There are definitely parental advisors on some of the lyrics (and even one of the titles) here. The mix of sounds, though, is amazing. Everything from punk to goth to jazz, psychedelia and space rock is heard on this beast. It’s clearly one of the most unique blends you will ever hear. It’s also quite a tasty disc.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012 Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Death of a Vampire
Weird, dark sounds open this. It’s kind of a strange section that begins the tune. Then it works out to horns and other sounds in an arrangement that’s got a lot of punk built into it, but also plenty of psychedelia and space elements. It’s noisy, spacey and very cool. The instrumental section later sees the return of that horn section to the fore. In addition, that portion of the cut moves the track in several different directions.
I Don't Know What to Make of Your F***ed Up Friends Imagine combining the noisier side of The Lords of the NewChurch with a jazz-rock band. You’ll have a good idea of what this rocker sounds like with that description. It’s another cool, and rather strange, one.
Businessman's Guide to Witchcraft While the noisy vocals and some of the rawer guitar bits bring in more of that punk rock element, this is really a smoking hot jazz rock tune. It’s easily the best number to this point and a great juxtaposition of sounds.
JellyRoll While the familiar influences all return here, this is noisier and more raw than some of the earlier cuts.
Killer Inside Me That Lords of the NewChurch mixed with jazz rock vibe is even stronger here. It drops back mid-track to a more melodic movement, but overall this thing really screams.
These Things I Leave You Retro rock and roll merges with the same musical concepts heard to this point for something new and a bit different.
Pretender Soul Mellower and more melodic, those punk elements are still on display here. It makes me think of Radiohead quite a bit, actually.
The Everlasting Thirst There’s a killer classic rock meets jazz rock vibe here with some soulful horn playing at times. All in all, this is one of the highlights of the disc.
Nervous Exhaustion The acoustic guitar motif on this calls to mind “La Bamba.” It remains acoustically driven, but still manages to pull in the familiar players in terms of sounds.
Viodrene A slow jazzy introduction gives way to a little bit of piano before they power out into a killer jam. This is one of the best tunes on the album and manages to keep together all the usual musical connections (psychedelia, punk rock, prog and jazz) to create a great closer. It’s the longest track and also the most dynamic and diverse. Interestingly enough, it’s also probably the most accessible thing on show here.