Maybe there is something in those apples they grow in the UK's West Country that causes so many good bands to emerge from there. Doomicidal, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Sail and Cybernetic Witch Cult all have to some degree made their mark on the underground scene and all hail from the South West of England.
Yeovil, Somerset combo Duskwood are another West Country based band hoping to reach a wider audience, the band first made the scenes movers and shakers sit up and take notice with the release of their 2016 debut "Desert Queen" a stunning collection of desert flavoured grooves underscored with a hint of 60's psychedelia and 70's hard rock swagger. Appetites whetted we waited eagerly for a follow up but it never materialised .. until now! Three years after the release of "Desert Queen" Duskwood are back with a new EP, "The Long Dark", still swaggering and still desert flavoured.
Things get underway with "Space Craft" a colourful yet atmospheric song with a quiet/loud/quiet dynamic underscored by deep rumbling bass and a mixture of laid back and forceful percussion over which heavily effected guitar trades off riffs and solos around clean, powerful and slightly gritted vocals. "Mars Rover" follows and although jamming a similar undulating dynamic as its predecessor this time leans towards being a little more in your face and raucous. "Crook & Flail" slows things down and sees the band dipping their toes into the psychedelic arena, the songs liquid bass lines and wah drenched guitar textures lapping gently around its clean emotive vocals, the songs laid back lysergic feel only interrupted by moments of sporadic crunching heaviness. "The Long Dark" finishes with "Nomad" a barnstorming showstopper that marries the bands love of a heavy groove with that of their more trippy desert side, the band channelling a sort of Colour Haze meets Dope Smoker (the Welsh stoner/doom band, not the Sleep album) vibe that totally works and closes out the EP on a massive and totally satisfying high
"The Long Dark" marks a stunning return for Duskwood but let's hope that the bands next release does not take another three years to be released, we really need music this good to be coming at us annually as opposed to tri-annually.
Check it out ….
© 2019 Frazer Jones
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