Do yourself a favour and go see some live,local music.Here's two brand spankin' new releases from hard and heavy Melbourne bands,King Of The Nroth and My Left Boot.
King Of The North- Self Titled E.P
After being filled in on the game of thrones sample that opens,this E.P rips into some fat sleazy riffs straight away.I'm glad to say,fat sleazy riffs are an underlying theme to this E.P.The very idea of recording King Of The North poses an stark challenge.How do you capture the Bonham-esque drumming of Danny Leo,complete with every detail of the ferocious and entertaining live show? You can't see his great big smile on a record. The E.P is good,but nothing compares to seeing this guy live.He's half the show,quite literally. The other half is made up of singer,guitarist and faux bass player Andrew Higgs. Given the freedom of studio trickery,one would expect the E.P to be topped off with all sorts of extra production,but this is not the case.Everything you hear is pretty much the way it turns out live.There is certainly sufficient low end for the casual listener to believe the band has a bass player. The song writing is catchy as hell, and the E.P remains a consistently interesting sample of what this band has to offer. 'Into Your Eyes' is my favourite.
King Of The North play the Barwon Club on Dec. 15th,and the Espy with the Datsuns & The redcoats on December 20th & 21st.
King Of The North
My Left Boot- Summer songs
Warning: This album may contain vocal styles that distress some listeners.I'll be straight up.you're either going to like vocalist Matt 'Chappy' Chapman's high range howls,or they're going to turn you off completely.It's hard to knock a nice guy,but somewhere between sounding like a Robert Plant or Ian Gillan,a hint of Axl Rose has creeped into his voice,and damn I hate Axl Rose.If you can get past that though,I can get onto telling you how good the rest of it is.
My Left Boot play some sweet fuzz rock,with a heavy QOTSA sound.Drumming is sharp and concise,used wisely with bass guitar for some cool inter-play in the rhythm section,especially on 'Sharks In The Water'.Some of you might recognize drummer Liam Cuffley from Melbourne based stoner rockers Matt Sonic & The High Times.
One of my favourite aspects of this band has to be the guitar playing.Inventive and refreshing,Daniel Firth sticks to no recipe,instead just bringing cool riffs and lead guitar to the mix.'Good Mutt' has an exceptionally cool guitar part.
As much as I have said how I dislike the higher vocal ranges on here,that's not to say Chappy is a one trick pony.The vocal harmony on 'Your Ancient Bones' sounds strikingly similar to a QOTSA song,but I just cannot think of which one.His vocal style makes alot more sense live,un-doubtedly capturing every pair of ears in the room with a strong,powerful delivery.
The title track, 'Summer Song' is worthy,and there is no doubting that someone was listening to heaps of Unida when they wrote 'Sometimes Love'.
Overall,whilst some parts of Summer Songs are not my cup of tea,it is a solid release from the band,and I'd recommend catching them in the flesh.
Album Launch, December 22nd at the Cherry Bar
My Left Boot
Coming soon,a review of the new L.P from No Anchor,and a live review for Earthless.
Stay fuzzy
