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THE HIDDEN HAND - "DIVINE PROPAGANDA"
PELICAN - "S/T"
SONIC FLOWER - "S/T"
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THE HIDDEN HAND
"DIVINE PROPAGANDA" [ CD - MeteorCity / Exile On Mainstream ]
The Hidden Hand is one of the legendary Wino's post-Spirit Caravan projects,
and, while having his familiar style stamped all over, it isn't what you
might expect.
Wino's name tends to conjure up melodic, but heavy as lead, doom. The Hidden
Hand's overall style is a lot more upbeat than this, falling more into the
metal/punk end of things. The lyrical tone is also less metaphysical and
more political.
The opening track, "Bellicose Rhetoric", has a riff that just knocks me
sideways. Thunderously heavy, groovy and invested with energy that makes
you reach for that air guitar.
Following on from that, highlights include the punky blast of as "Screw the Naysayers" and a more doomy and
meditative "The Last Tree". The album closes off with "Prayer for the Night",
a mellow and psychedelic instrumental.
Wino handles the majority of vocal duties on the album along with all guitar
parts with typical aplomb. Bruce Falkinburg also provides some excellent
complementary vocals and some kick-ass bass work. All this is underpinned
by Dave Hennesey's subtle drumming.
An awesome record with not even a single track that could be classed as
average.
aligator descartes
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PELICAN
"S/T"
[ CD - Hydrahead Records ]
This is a very fine instrumental outing from these Chicago newcomers. While
they stay true to the riff-worshipping that characterizes the very best of
stonerrock, they also manage to avoid falling prey to the genres two biggest
pitfalls, unoriginality and tedium.
Instead they rely on well structured songs that take you on deliberate journeys up and down hills
and valleys to the blissful land of head nodding heaviness.
Not content to simply bash out stunningly fine riffage, Pelican also possess the alchemical ability to be
spacey and delicate while doing so.
This serves to elevate them far above the indistinguishable throng of boring pretenders that clog the
stoner scene and reduce it to denim-vest wearing hessian burnouts.
In fact, Pelican is so masterful at their craft that I must invoke comparisons to Kyuss, Isis and
the very first Karma to Burn 10". High praise indeed, but well earned.
The production on this disc is very interesting. This is quite possibly the
most compressed record I have ever heard yet it manages to be dynamic and
interesting.
Surely this is another example of the group's careful and
loving song craftsmanship, yet whether the technique was intentional or
simply the best possible way to treat the recording at hand, this extremely
risky tactic works so well that it becomes part of the band's overall
identity.
It will be quite interesting to see how their next record sounds.
In the meantime, this is an essential edition to any self-respecting stoner
collection, as well as fans of top quality instrumental electric guitar
music of any genre.
drew
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SONIC FLOWER
"S/T" [CD - Leafhound Records ]
"Heavy Sonic & Flower Groove."
So states the back cover of Sonic Flower's debut CD. Now, I'm not exactly
sure what a "flower groove" is, but it sounds suspiciously hippie related.
Which is misleading, because this sure ain't hippie music, despite the
lysergic cover art and 70s influences. What you have here is
all-instrumental riff madness, Japanese style. Heavy and Sonic? Oh yeah.
For those who don't know, Sonic Flower is the latest project from Tatsu
Mikami, bassist and main songwriter in Church of Misery, Japan's masters of
doom. This band is a bit different from CoM, however. There are no lyrics
about serial killers, in fact there are no vocals at all. Instead, there is
a twin guitar attack that fills out the sound nicely.
Imagine a nastier, grittier, fuzzier, more aggressive Atomic Bitchwax and
you'll have a good sense of what this CD is about. Every song is packed to
the gills with hyper-riffs, manic drumming, and constantly wailing guitars.
The sound swirls, the drums pound, your mind swirls, your head pounds, and
that, my friends, is heavy sonic.
It's difficult to isolate individual tracks to discuss because they all
blend into one another, creating a massive wall of heaviness. The gaps
between tracks are all but nonexistent, making this CD sound like one
25-minute riff. Which brings us the only sticking point about the record.
Yes, the album is a bit short by today's standards, but then again, I'm not
sure if the listener could take any more.
Unlike the Bitchwax, for instance, Sonic Flower don't vary their sounds by
adding a few vocal tracks or slower space jams. The riffs just keep
a-comin' and, before you know it, the disc is over, leaving you breathless
and wanting more. While such unrelenting jamming could be tedious for an
entire full-length, I think it works perfectly here.
The only real weak song on the CD is the album closer, a noisy cover of the
Don Nix blues classic, "Goin' Down." This version is clearly influenced by
the Jeff Beck Group's famous version [from "The Jeff Beck Group"
album -Ed] and it certainly is heavy, but this is one case where some vocals would
have been nice.
It may just be me, but the repetitive structure of the blues
doesn't lend itself as well to the all-instrumental format. Also, for such
a short CD, I would have liked one more original tune.
Despite this one false step [and it's a minor one at that], Sonic Flower's
first release is an instant classic, and it's getting a lot of rotation on
my stereo right now.
For those who miss the riffage of the Atomic Bitchwax, love heavy 70s inspired rock, or are
simply waiting for Church of Misery to release another slab of doom, do yourself a favor
and get this slice of "Heavy Sonic and Flower Groove." You won't be disappointed.
rossogre
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