By Gruesome Greg
Last time I heard from this Calgary crew, on their self-titled EP, they were total Kyuss worshippers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it was to the point where there was very little originality on offer. But with a couple more records under their belts, I’m told they’ve branched out a bit, which brings us to this, their third release.
Don’t get me wrong, they could still be considered desert rock (hell, they even crossed the pond and played Desertfest), but there’s a bit more of a bluesy influence here, a little more up-tempo approach—but with some very heavy riffs thrown in for good measure. Vocals are featured prominently in several songs, where they pretty much trade off with the riffage, ie “Lonely Prey.” The high-pitched wail sounds suitable for this style without coming off as too derivative, though the dude does tend to overdo it at times, like the cringe-inducing intro to flailing thrasher “Give No More.”
“Big Baby” opens with a revving bike engine, and even features some harmonica in a stop-start number that offers a slight change of pace, though it sounds somewhat cobbled together if you ask me. The title track adopts a mellow, laid-back approach at first, before kicking up the tempo again, complete with some thrash-style chugging and frantic drum fills, without crossing the border into speed metal, mind you.
Alas, while this record doesn’t really grab me, I’m giving it the same rating as I gave Vista Chino. Take that for what it’s worth…
(Independent)
