This is a reissue of the band’s self-financed debut from 2009. Dirty fuzzed up rock n’ roll – I don’t usually associate these type of grooves coming from California.
Tell Me Something is tipping the hat to Zeppelin, especially the guitar and drum sound. Lucky Girl has a killer riff and groove, and I love the hook and verse melody. I love the intro to Memphis Sun and we are in deep blues territory, maybe with a little Keef thrown in as well. I love the riff and the vocals are killer. Angel takes an even deeper turn into the blues, but with a heavy Zeppelin influence as well. Pocketful Of Stones has a riff that sounds slightly out of tune, coupled with that heavy Bonham drum groove. Side 1 closes out with the beautiful The Man Who Wasn’t There; just minimal instrumentation and a superb vocal until the very Beatles section.
Pleasant Return has a killer fuzzed up intro with a heavy psych vibe to the whole tune. On My Way has a heavy Americana vibe, with a hint of Seattle, and a bass line a lot of you will be familiar with. A superb, killer, groovy opening to I Want More, which tips the hat to many tunes that have gone before and reminds me of so many but keeps its originality and is my favourite tune on the record. Flames Of Lanka is the big number of the album and it starts really weird as though we have been transported back to the late 60’s with that whole psych vibe. The album closes out with Nanda-Nandana, a very grooved up psychfest. Great band that have really grown with each record and don’t sound much like this anymore.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
