Nowadays artwork is probably one of the most underestimated tools in an artistes arsenal of how to pull in casual browsers to sample their goods, it's a trick that has worked for years, put some killer painting/photo/sketch on your cover, be it a digital download, CD or vinyl, and the casual browser will be drawn to it and in the best scenario make a purchase. This worked to great effect recently when Desert Psychlist was trawling through the various genres of underground rock on Bandcamp and came across an EP by a band called Earthdiver, struck by its cover artwork of two other-worldly olive skinned women set against a background of hazy moonshine and dark foreboding trees we duly checked it out, the album was called "Leave Something Witchy" and its grooves kicked even more than its artwork!
Earthdiver are Matthew Funk (bass), David Hindman (drums) and Eric Stuart (guitar/vocals) a trio hailing from Denver, Colorado who are relatively new kids on the stoner doom block. Despite their lack of experience Earthdiver seem to have wasted no time in gelling as a unit and taking the unprecedented step of recording their first EP before even having played a gig together."Leave Something Witchy" is a raucous three tracker that although a little raw and naïve in places is nevertheless highly enjoyable and promises much for the future. From the insanely heavily fuzzed and distortion drenched title track "Leave Something Witchy" with its sampled narrative, angsty toned garage style vocals and thunderous proto-metal groove, through the strident and galloping "Warrior's Plight" with its wizards and swords lyricism, to the psychotic blend of proto bluster and low slow doomic experimentation that makes up "Genesis/ Lament of the Elder Gods", listeners are treated to a virtual tsunami of groove that although at times comes across slightly untamed and feral is nonetheless, and maybe because of those aspects, essential listening.
Earthdiver maybe the latest in a long line of doomic bands with a heavy stoner bias currently raising their heads above the parapets these days but there is something about their naïve and raw approach that really ticks all Desert Psychlist boxes and makes "Leave Something Witchy" an EP we highly recommend you listen to
Check it out ….
© 2019 Frazer Jones
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