Turn up the stereo, turn down the lights and twist up a hog leg. These three dudes from Santa Cruz, CA are putting out the prescription and you don’t even need a medicinal card. This is a band you have to hear.
Where to begin with this amazing debut? Remember watching skateboard videos backintheday and hearing a song you liked so much that you would pause the credits to find out who it was? Mountain Tamer reminds me of that. The perfect balance of heavy psych with a punk attitude and a perfect tone that brings it all together into a sound that is truly unique to them. They are not easily comparable to anyone, it is all their own and for a first album they have already done something many more established bands are still trying to figure out.
But don’t think this is all just juicy riffs and jutted jaws, there is really solid musicianship throughout. Dave Teget’s bass work ranges from the classic driving thump of the opening track Mind Burner and the third song Dunes of the Mind to the mellow, undulating hypnotism of Satans Waitin. The drum work by Casey Garcia shows serious chops. He goes from working expertly in the pocket in Wolf and Mind Burner to forcefully turning the drums into the lead in Vixen and Sum Peeps. As for Andru Hall on guitar, he gives you a taste of everything from the desert inspired glory of Mind Burner to the utter space mayhem of Dunes of the Mind and Pharosite to the classic blues styling in Wolf. He does all this while working the microphone with the style of a man who just walked out of his last day at the job he hates giving the boss the elusive double handed, one finger salute.
The overall production is rock solid making this an excellent choice for your headphone listening pleasure or blasting on the stereo. Anyone looking for tracks for a new snowboard or skate video, look no further, you found what you are looking for right here. For the rest of us, we just found ourselves a great new band that is putting down some seriously kickass rock and roll.
