Music does not need to be po-faced and deadly serious all the time, there will be times in all our lives when the continual tide of introspection, social commentary and general navel gazing begins to feel a little overwhelming and starts to have an impact on our mental wellbeing. It is in times like these that we need music that will lift us out of ourselves and replenish our chakra's, of course you don't want this music delivered to you by by some novelty act who mask their lack of instrumental ability with a little comedy, what you want is a band who can play the shit out of their instruments but are not adverse to bringing a little light relief to the table. Enter Gnome, three guys from Belgium with a penchant for wearing pointy red hats on their heads, who jam a groove that is heavy, sometimes complex and sometimes brutal but is at all times imbued with a tongue in cheek sense of the ridiculous, something their second album "King"(Polderrecords) will more than attest to.
Gnome are first and foremost musicians, they may wear slightly odd headgear and fill their songs with references to fantastical beasts and dubious royalty but these guys can PLAY! First track "Ambrosius" is both evidence of Gnome's musical prowess and their sense of fun, it is a song built around just a couple of riffs and limited lyrical content but has a groove that will stay spinning around in your head for days and days, its infectious guitar motifs thunderous bottom end and solid busy and tight percussion are twinned with a sparse but anthemic style vocal that transitions into a sludgy harmonised roar as the songs dynamic slows to a doomic finale. "Your Empire" follows and finds Vintage Caravan's Oskar Logi helping out on vocals, the songs dynamic is a little more stoner(ish) and strident than its predecessor and is slightly more wordy and melodic in the vocal department.. Up next is "Bulls of Bravik" a joyous slice of strident stonerized heavy prog that shows that as well as laying down the heavy these guys are no slouches when it comes to laying down something a little more complex either, the song also boasts Desert Psychlist's favourite lyric of the album, "here come the Bulls of Bravik, you better run away, they smell your fear and magic, they come to eat your face". Instrumental "Antibeast" takes those complexities hinted at on the previous track and raises them to another level, the songs constant shifts in tempo, dynamic and groove will leave you wondering if the song that just ended was really the same one you pushed play on three minutes earlier. It's back to the fun and frolics for next track "Wencleslas" an infectious up tempo stoner/sludge rocker chronicling our heroes displeasure with a certain monarch that features some clever little twists and turns along the way. Desert Psychlist recommends you check out the bands intentionally kitsch video for this song (here) so you have the necessary dance moves down if you ever get to see them live. Two instrumentals follow, "Kraken Wanker" and "Stinth Thy Clep", both are a mixture of dark doomic bluster and playful stoner swagger with the former boasting Celtic flavourings and the latter prog-metal textures. Gnome close "King" out with the ambitious "Platypus Patrol" an eleven minute plus epic that finds the band tempering their penchant for playfulness with a little dankness and darkness as well as a brief and unexpected foray into more lysergic waters.
Very fine review, thanks a million!
ReplyDeleteHELL YEAH GNOME!!!!
ReplyDeleteI always lissen to gnome when I take my weekly chees bath.
ReplyDelete