Reviews roundup – Mark Wingfield & Gary Husband ~ Dust & Bones ~ Indianhead ~ N.M.A ~ Mindspeak ~ Rot Schimmel
MARK WINGFIELD & GARY HUSBAND
Tor & Vale
MoonJune
Well don’t come here if you’re looking for either rock or roll. Because this sees guitarist Mark Wingfield and drummer Gary Husband spending a lot of time in near ambient surroundings. Especially as drummer Husband isn’t playing drums. Nope, he’s playing piano. It’s a set of music recorded in a day with some of them pure improvisations including the title track which goes on for over 16 minutes.
So not a place for fans of the three minute pop song either. But what it does show is some remarkable musical chemistry between the two participants. Wingfield is a masterful guitarist but as someone who was only aware of his percussive work, it’s the piano contributions that surprise. If only I’d read the small print on my copy of “Industrial Zen”!
So there are a lot of jazz sounds on offer here especially on the improvisational pieces but where there is more structure then you start to pick up on all the other sounds as with the classical motifs on ‘Kittiwake’. To be honest, I actually prefer the more scripted sounds although if you’re someone who enjoys space in their music then take a listen to ‘The Golden Thread’ which really gives a lot of room to breathe.
It’s an amazingly accomplished piece and some of the guitar work and effects make your jaw drop. It’s adventurous and out there and if that is you, then take this for a spin.
https://markwingfield-moonjune.bandcamp.com
DUST & BONES
The Great Damnation Stereo Parade
El Puerto
Bored of waiting for the next Supersuckers record? Well get yourself some Dust & Bones.
The German rockers have been on the go for nearly 20 years now although having been through a pile of line-up changes they’re down to two original members. Which is still one more than Deep Purple. Their bio has them as playing High Energy Dirt Rock which is basically the Motorhead / Ramones template you’d have guessed from my opening sentence.
But they’re very good at it even if the opening ‘Get The World Sucker’ only has about four words in it, all SHOUTED VERY LOUDLY. They’ve got the shouting loudly part of things sorted and when they bump into a really good riff then it makes for an energising listen. It’s only when they try to be a wee bit clever that things don’t work so well. That would be ‘Freerider’. But when they stick to shouting and riffing it’s a rerr terr. Although the glam rocky ‘Dream In Infrared’ was fun. They can do blues rock as well – that would be ‘Shaky Mountains’. Sadly, ‘Nail You To The Wall (With Rock N Roll)’ gives better title than tune.
It’s the sound of a band who would absolutely crush it in a rammed out, beered up club, something that always loses power in a studio. Although the production is very good, in your face and powerful. I definitely enjoyed this but then as a hairy, tattooed, long hair freak, that has an inevitability about it. The mix of clean and guttural vocals works well and the brilliantly titled “The Great Damnation Stereo Parade” is a keeper.
hhttps://www.facebook.com/DustAndBonesBand/
INDIANHEAD
Songs From The Deluge
independent
First things first. Demand a refund from the booklet printers as I can’t read a damn word of the credits. So the bassoon player will remain a mystery.
You read that right. All the odder because Indianhead are a post grungy, stoner style, southern rock type band. Remember Leadfoot? No? Well you should because the Corrosion of Conformity offshoot released a great debut called “Bring It On” back in the late nineties and this reminds me of that.
They’ve been around the block a few times but the core trio of Grant Walker, Ellis Tinsley, and Chris Weal have only been together since 2016. This is their debut but with plenty of experience coming to bear the songs of singer / guitarist Gramt Walker really come to life. His voice is the most grungy thing here which when added to the swirling stoner riffs and southern styled arrangements officially Kick Your Arse.
There is plenty of hard driving slide guitar, powerful anthems like ‘Memphis At Midnight’ and the odd, acoustic moment like ‘John’s Song’ which, unusually, don’t drag the record down. It’s probably two songs too long but as long as they crank out tunes like ‘Slackjaw Suzie’ (yes, really), then I’ll be queuing up to hear them.
https://www.facebook.com/Indianheadrox/
N.M.A.
N.M.A.
independent
Swiss punky thrash metal anyone?
Because that’s what you’re getting with Swiss trio N.M.A. A terrible name for a band even if they are big Fallout fans. Especially if you’re an auld fella like me and associate it with New Model Army. You know, NMA.
Anyway, that aside they’ve been together since 2016 and seem like big fans of early thrash metal. The guitars of Greg are especially evocative of that time period while the punk edge comes from the voice of Denise. There are a few good tunes in here with ‘Shining Bolt’ and ‘Demons’ certainly worthy of respect.
As you would expect from an indie release the production is on the basic side but when you’re playing this type of music that actually works in its favour. I’m not sure the majority of the songs are quite ready to take them to the next level but there is certainly enough merit in this debut to make you sit up and take a wee bit of notice.
MINDSPEAK
Eclipse Chaser
Beamerhead Records
To Austria for some excellent progressive rock and the second album from Mindspeak.
Musically, it’s very redolent of eighties prog rock but with enough seventies influences to keep old timers happy. It’s at times quite a joyous sound especially when the saxophone kicks in on ‘Tetrachrome’. That’s actually my favourite musical moment here.
Some of the musicianship is outstanding but the keyboard work of Christoph Kasparovsky really holds everything together and drives it forward. That’s not to diminish guitarist Alex Clement, drummer Gabriel Lahrmann and bassist Simon Nagy who all do a bang up job. The main body of the album is the six part ‘The Human Element’ which encompasses a ludicrous number of genres. And flute. It encompasses classic prog, ambient, harder rock, even some Floydian ambient moments. It seems to be about the human race searching for a new home in space. Well, it is prog and almost Ayreon-like in construct
I’m not the biggest fan of vocalist Viktoria Simon-Lukic whose voice seems a bit too light in places. But this album is really about the music and in the world of modern prog I can’t think of many better examples this year. Outstanding.
https://mindspeak.bandcamp.com
ROT SCHIMMEL
Singing With The Moon
independent
Some Italian progressive metal now.
And I will give them credit for the ambition they’ve shown in the complexity of the arrangements and the scope of their music. There’s nothing wrong with reaching for the stars. Or the moon in this case.
It’s the brainchild of guitarist Giulio Flavio Stile and vocalist Gina Pitarella and they’ve thrown some symphonic and classic metal sounds into their prog metal mix. And, in some places, it really works. In others, like ‘Legend’, it comes over as quite clunky.
But when they get it right, there is a lot to enjoy. ‘Why Don’t You’ is just a great song, regardless of genre and shows that there are some serious songwriting chops here. The closing ‘Nel Buio Del Silenzio’ is another keeper which really plays with moods and is probably my favourite here. They’re not afraid to experiment with their sound which is another point in their favour. ‘Lullaby’ runs through a gamut of sounds and genres, most of which they pull off. Vocally? Well, there’s a lot of vibrato which isn’t my kind of thing but it seems to get a lot of folk het up under the collar. They’ll enjoy it.
It’s an independent production and the drum sound is a bit muted but there is still a lot to enjoy and encourage here.
https://www.facebook.com/rotschimmel
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