Album Review: BlackTusk - Tend No Wounds EP

The American South has one fine legacy of music; from country, to outlaw rock'n'roll, to swampy metal. This last entry has its origins in the wasteland of post-thrash metal and spawned legendary names in the genre such as Eyehategod and Crowbar. They have left an indelible legacy and have helped to pave the ways for bands like BlackTusk from 21^st century metal hotspot Savannah, Georgia. This impressive trio come armed with a crunching sonic assault and the breathless percussive energy that gives sludge its indomitable edge. Their new Tend No Wounds EP is the follow-up to 2011's Set the Dial and looks to carry forward on that rush of momentum. All the parts are in place for BlackTusk to make their mark.

While many of the original Georgia sludge proponents have left the swamp, BlackTusk are one of the ones that have stayed behind and kept the home fires blazing. They may not have the same name recognition among the metalverse that their contemporaries Mastodon, Baroness, or Kylesa have but they sure know how to kick ass. After the warm-up introduction track 'A Cold Embrace', the EP starts in earnest with the thrashing 'Enemy of Reason'. This track has classic Georgia sludge written all over it – the lurching riffs, the torrent of slimy basslines, the tandem of raw-throated voices, and the pummeling breakdowns. This is the stuff that gave sludge/stoner metal its good name in the first place.

Tend No Wounds finds the band having fun with their core sound and reputation. This can be found in the fake-out opening to the outstanding 'The Weak and the Wise' where the violins give way to pure vitriolic hardcore. It can be heard on the howling guitar chords that herald the arrival of 'Internal / Eternal' before going locking into a neck-snapping groove. It is in the Sepultura-esque tribal beat of 'Truth Untold'. The lean track list and no-frills production values of the EP suit BlackTusk perfectly even if the whole affair leaves little to the imagination. They may not be the ones to kick-start the revolution, but they are as rock solid as they come and know how to play to their strengths.

Rating: B-

Recommended tracks: The Weak and the Wise, Truth Untold

Album Review: Gogol Bordello - Pura Vida Conspiracy

The Ukraine's Gogol Bordello are the original gypsy punks and they continue their manic party agenda across the world. Their last album tapped into a dance-y international vibe with stunning results. Not only does this show a vital restlessness that characterizes a group like Gogol Bordello when they are starting out but it is actually necessary for their survival. On Pura Vida Conspiracy, album number six for this globe-trotting crew, the band draw in even greater influence from other cultures and it allows them to spin an even deeper tale of existential displacement. Underneath all of the bluster and beer-soaked bravado this band is about finding your place in the world as an outsider.

Trans Continental Hustle leaned away from the punk side of their sound and further into the gypsy side and this album certainly continues that trend. It is still thoroughly Gogol throughout, there are just more campy campfire singalongs than sweat stained ragers. It was inevitable as the band progress forwards through their career that the songs would have to become the focus over their endearing disorderliness. As the band ages the music remains strong even as the blistering euro-punk warps into swaggering pirate anthems. Try and listening to the opening combo of 'We Rise Again' and 'Dig Deep Enough' without picturing shipwrecked buccaneers with a crate of grog and ill gotten booty.

After there you get a taste of the acoustic side of their enormous personalities on 'Malandrino'. It used to be that when Gogol Bordello did “ballads” they stood entirely separate from the incendiary rabble-rousers. Nowadays they choose to graft parts of one onto the other; acoustic passages transplanted into party mode and chunks of energetic rave lurking in the love songs, which might explain the odd ramblings in 'Malandrino' about “crash crash crash and make-up sex”. The album closes out with the impossibly gentle 'We Shall Sail', an honest-to-goodness torch song from the heart. Just make sure you hang around for the hidden bonus track, the faux-metal 'Jealous Sister' complete with shrieking violins, thrash style guitar riffs, and doomy organs. Just when you think you know a band they pull a move like this!

All of these ideas are carried effortlessly by frontman Eugene Hutz's charm. He is a singular musical entity, practically a force of disheveled nature by this point, and he rightly dominates every song on Pura Vida Conspiracy with slurred affectations. This really highlights the potential weakness of Gogol Bordello – if you don't adore the unhinged vocal stylings of Hutz then you are never going to like the band. They live and die by the audience's acceptance of his character as their narrator. Unfortunately the returns are threatening to diminish for Hutz and the gang. Is it all starting to feel a little too familiar? Is there a way for gypsy punk to evolve? This is still a very fun record – a pleasant knees up for when you are feeling merry and shitfaced. They have been peddling their rock / klemzer / rockabilly hybrid for quite some time now and while it may not feel as dazzling and new as it once did there is still plenty of gas left in the tank. The tempos have dropped a little but the fires still burn. The passion of the entire group and their dedication to their musical craft is beyond question.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: We Rise Again, Dig Deep Enough

Album Review: Baroness - Live at Maida Vale

2012 was a year of staggering highs and painful lows for Baroness. The likable American metal quartet had released their critically acclaimed third album, Yellow & Green, and were living the high life on tour in the UK. On August 15 the band's tour bus left the road and dropped 30 feet off a viaduct. Fortunately all involved in the crash survived but this certainly put a dampener on their year. That line-up of the band never toured again, with Allen Blickle (drums) and Matt Maggioni (bass guitar) leaving the group in March 2013. The accident put what should have been a triumphant world tour on permanent hiatus.

The material from the Live at Maida Vale EP was made mere weeks before the crash. These four songs, all from the Yellow & Green album, were recorded at the legendary BBC studio and represent Baroness at their best. Those out there that decided to complain about Yellow & Green cited a lack of ferocity in the material, as if their guitar slinging metal icons had somehow gone soft. This was far from the truth, naturally, and the album allowed an established act to show off a new facet to their personality. Well, Live at Maida Vale realigns that ethos once again to that of a hungry live band. Each and every one of these tracks, given the professionally recorded live-in-studio treatment, had an added layer of punch and rumble that the original cuts arguably lacked.

This proceed with the one-two combo of Yellow's 'Take My Bones Away' and 'March to the Sea'. John Baizley's viking howl is nearly entirely swallowed up by the shameless amplifier worship of him and his band. These songs are freaking loud and kick like a mule. While those two tracks were always designed to shatter ear drums, the devious 'Cocainium' was made to seduce the listener. Some may not have bought into it initially but wait until they hear this punishing, bass-heavy rendition. The set closes out with 'The Line Between' and it roars with rock and roll thunder. Just check out the monstrous guitar solo from Peter Adams if you should find yourself doubting their credentials. Simply put these four men rock hard and don't give a crap who knows about it.

Live at Maida Vale turns four excellent Baroness tracks into bite-sized heavy metal thrillers. The EP is a window into a band playing around with and actively re-tooling their arsenal to suit their environs. If it weren't for the interruption inflicted upon them by the unfortunate bus accident in Bath this energy could easily have segued into album four. As it stands we will just have to patiently wait to see what happens next.

Rating: A-

A trio of Aussie Reviews

I know it seems like its been a quiet month here at the Eclectik Electrik but that is far from true. I've been working on some stunning articles that will hopefully see the light of day at some point and looking to expand the focus of this blog. 

July has been fairly decent for new releases. In the line-up for this month I noticed that there were three high-profile new album released by Australian artists. What are the chances? Rather than bungle them in with a larger monthly wrap-up (which is coming by the way) I decided that my neighbours across the Tasman Sea deserved their own segment. Let's hear it for Kirin J Callinan, Ash Grunwald, and Karnivool!

- Prof Ric.

Kirin J Callinan – Embracism

Kirin J Callinan is a young Australian auteur who occupies the lunatic fringe of their music scene. He comes armed with his bizarre debut album, Embracism, and it is one of 2013's most challenging listening experiences so far. From front to back this is an album about confounding expectations. You are immediately struck by Callinan's unusual vocal style on 'Halo'; like an industrialized Bowie cyborg circling the Downwards Spiral. This nightmarish manifesto of dissonance and wounded machismo carries on through the confrontational title track and 'Come On USA' (which I suspect is a double entendre). If the opening trio of songs were so placed to introduce you to Callinan's primal scream. Then the next set will make you lower your defenses as you veer from the abrasive to the uplifting and romantic. These tracks are laced with pop and melody in the same way that Socrates' last call was laced with hemlock. The clarity of rock traditionalism pierces 'Chardonnay Sean' like a volley of arrows just before it gives way to visceral howlers like 'Way II War'. If by the end of Embracism you feel lost, isolated, and confused then I doubt you are alone - Callinan has made one hell of a debut album, one that defies all categorization and conventional logic. But having listened to it a few time now, if I was being perfectly honest, I'm still not sure whether I liked it or not. Must need a few more spins then, eh?

Rating: B

Recommended tracks: Way II War, Come On USA (although I would strongly recommend against listening to any of these songs out of context)

Ash Grunwald – Gargantua

One of the strongest retro revival genres in the South Pacific these days is that of dirty old blues rock. New Zealand and Australia are riddled with throwback guitar slingers with gruff voices and a Stevie Ray Vaughan complex. Ash Grunwald of Melbourne, Australia is one of the more prominent voices in this style and for a good reason. Over the past decade he has released no less than ten albums and has shown no signs of slowing down. His latest record goes by the weighty title of Gargantua and he has brought a couple of kindred spirits along for the ride. His usual rhythm section has been usurped by fellow Aussies Scott Owen (upright bass) and Andy Strachan (drums) from psychobilly act The Living End. The rock is chunky and gnarled and downright nastier than many who try their hand at it. Grunwald even has a go at outdoing himself by re-recording his own 2010 single 'Walking'. Amidst the set are some poignant covers including Gnarls Barkley's ever-popular 'Crazy'. These guys might not bring much new to the song but it feels like the sort of number that they have busted out in pubs for years at the crowd's request. This album is lean, mean, and focused as can be as the songs pile up thick and fast. Gargantua is an easy recommendation for fans of Clutch and The Black Keys.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: The Last Stand, Crazy

Karnivool – Asymmetry

Karnivool are a successful heavy metal band from Perth, Australia. They have supported major music acts both at home and overseas and have developed an intense following on the back of their small handful of albums and their numerous live performances. One interesting faculties of these songs is how disjointed they are. Practically nothing on Asymmetry follows a chorus/verse structure as rock albums have made us come to expect. Instead the tracks ramble restlessly from one idea to the next, a sonic fingerprint of their prog rock proclivities. It is disorienting but in a good way and it gives the album a relentless sense of momentum. After the intro track things start in earnest with the beat-tastic 'Nachash'. This segues and slithers into bull-in-the-china-shop rockers ('AM War'), notes of throat-shredding hardcore ('The Refusal'), and twinkling balladry ('Float') with no difficulty. Unfortunately I found that around the track-ten mark a kind of fatigue sets in. Asymmetry might have a good number of tricks up its sleeve but it barrels through them at such a rate that they lose much of their shock value and luster too early. This is still energetic and engaging music it is just lacking a little in the originality department. The record could perhaps have used a little more editing. This album, more so than their previous ones, is an earnest attempt to establish a formidable identity of their own. While I appreciate the effort made to stand out, singer Ian Kenny still sounds undeniably like Tool's Maynard James Keenan which hampers that effort somewhat. Karnivool clearly have passion to spare and they are on the cusp of greater things with Asymmetry.

Rating: B

Recommended tracks: AM War, Alpha Omega

Which Handsome Devil?: A love letter to my favourite band

“I don't mind the sun in my eyes
The smell of the sweat / The buzz of the flies
Death comes alive / Death coming to life”

- Tree Food

Back in 2006 I, like many others, was enamored with a little game called Guitar Hero. As many of my friends and flatmates of that time can probably attest it got played a lot in my flat. As a lifelong music fan who never learned to play a real guitar it was the perfect game for me. I was never foolish enough to believe that being good at a Playstation game was a substitute for the real thing but I saw it as a new way of enjoying music. It forced you to listen to songs you might otherwise avoid and it helped you get more familiar with songs you already liked. All was well and good with the world. When Guitar Hero 2 came out I was no less infatuated with the franchise. This game boasted more tracks from a more diverse array of artists. One particular track stood out to me and left a lasting impression. It was called 'Elephant Bones' by a band I had never heard of, a That Handsome Devil from Boston. Perhaps they only made it in by being from the same city as Harmonix who made Guitar Hero. At any rate there was little to no information about this band so I continued with my life.

Fast forward to 2009 and I got my grubby mitts on Rock Band 2, a later iteration of the genre. This game also featured That Handsome Devil with a fun wee song called 'Rob the Prez-o-dent'. I spotted it on the track list and a bolt of realization struck me. “I know that band name” I thought. I jumped onto iTunes and to my delight they had an album and an EP available for purchase and I was all too happy to oblige (seriously, I bought them). That album was A City Dressed In Dynamite. Not only has it become one of the most played albums in my home but it helped elevate That Handsome Devil to being one of my favourite bands. Since then it became my personal goal to push the music of THD onto anybody who would listen to me. I've always had the reputation for being an over-enthusiastic music nut but this was different: I felt that it was my duty to spread the good word. My enthusiasm was bolstered by the release of another album and two more EPs since then and I have consumed each of the ravenously. One of those EPs was a free release and features covers of songs from Disney's The Jungle Book. Weird huh?

So what is it about THD that does it for me? Evasive as it might sound, its not just one thing. Being a fan of Faith No More, Primus, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Gorillaz, Reverend Horton Heat, and alternative hip hop certainly helped as these are all musical touchstones for the band. They bounce from rock, to rap, to blues, to funk, to jazz, to rockabilly so quick your head will spin. What is better though is that THD make unabashed party music. It is just plain fun to listen to at your local house party, family reunion, or church sermon. Godforbid, singer and chief raconteur, has a brilliant and intangible quality to his vocals and a cynicism to his lyrics that really strikes a chord with me. The world is not a kind and friendly place. It is filled with egotists, warmongers, liars, and assholes at the top and the rest of us – from whores and drug addicts to those simply down on their luck and needing a break – get crammed in down the bottom of the pile. So when I hear a lyric that proclaims “I always thought that I'd die young / Make some money, be someone / They all love you when you're gone / But who knew life would be so long?” it feels as though my own world view was being validated. One of my mottos is that we all have dirt on us, it just takes a special kind of person to act like it. In That Handsome Devil we finally have a band who not only acts like it, they thrive on it.

As much as I can blather on about this band's merits (and there are plenty of those, trust me) the sad truth of the matter is that they are not a globe trotting world famous act. They all work regular jobs like you and I and tour around their corner of the US when they can manage it. This band has had a such a profound effect on my life in the last few years it is downright depressing to think that they will probably never be able to afford to play in my home country of New Zealand. Even still I will continue to bang a drum on their behalf on the other side of the world and eagerly await a new album.

Wake the fuck up people! That Handsome Devil are out there somewhere, sleazing away in a dive bar somewhere for spare change and beer money. The least you could do is buy all their albums and share their brilliance with a like-minded friend or two. Try here for starters.

Essential albums: That Handsome Devil EP, A City Dressed in Dynamite, Enlightenment's for Suckers EP, The Heart Goes to Heaven the Head Goes to Hell, The Jungle Book EP … just get fucking all of it!