through the gears on a song made especially memorable thanks to its hazy vocal melody and recurring guitar motif. As promised "My Dead Horse" follows and expands on the musical themes of its predecessor while at the same time throwing a little grungy vocal dynamics into the mix resulting in, to Desert Psychlist's riff worn ears, an intriguing blend of Tool like angular intensity and Alice In Chains like emotional gravitas. "Cannonball" rolls in next and here we find Mothraship exploring more jazzier territories with slurred vocals expertly crooned over a backdrop of sharded guitar chords, accompanied by deep rumbling bass and sympathetic percussion."Lycabthrope" follows and boasts a chugging garage rock groove matched with sneering almost new wave/punk like vocals, Mothraship however are not a band to stay put in one place for too long and as the song approaches its final quarter things start to get a little bluesy and doomic the band heading off on enthralling musical tangents before bringing things full circle to take the song to its close. A Celtic tinted circular guitar refrain announces " Walmartyr" around which swirling swooping solos are majestically wended and weaved driven by an exceptional tour de force of percussive might and grumbling, thunderous bassitude. The song slowly builds in both volume and intensity, with the vocals reverting from the garage like sneer of the previous track back to the slightly grungy vocal dynamics of the albums first three songs, before suddenly exploding into a wonderous instrumental finale that blends elements of proggish metal with those of cosmic, out there heavy psych, the song taking off  in a hundred directions all at once yet somehow managing to still sound totally focused and on point at all times, breathtaking!

Mothraship made a lot of friends with their debut self titled release "Mothraship" but even those already familiar with the Denver quartets previous work will be surprised and amazed when they hear "Smother Earth", a superb release that deserves to be mentioned on everyone's end of year "best of" lists, it'll definitely be on ours.

Check it out …. 

© 2019 Frazer Jones

SLOWNER ~ SLOWNER .... review

Before regular readers of Desert Psychlist start thinking that we have some sort of monetary deal to feature as many Brazilian bands as possible, we can reassure you that we do not! It's just that there is so much great music coming out of that South American country it would be remiss of us to ignore it.

Slowner, Lucas (guitar/vocals; Issac (guitar); Renata (bass); and Gabriel (drums), hail from Recife, PE and came together to jam grooves inspired by their love of 90's era stoner/desert rock and 70's hard rock and proto-metal/doom, grooves you can hear for yourselves via their self-titled debut "Slowner"

Beneath the rather bleak artwork of abandoned automobiles, rusting and decaying under the shadow of a large mountain range, lies an album of raw and untamed doomic beauty, an album that may not reveal its full charms straight away but with subsequent listens will grow to be a firm favourite. Slowner's grooves dwell somewhere between old school proto and new school stoner doom and when Desert Psychlist says between we really do mean between. Each of the five songs that make up this Brazilian combo's debut mixes and blends aspects from both doomic dynamics, with songs, like "Any Street","Split", Insomnia", "Nightcrawler" and "Witch", switching from Sabbathesque proto doomic gallops to more stonerized lower, slower heavy plods in the blink of a demon's eye and are just as quickly liable to switch back again. These songs come coated in clean vocals, with the occasional growl thrown in for good measure, that although are not overly powerful are nonetheless highly effective and sit nicely against the dank low slung refrains and doomic rhythmic pulses the band frame them with. 

Although not quite the finished article Slowner are a band moving in the right direction, yes there are moments on "Slowner" where things get a little generic and cliched but there are also glimpses of huge potential here too, potential that could make their next release a very interesting prospect indeed.
Check 'em out …..

© 2019 Frazer Jones

COMACOZER ~ MYDRIASIS ..... review

Mydriasis (medical definition); Mydriasis is the dilation of the pupil, usually having a non-physiological cause, or sometimes a physiological pupillary reaction. Non-physiological causes of mydriasis include disease, trauma, or the use of drugs.
Mydriasis (musical definition); "Mydriasis" is the new album by Australian quartet Comacozer, a scintillating collection of instrumental jams drenched in lysergic colours and textures that could cause, even in minor cases, not only dilation of the pupils but also the mind.

Since Comacozer's last full length musical outing "Kalos Eidos Skopeo" there has been a subtle change in personnel with James Heyligers filling, full time, the space temporarily held by, Mother Mars/Frozen Planet 1969's, Frank Attard on synth and effects. Comacozer's spacey instrumental grooves were already pretty cosmic, thanks to Rick Burke's swirling guitar textures, Rich Elliot's mix of grumbling and liquid low end and Andrew Panagopoulos' percussive blend of restraint and power, but Heyligers inclusion seems to have honed things to a fine edge. Where Comacozer's music previously saw them touching at the edges of the known universe with Heyligers, twisting the dials and pushing the keys, the band seem to have pushed out past the Kuyper Belt into infinity and beyond. There is a darker edge to the three songs that make up "Mydriasis", an edge that has always been there but this time around has been pushed further to the front  The bands jams have always been a little like travelling through space while dropping acid but previously the onus has been on the awe and wonder of witnessing a universe wrapped in a kaleidoscope of colours but on the tracks "Mydriasis","Tryptamine" and "Kykeon Journey" those colours get a little darker, a little more intense and a little bit scarier, still a heady vivid trip but one vignetted with shades of a more monochrome hue.

Comacozer have often used eastern themes to enhance their instrumental experimentations and this has often resulted in the bands music having a spiritual almost meditative feel, on "Mydriasis" however the band seem to be approaching that spirituality from a slightly different angle, an intriguing and exciting angle that Desert Psychlist hopes the band explore more on future releases.
Check it out …..

© 2019 Frazer Jones

HIGH MOUNTAIN ~ HIGH MOUNTAIN (EP) ..... review

Atmosphere is an ingredient often not spoken of when talking about music but atmosphere is probably one of the most important factors of any piece of music, be it bright breezy pop or crushing dank metal. Atmosphere is not so much something you can hear as something you feel when listening to music, in pop music it often manifests itself as a brightness, in metal a darker more cloying vibe is often the norm. Psych/desert groovsters High Mountain, a quartet from Metz, France consisting of Frederic Macieri (guitar/vocals), Jeremy Depenoux (drums), Georges Leibfried (keys) and David Omhover (bass), jam grooves that are drenched in atmosphere, grooves that are edged in a bluesy melancholic haziness and rueful moodiness, a vibe and feel that permeates each and every one of the four songs that make up their self-tiled debut EP "High Mountain".

Leibfried's parping keyboards and Omhover's deep rumbling bass introduce "The Dream" then are joined by Depenoux's drums and Macieri's  guitar in a fuzz drenched bluesy desert groove that is dark, dank yet not dismal. Macieri also provides the songs vocals his gruff, slightly accented throaty tones taking the songs sonic attack, which is already quite elevated, to a whole new level.  "Masterpiece" follows and finds the band balancing out their fuzz drenched bluesy swagger with elements of quiet contemplation, Macieri's vocal here is, in places, almost spoken narrative in others a gruff hoarse roar. "Roach" begins with tribalistic percussion crashing and pounding over a deep rumbling bass line around which Leibfried and Marcieri weave textured threads of keyboard and guitar colouring,  the song gradually building in intensity until suddenly exploding into a heavy stonerized blues groove full of screaming guitar solo's and crunching riffs. "Hunt On Payday" brings things to a close and finds the band giving free rein to the more lysergic elements of their sound while still maintaining their heavy rock credentials, shimmering cymbals, liquid bass, textured keys and ringing arpeggios sit side by side with pounding drums, grizzled low end, swirling organ and screaming guitar solos, both dynamics coated in those distinctive gruff, throaty vocal tones.

"High Mountain" is a collection of songs drenched in warm fuzzy guitar tones and driven by a mixture of throbbing and laid back rhythms, songs further enhanced by their clever use of keyboard textures and their warm yet powerful vocals. Atmospheric and moody yet at the same time heavy and rocking "High Mountain" is, to coin the title of one of their songs, a masterpiece

Check it out …. 

© 2019 Frazer Jones

HIPPIE DEATH CULT ~ 111 ..... review

Desert Psychlist first became aware of Portland, Oregon's Hippie Death Cult due to the release of a series of singles via Bandcamp, we loved what we were hearing but were a little miffed that these great songs had to be purchased separately and not part of one EP or full album. Thankfully this all changed recently when the quartet, Eddie Brnabic (guitar), Laura Phillips (bass), Ryan Moore (drums) and Ben Jackson (vocals/keys), finally bit the bullet and released their debut album "111" (Cursed Tongue Records)

"Sanctimonious" kicks off "111" in an explosive mix of crunching heaviness and lysergic trippiness, a forceful barrage of thundering percussion and growling bass, decorated in swathes of hazy psychedelic keyboard textures and swirling guitar solos, over which soulful clean vocals croon and wail with passionate fervour. The song, and for that matter the whole album, has a strong 70's hard rock vibe running through it s veins yet at the same time is very much a child of today's stoner/doom scene, a child birthed as much from the stonerized grooves of Elder and Wo Fat as it is from the bluesy classic sounds of Purple and Zeppelin, don't though start thinking that "111" is some sort of  backward looking "retro" album, there is far more going on here than that. There is a lysergic element to the grooves Hippie Death Cult bring to the table that is only just kept in check by their need to rock out, delve deep into the bands raunchier songs, like "Breeder's Curse", "Unborn","Pigs" and "Black Snake", and underneath all the swirling guitar solos, grizzled bass lines and thunderous percussion you will find subtle shades of psychedelic colouring. These subtle shades comes courtesy of the albums keyboards which swirl and swoop, not so much over proceedings but more in and out of them, adding texture and depth that might not at first be obvious but would be noticeable if absent. The band are also unafraid to throw a few curve balls into the mix as on the beautifully tranquil "Mrtyu", a neo classical acoustic number with medieval leanings, and "Treehugger" , a song that mixes heavy stoner riffage with lashings of good ol' southern swagger.

Hippie Death Cult describe themselves as "Happy Intelligent People Pursuing Infinite Enlightenment through sound and vibration" a statement that not only gives you a clue to the "Hippie" part of their name but also tells you they are a band with a plan, where that plan will  eventually lead them to is too early to tell but if "111" is the first step on that path then future steps are going to be very interesting.

© 2019 Frazer Jones

SLEEPING GIANT ~ SLEEPING GIANT .... review

Steven Hammer (guitar/vocals); James Wright (bass) and Pali Emond-Glenn (drums), three musicians based between Melbourne and Bendigo, Australia, started out there musical journey under the collective banner of Lowpoint but as the band neared the completion of their debut album it was decided that the name was no longer reflective of the music they were creating and so last year announced they were changing their name to Sleeping Giant, a title they felt better represented the direction their music was moving in. That album, "Sleeping Giant", has now been completed and is available on Bandcamp so you can decide for yourselves whether you think Lowpoint's transformation into Sleeping Giant was a justifiable one, we think it was.

There are no clever soundbytes or sampled narrative used as an introduction to Sleeping Giant's debut album just a short sudden burst of dark noise and a headlong dive into the riff heavy waters of first track "Sleep". "Sleep" serves as a great introduction to Sleeping Giant's sonic attack and tells you all you need to know about what Sleeping Giant are about in just over five minutes of proto-doomic splendour. Riffs are the commodity this band deal in, crunching low slung riffs driven by solid tight percussion that are allied to clean, clear vocals, vocals that work as the perfect counterbalance to the heaviness they are surrounded by. Sleeping Giant know the value of a good refrain and on songs like "Temptress", "Empire", "Serpent" and "Gypsy" they use those refrains to devastating effect, Wright and Emond-Glenn laying down a bedrock of heavy grooves that are thick, dank and intense, that dankness and dense intensity only broken by Hammer's strong clear vocals and his searing bluesy guitar solos. There were times during listening to "Sleeping Giant" that Desert Psychlist was reminded of legendary UK proto-metallers Budgie, not so much in sound (although there are some similarities) but in the way the band juxtapose their heavier elements with those of a lighter, more restrained and dare we say gentler dynamic something that informs all three movements of the "Visions" suite that closes the album with parts "I","II" and "III" employing a mix of glistening arpeggios and scorching lead work to give them an almost prog(ish) feel, "II" further muddying the waters by adding an unexpected element of blackish vocal colouring into the mix.

All in all "Sleeping Giant" is a promising debut from a band who, if they remain on the path they are currently following, will garner fans from every faction of the underground rock buying public... and rightly so
Check 'em out ….

© 2019 Frazer Jones

ACID FUZZ FACTORY ~ THE SHADOW ....review

Do you ever get those days when soaring solos, vocal pyrotechnics and undulating melodies are just not what you are wanting to hear, days when your whole being is calling out for something a little  more brutal and relentless, something that is not overtly feral and sits just on the right side of extreme?
Well if that description fits your current mood Desert Psychlist has something to meet your needs, that something is an enthralling mix of low, slow stoner doomic dankness and sinister swampy sludginess flying under the title of "The Shadow" (CLOU) by a band of sonic architects, from Bar-Le-Duc, Northern France, calling themselves Acid Fuzz Factory.

It would be foolish not to point out the similarities between the relentless dank riffage and pummeling percussion Acid Fuzz Factory use to decorate their debut album "The Shadow" to those employed by their more well known contemporaries Monolord and Electric Wizard, however there is an undefinable something about AFF's approach that sets them apart. Maybe it is the rawness of tone that Théo Guillaume (vocals/bass), Alex Meurville (guitar) and Étienne Socha (drums) bring to songs like "Mecurian Smoke","Black Eclipse Cult" and "Druid" that gives them an edge or maybe it is that Guillaume's vocals are a little more accessible and easier on the ear, despite their raw throaty execution, it's hard to say. What can be said however is that despite the utter relentlessness of its riffage and the unapologetic nature of its plodding rhythms there are little flashes of dazzling brilliance to be found among the five tracks of "The Shadow" that every now and then lift the music out of its mire of mundane darkness into the realms of sunlight, those moments, it has to be said, are rare but when they do appear they take your breath away.

Intense, repetitive, uncompromising and darkly brilliant "The Shadow" is not an album for the faint of heart but neither is it one for the extremophiles of the death/black metal brigade, it is what it is and what it is is an unrelenting wave of hypnotic stoner doom with occasional glimpses of sunlight at its furthest reaches..

Check it out …. 

© 2019 Frazer Jones