Shadowlands, the sixth album by Washington fuzz rockers Mos Generator is officially released on May 18, the same day that they play Toronto for the first time. So hey, CD release party at Baby G’s? This Listenable Records recording follows by a couple years its predecessor, 2016’s Abyssinia, a pretty solid heavy-rocking release in its own right.
We start things off with the title track, which wastes little time in getting down to business with a heavy, groovy driving riff. Verses are laid-back and mellow, but they bust out the riffs again for the chorus. “The Destroyer” has an ominous chugging riff that borders on industrial, and acts as an unsettling offset to a rather calm, steady vocal. “Drowning in Your Loving Cup” has a meaty stoner rock riff that sounds like a pretty solid Brant Bjork solo cut, or maybe mid-90’s Monster Magnet. Subsequently, “Woman Song” is a nice, slow, heavy rocker—the best songs on this record are both about love.
“Stolen Ages” is the first of two seven-minute tunes—the rest are all under five. This one’s much more mellow in the guitar department, but it’s underpinned by a steady, pulsing backbeat, coming off kinda like krautrock, although it settles into a more straightforward rock groove past the three-minute mark. “The Wild & Gentle Dogs” ends the album on a mellower note, with a couple extended instrumental passages and a more soothing vocal. It kinda leaves me scratching my head.
listenable-records.bandcamp.com/album/shadowlands
MOS GENERATOR on tour
4/20/2018 Hogfish – Couer d’Alene, ID
4/21/2018 Rocky Mountain Riff Fest – Kalispell, MT
4/25/2018 The Valley – Tacoma, WA
4/26/2018 The Haul – Grants Pass, OR
4/27/2018 Thee Parkside – San Francisco, CA
4/28/2018 Dive Bar – Las Vegas, NV
4/29/2018 Alex’s Bar – Long Beach, CA
4/30/2018 The Kraken – Cardiff, CA
w/ Fu Manchu:
5/01/2018 Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ
5/03/2018 Curtain Club – Dallas, TX
5/04/2018 Barracuda – Austin, TX
5/05/2018 White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX
5/07/2018 Vinyl – Atlanta, GA
5/08/2018 Kings – Raleigh, NC
5/09/2018 Rock & Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
5/10/2018 Brillobox – Pittsburgh, PA *
5/11/2018 Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA
5/12/2018 Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
5/13/2018 Brighton Music Hall – Allston, MA
5/14/2018 Mohawk Place – Buffalo, NY *
5/15/2018 Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH
5/16/2018 Ace Of Cups – Columbus, OH
5/17/2018 El Club – Detroit, MI
5/18/2018 The Baby G – Toronto, ON *
5/19/2018 Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
5/20/2018 Total Drag Records – Sioux Falls, SD *
5/22/2018 Streets of London Pub – Denver, CO
5/23/2018 Streets of London Pub – Denver, CO
5/25/2018 Substation – Seattle, WA*
5/26/2018 The Manette – Bremerton, WA *
* MOS GENERATOR only
