Liquid Silk – Liquid Silk EP

Liquid Silk – Liquid Silk EP

Self released – 2013

Seventies, Rock, Stoner, Blues, Hard rock

Rating: ***

There is so much going on with Liquid Silk that it's impossible to know where everything starts. These retro rockers from Berlin cite Clutch, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Graveyard as their influences. Lead off track “Autumn” has a nice feel to it. Close your eyes, lean back and just see the leaves change color and fall off trees; but you will be woken up at the 5:30 mark when things get heavy, that's where the Sabbath element kicks in. This is a toe tapping bluesy number to boot and it is easy to see these guys would have fit in well in the seventies hard rock realm, just listen to that voice. “Happy Croco” is a song about an alligator, not usually a topic popular among rock artists but these guys seem to pull it off in this little stoner tune. Things take a depressing turn in “Winter” as it is about ... winter (and winter sucks, but this song didn't.) The closer “The Chase” had its moments but wasn't really an album closer for it ended up making me want more. Nevertheless, you take one cup of seventies hard rock, 1/2 cup straight up rock, a sprinkle of stoner, a teaspoon of blues and a 1/2 cup of hard rock and you get a recipe for great tunes a la Liquid Silk!

(Written by Blair)

Bandcamp

Taliban Airways – With Further Ado

Taliban Airways – With Further Ado

Badlands Entertainment – 2013

Stoner, Rock, Political

Rating: ****

I was kind of hesitant to review this album after the last one I did (Early Mammal) left a little bit of a foul taste in my ears (if that makes any sense). But I was pleasantly surprised when I got the chance to listen to the new Taliban Airways album, it is actually pretty good. I'm not very political and I understand the message these guys are trying to convey but thankfully they let the music do most of the talking; fuzzy guitars, thumping bass, thrashing drums and there's even harmonica thrown in there for good measure and I liked it! If you close your eyes real tight these guys do sound a lot like Spiritual Beggars and that isn't a bad thing! “Rebel of Revulsion” is a kick ass track and this is where the album really starts to kick into high gear. “Long Way to the Bottom” is where the harmonica really gets a chance to shine but the “piece de resistance” of the entire album has to be “Studmuffin”. If there were ever a song to get a party started, “Studmuffin” would be it. Yes some of the album steers towards politics (as evident on the album cover) but it's still some good ole stoner rock done right.

(Written by Blair)

Homepage

Early Mammal - Horror at Pleasure

Early Mammal - Horror at Pleasure

Devouter Records - 2013

Experimental, Rock, Space, Psyche

Rated: **

Okay, I don't know where to start with this one. This album from the three lads of Early Mammal from England is all over the place. You get rock, some stoner sprinkled in there, space rock, some psychedelica thrown in for good measure and there is a lot of experimentation on this album. The music is good to pretty good in some places but it is the vocals that wreck it for me. I am not saying that Rob Herian (guitars/vocals) is a bad singer but he isn't a great singer either. But nobody will be able to tell this because his vocals are drowned out by the music. Half the time I didn't even know he was singing because his voice is pushed all the way into the background making it damn near impossible to hear him at certain times. I hope the vocals take center stage on their next album like they’re supposed to. Cause the members have all played in different bands and are damn good; but due to the production it becomes inaudible.

(Written by Blair)

Bandcamp

Lowburn - Soaring High

Lowburn - Soaring High

Self released - 2013

Rock, Stoner

Rated: ***

Four old Finnish geezers who want to rock, that seems about right with this band who bring back the riffs and the stoner rock I used to know and love (not a lot of bands can do that these days). On this, Lowburn's first EP, you can hear the sounds of the Palm Desert in the background as the guitars get fuzzier with each song, the drums beat louder with each beat, the bass pounds inside your head like a jackhammer, and the vocals crush your insides with each howl. This is how stoner rock was meant to be. These four lads have all been in rock bands before so they aren't spring chickens by any means and know exactly what the hell they are doing. If you close your eyes real tight you can imagine an outdoor concert in the middle of the valley with cheap beers, cigarettes, chicks in bikinis, and some great weed. You might just have found heaven. This band has a lot of potential with all the skilled crafts in their ranks. Just think if Kyuss/Sleep/Unida/Black Sabbath all had relatives that could play musical instruments, Lowburn would be the result!

(Written by Blair)

Bandcamp