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Broken Guru Bent Up Halo Review by Gary Hill A lot of this makes me think of Lords of the New Church. That’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. It’s mostly the vocals that beg that comparison, but there are other elements, too. Wherever you see the influences landing, though, this is strong stuff. It’s a great hard rocking album with a lot of punk in the mix. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2015 Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Plight of Imemine This pounds in extremely heavy. As it cuts to the song proper, this has a real punk rock meets glam approach. The ending is a little crazed.

28 Cents This reminds me of the Lords of the New Church in a lot of ways. It has a great rock groove with a real punk sneer.

Monster Inside Although there are no big stylistic changes here, this is another killer hard rocking cut.

Got to be Mean I love the hard rocking groove on this. It’s part old school rocker, part punk masterpiece. This is possibly my favorite tune here.

Tryin This has more of an old school rock sound than anything else to this point. It’s a great cut, too.

Half Awake Melodic and mellower, this rocker is definitely quite a change. It’s a good piece, but not a standout.

Bent Up Halo Psychedelic rock, blues and punk all merge here. This is another change. It’s a very strong rocker, too.

Behind the Mouth This one is quite retro in texture, too. Yet, it is another that makes me think of the Lords of the New Church.

My Universe A retro tinged rocker, this is great stuff. I love the guitar soloing on the fadeout.

Gimme More This very much feels like 1960s rock. It’s a cool retro rocker that’s got plenty of punk edge. Some of the backing vocals make me think of The Rolling Stones. The killer guitar solo section later is great.

Ghost This very much feels like a 1960s rocker. Still, that punk edge remains. I like this, but it’s not really a standout.

Like a Wh**e The more rocking sections of this are in keeping with the rest of the album. There’s a mellow drop down that makes me think of Jane’s Addiction. This cut is okay, but not at the same level as a lot of the rest.

In the Clouds This is an acoustic based ballad. It’s not the best thing here, and I’m not sure it’s the best choice for closing the set. It does give it a lulling off to sleep kind of feeling, but it might have worked better earlier in the set.

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