Tuesday 8 December 2015

Mammothwing - Morning Light (Album Review)


Release date: December 11th 2015. Label: Kozmik Artifactz Released. Format: DD/Vinyl

Morning Light – Tracklisting

Cosmic vagabond
Tinned up & fuzzed out
Black woman
69
Chump change

Band Members:

Bill Fisher - Bass/Vocals
Marty Fisher - Guitar/Vocals
Kev Richardson - Drums

Review:

Mammothwing are bounty hunters of the blues who combine all the great sounds of the psychedelic 60's, stoned 70's and doom heaviness of today. They exact justice on the finicky amateurs and lay waste to the conundrum bands in prevalence throughout cyberspace. Each song is a successful experiment in blue noise. The powerful and rich production provides dual purpose in being able to haul one into the cataclysmic maelstrom of a live setting and secrete one into the warm intimate vibes of the home studio. Either way you will either wrestle with a monster catfish or sink into its egg populated mud bed. The album cover draws temptation for compensated reward. If this EP is any indication, you better reserve some room in your library in order to meet the demand of a future LP.

This album is sure to wake up the sheepish saloon types congregated on barstools staring at the drunk piano men who warm their elbows in lukewarm beer and soggy pretzels. The true patron of extreme music will empty their ale on the hay littered floor, spit their loose teeth in the vacant jug and modestly keep in time by rattling the makeshift maraca.

The guitar tone is fluid, not unlike volcanic lava and it is heavy as a freight train. Fisher reigns in the guitar like a wild mustang dangerously close to chaos and generates one of the most beautiful guitar tones I've ever heard. The vocal chords are covered in molasses and broken mirrors. Blue notes swirl out of all the instruments. Even the voice is organized around the structure of the blues. The band’s chemistry is fine-tuned and the resultant album reminds you how influential the blues are, as well as, how essential the blues are as a fundamental music form. To put it succinctly, this is a true well worn belt buckle triumph for the blues. Now for the tunes…

Cosmic Vagabond – The first track begins with a shimmer, followed by the clamour of an old-fashioned smash ending that clears your head before the launch that cooks up the dials affixed to your now sensitive earholes. The song is slow, distorted, heavy doom that is just as monstrous and grisly as the vocal portions. The mid section of this track consists of a pure tavern atmosphere complete with guitar trills, bass warbles and portly drums. The final portion of the song is a heavy bookend similar to the introduction.

Tinned Up and Fuzzed Out – This track traverses through a stoned blue fog, delivering a sincere restoration of the blues on guitar, bass and drums. The lyrics meld in ample return. Most will wish to take a long peek inside what must be a most coveted fuzz box. The conclusion provides a ricochet of sound not unlike several aged bullets shot into a large block of hardening lard.

Black Woman – On this particular song, the band has poured a russet figure composed of obsidian heft riffage, adorned it with the finest soft fabric melodies and erected it upon our storefront minds. The guitar is showcased through bends, trills, mutes, echoes, slides and other noises. I hear the torture of Zappa, but none of the humor. It is pure cobalt conviction. You will adore the contrast from subdued watercolor grace of wistful melody to extreme finger painting style of braised metal that is superbly bridged by this madcap trio. I can only assume that the guitar body creaked under the strain of coaxing each note from the strings on the fret board. The vocal passages move from dreamy soft expression to heavyweight devastation. There is a feeling that these journeymen of sound can negotiate the delicate balance of handling a crate of decomposing dynamite that is leaking nitro glycerine and successfully deliver it to its explosive detonation site, resulting in a satisfying pin-wheel finale. This band will be forever known for this particular song, for it is immortal.

'69 – I’m sure there was a blue haze glowing from the amp tubes on this performance. The singing is so real you can hear the actual tension through the consequential cracks of the vocal cords. All the instruments converge into the electric grid, which produces one fused current of pure rock blues. This pure mojo sounds like it could be from a bunch of laid off roadhouse performers hurled onto the streets of Baltimore and living to tell about it.

Chump Change –This song is a smoked sausage made from heavy rock blues circa 1973, grinded up with burdened vocals and woolly fuzz. Drop some money in the poor box, you eavesdropping cheapskates...

I haven’t shaved all week…or bathed either. I was too busy making a new distortion pedal out of my old coffee pot. My poor hound has a sore throat from howling all day. This is easily one of my desert plain top 5 albums of the year…a dead on balls centre bullseye.

Thanks to Mammothwing, it's ok to love the blues again…

Words by Nick Palmisano

Thanks to Kozmik Artifactz for the promo. Morning Light will be available to buy form December 11th 2015 on CD/DD/Vinyl via KozmikArtifactz

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