WIZENED TREE ~ ROCK'N'ROLL FROM TOCANTINS ..... reviews

It seems that Desert Psychlist's forays into the sonically rich territories of the South American underground rock scene are becoming a regular feature on these pages and it will be no surprise to regular readers that our musical travels bring us back to, that largest of the continents countries, Brazil.
Wizened Tree, Artur Pery (vocal/guitar), Davi Pery (drums), Douglas Vilela (guitar) and Felipe Marinho (bass), hail from Palmas, the largest city in the Brazilian state of Tocantins and jam grooves of an alt-rock/grunge flavour blended with elements of 70's hard/classic rock, an intriguing mix that informs every note and beat of their latest release "Rock'n'Roll From Tocantins".

One thing that will grab Desert Psychlist's attention above all else is melody, yes we love intense dark dank refrains and thundering rhythms and we can also appreciate a certain amount of growl and grizzle in our vocals but give us well sung clean melodies aligned with a modicum of swagger and groove and we will be like putty in your hands. Wizened Tree deliver swagger and groove in spades, a swagger and groove that is decorated in clear, clean vocal tones imbued with just the right amount of grit and gravel to stop them falling into the realms of saccharine. First track "Give The Rain" sets the stall out for the rest the EP, the band jamming a groove that is heavy but not crushing or brutal, a groove that is heavy in the old 70's musical sense of the word. Wizened Tree cite their influences as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and The Beatles and that all makes sense as the band storm through five tunes that undulate between raucous and restrained, the quartet using melody and might as the tools with which they construct their songs while at the same time blending a smattering of grungy loud /quiet dynamics into the mix to keep things interesting.

Balance is an important factor when it comes to mixing melody with music of a more raucous nature, too far one way and the music can sound twee and lightweight too far the other way and the melody tends to get swamped under the weight of the heaviness surrounding it. Wizened Tree, with "Rock'n'Roll From Tocantins" have found the perfect balance.
Check it out ….