Finally got the chance to see Graveyard live in Canada this year, and they did not disappoint. But when it comes to their recorded output, I felt that Hisingen Blues was the band’s high-water mark; its successor, Lights Out, turned me off a bit. That said, it’ll be a full three years between albums by the time this latest one comes out, which oughtta give em ample time to shake off the cobwebs and kick out the jams…
Turns out, they’d only need 44 minutes. Innocence & Decadence kicks off with the mid-paced boogie rock of “Magnetic Shunk,” which brings back the poor-man’s Led Zep vibe of Hisingen Blues, complete with Plant-inspired vocal wails. That said, “The Apple and the Tree,” which has already been released as a single/video is much mellower, coming off like Bob Seger jamming with the Brian Jonestown Massacre.
The band seems to bounce back between mellow blues and upbeat retro-rock with the slow, languid longiness of “Exit 97” giving way to the raucous stomp of “Never Theirs to Sell” in much the same way the bluesy “Too Much is Not Enough” gives way to glammy garage rocker “From a Hole in the Wall.” In fact, they stick so close to the formula that you could almost plan dance steps to it—y’know, “slow, quick, slow, quick, etc.”
Sad to say, but in the end it kinda comes off as Graveyard-by-numbers.
