Archive for July, 2011

Album of the day: Backwoods Payback – Momantha

Posted on Saturday, July 16th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: It was kind of a surprise when Small Stone signed West Chester, Pennsylvania, riff mongers Backwoods Payback. Not that the band is undeserving. In the live arena, they stand up to anyone you want to put them against (including, regularly, formidable labelmates Lo-Pan), but their recorded output struck me as rawer than most of what the Detroit label gets behind these days, grittier and with more dirt under its fingernails. Listening to the finished product of Backwoods Payback’s Small Stone debut full-length, Momantha, it’s easy to see that same roughness was the appeal all along.

The four-piece have a sound that’s familiar enough to stoner rockers, but not based solely on fuzz-drenched guitar or Kyuss-style desert speeding. There’s something staid about Momantha; it’s like sludge if sludge went to therapy and started the long process of making peace with itself.

There are probably a host of bands one could cite as influences or from whom elements are taken and made part of Backwoods Payback’s style, but the resulting brew is much harder to pin down. Captured at Small Stone’s go-to studio – Mad Oak in Allston, Massachusetts – by the label’s go-to engineer – Mr. Benny Grotto – the live edge that made the prior Use Magic to Kill Death EP and self-titled long-player sound so exciting is all the more vivid.

Potentially named after a hockey player (that being Moe Mantha, who did time playing for Pennsylvania teams in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Hershey), Backwoods Payback’s latest balances catchy songs with a driving edge. Momantha takes some time to settle in, but after a few listens, proves indispensable.

Opener ‘You Know How This Works’ proves aptly-named, with wavy guitars from Mike Cummings and Rylan Caspar backed by the hard-hit tom work of Steve Curtiss. Soon enough, bassist Jessica Baker also follows the bouncing riff and the album essentially gets its intro the same way the song does. Cummings, as the vocalist, has an approach that has almost no choice but to go all-out as often as humanly possible. It’s melodic, clean for most of the record (the screams on the later ‘Timegrinder’ being an exception), and carries an undercurrent of drunkard’s woes that adds a bluesy feel to the rhythmic delivery of the lyrics.

Continue reading: The Obelisk » Blog Archive » Backwoods Payback, Momantha: Time to Grind.

Tags: Album of the day, Backwoods Payback, JJ Koczan, Momantha, sludge, small stone records, The Obelisk
Posted in 2011, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended | 1 Comment »

Album of the day: Falls of Rauros – The Light That Dwells In Rotten Wood

Posted on Friday, July 15th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Inarguable: Falls of Rauros; a band I have been almost obsessive over since I first heard them back in 2007. One of the most ambitious and brilliant bands to ever emerge from the US black metal scene. When I caught wind that Bindrune was to release ...read more

Album of the day: Magdalena Solis – Hesperia

Posted on Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Here’s a gem released earlier this year that we neglected to share with our beloved Roadburn readers. Please excuse the oversight! Blame it on festival fever… Praise for Magdalena Solis‘ Hesperia from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: The sound of Magdalena Solis hovers somewhere between psychedelic space rock and kosmische krautdrone, which means ...read more

Album of the day: Hail!Hornet – Disperse The Curse

Posted on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Bone Reader: Featuring T-Roy Medlin of Sourvein on vocals, “Dixie” Dave Collins of Weedeater on bass, Vince Burke of Beaten Back to Pure on guitar and Erik Larson of The Might Could/ex-Alabama Thunderpussy on the drums, Hail!Hornet has a Sludge pedigree that is completely undeniable. What’s ...read more

Album of the day: Yob – Atma

Posted on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: YOB’s 2009 return, The Great Cessation, was fueled by a seething anger so visceral it practically stabbed its way out of the speakers. The Eugene, Oregon, trio’s first release for Profound Lore following a breakup after 2005’s landmark The Unreal Never Lived and the ensuing ...read more

FM Brussel: Mental Roadburn Report

Posted on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

What’s the loudest and heaviest program that FM Brussel 98.8 has to offer? Mental! Metal, death, black, doom, stoner, rock and roll, punk, hardcore: as long as it’s loud, heavy, mean, ugly, extreme, filthy, fast, underground, or any combination of the above, Mental is where you will hear it. In ...read more

Album of the day: Pontiak – Comecrudos (EP)

Posted on Monday, July 11th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from Tiny Mix Tapes: Few bands are able to move between moods and styles as flawlessly as Pontiak. Comecrudos, their latest Thrill Jockey release, showcases this elusive transitional ability. Recorded as a soundtrack to the drive from Phoenix through much of Texas without the aid of distortion or ...read more

Monday Song: Gov’t Mule – Just Got Paid – A Young Mule Live

Posted on Monday, July 11th, 2011

Every Monday morning we’ll post a kick-ass song to get your week going. This is from an old tape, But more than worthy of transfer…Have at it folks. From the 1996 Nescafe & Blues Festival.

Album of the day: Finnr’s Cane – Wanderlust

Posted on Sunday, July 10th, 2011

Here’s a gem released earlier this year that we neglected to share with our beloved Roadburn readers. Please excuse the oversight! Blame it on festival fever…  Lovingly pinched from Chronicles of Chaos: This album is an experience. Some music is best enjoyed at high volumes, other in a live concert ...read more

Album of the day: Phurpa – Trowo Phurnag Ceremony (2LP)

Posted on Saturday, July 9th, 2011

Praise for Phurpa‘s Trowo Phurnag Ceremony from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: Ever wonder what a SUNNO))) record might sound like if instead of guitars and amps, it was just vocals? Well wonder no more. This new record on Ideologic Organ, a new label run by SUNNO)))’s Stephen O’Malley, offers up ...read more