Opening song "Mortician Magician" opens with rolling drumbeats accompanied by some introductory fairground spiel then is joined by the guitar and bass in a strident fuzzed out and distorted stoner/heavy rock groove decorated in vocals that are a mix of slightly manic clean lead and shouty backing responses, and if that wasn't enough to blow your mind the band then throw in a series of abrupt and totally unexpected changes in direction, tempo and dynamics, seemingly just because they could. Next song "Laughter of the Deer Owl" (featuring Brandon Yeagley of Crobot on the chorus) is a touch less schizophrenic and fractious than its predecessor and boasts ear catching melodies and harmonies voiced over a backdrop of crunchy guitar, growling low bass and busy punching percussion, if Desert Psychlist was asked to pick a song from "The Hex Of Penn's Woods" that stood the best chance of getting radio airplay then this song would be our choice. "Alien Spiders" follows and sports the sort of punkish gait that was the hallmark of many of the early stoner/desert rock bands while "Eyeless Herd" finds Almost Honest toying with elements of doom, alt-metal and heavy prog but then going slightly off- piste and avant-garde in the last quarter. The following "Where The Quakers Dwell" mixes QOTSA-like quirkiness with proggish complexity to create a sound that has a hard to put into words off-centred edginess. "Amish Hex" may already be familiar to some of you as it was released as teaser prior to the release of the full album, those not familiar with the song will be treated to what is lyrically a collection of words and phrases connected by a well sung and easy on the ear chorus backed by a groove that leans towards doomic yet has a funk(ish) core, it is easy to see why the band chose this song to spearhead their new album as it is truly representative of what the band are all about musically. There is a touch of madcap jazziness about next track "Haunted Hunter" with convoluted chord progressions and intricate drum patterns vying for space with crunching bass and guitar refrains beneath vocals that are constantly harmonising and trading off, we think we may well have heard a banjo in there somewhere too. "Colony Of Fire" starts life with one of those guitar refrains so beloved of U2's The Edge but then evolves into this grungy post-punk/stoner hybrid and is followed by "Ballad Of A Mayfly" a song that feels like its five different songs played back to back yet somehow works as one. "Goliath's Lamp" is probably the most straightforward rock song to be found on "The Hex Of Penn's Woods" well that is if you don't factor in the sudden burst of a Franz Ferdinand (Scottish post-punk band) like guitar refrain and the weird gruff and growly backing vocals that occasionally raises their heads over the parapet. The band round things of with "William Penn" an instrumental piece that the band describe as "a sombre instrumental piece that relaxes the listener and lets them reflect on what they just experienced" and as such achieves its goal
"The Hex Of Penn's Woods" is based around the folklore and myths that Almost Honest grew up hearing in and around their Pennsylvanian homeland, mixed in with a few beasties and creatures dreamed up by the band themselves. The music they have surrounded these tales with is some of the most brilliantly off centred and bat-shit crazy grooves you are likely to hear this side of the new year, nothing on this album is delivered straight down the line, each song has the propensity to go off grid at any given moment and each is far richer for doing that. Those bemoaning stoner rock for being safe and predictable should get their ears wrapped around this album and revise their opinions.
No comments:
Post a Comment