Full On by The Freeks

I'm going to get this out of the way right now. The members of The Freeks were in other famous bands. This will come up in all the other reviews, and some time will be paid bowing to the alter of the past- but in this review I won't focus on those bands, because what The Freeks are doing now is great and important.This isn't some last ditch effort by musicians hoping to capitalize on the cool they peddled years ago. This is the real deal folks. The band sounds energized, with the grit of the Stooges and the space of Hawkwind and twists that can only be described as freeky.

Full On kicks off with Big Black Chunk, a heavy spaced rager with vocals that lay the framework for the spaced and psychedelic tunes that dominate the album. The next track, Weirdness offers the contrast to the spaced jam the preceded it. The Punkish vox sound like they are straight from Detroit Rock City circa 1968 and wake you up before yer pulled back to space, down The Secret Pathway which could be the soundtrack to a journey through a wormhole in some odd galaxy. Splitting Atoms is a pastoral pysch jam, which could be sung around a campfire on Mars. On a Whim offers stabbing keys and the intense punk vocals of Weirdness, and their appearance is a helluva way to keep you grounded, lest you float off into he ether forever.

This album can't be recommended enough. The spaced jams are free and tight. The punk jams are tight but loose. The whole thing is fun, and if you've been thinking of a way to play your Stooges records at the same time as yer playing your Hawkwing records, just put this one on and save yourself all the trouble that thinking can cause.

And for those of you who are sitting there, pulling out your hair, wondering to yerself "what are those original bands he talking bout?"

Fu Manchu, Nebula, Roadsaw, The Angry Samoans. Now hail The Freeks.

Here's an older tune that shows their Psychedelic proclivities.

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LP Review- Bruce! by Bruce!

What's the best thing to listen to after getting your ass kicked by a wicked double ear infection? Bruce!, apparently. And I'm sorry I wanted until I felt better before strapping on the headphones and letting their no frills rawk invade my aching ear canals, 'cause I get the feeling if I'd have commenced with the Bruce! treatment, their sonic power woulda rocked all those little microbes to death in a matter of minutes and I wouldn't have had to choose between booze and antibiotics.

Bruce! hail from Australia- Wollongong, to be precise, and carry the hard rock torch lit by all those great rockin' bands from the land down under. They've toured with trance boogie masters Endless Boogie and their bandcamp page offers rumors of an international tour. Keep your fingers crossed that they come stateside.

The album kicks off with Hell Gig, a Devil Went Down to Georgia like tune that is a bit more realistic than some evil fiddle battle in the middle of the woods. Bruce! meet their Devil in a bar and Lucifer wants them to be Hell's house band. But Bruce! politely demur, 'cause they're afraid Hell might not have enough whiskey on hand. Money and Go is next up, and with its stuttering geetar riff and cymbal smashing, you almost miss the hooky chorus that begs to be screamed live with beer in hand. I'm inclined to believe that Bruce! are a wicked live band, and the video below is exhibit A. Make You Proud is a punkish apology to the family of rock and rollers, those who chase their dreams and sacrifice exciting lives as accountants. Bottle in a Brown Paper Bag is a trancey psychedelic tune and I love it, but Screams of Silence is my personal favorite, with more punkish hollerin'. Alf is a space haze instrumental and the whole thing ends with a straightahead rocker, an ode to life on the road, On the Road Again.

You get heavy does of QOTSA's Rated R and the trucker rock of Roadsaw on this album. But the influences are varied and move from punk to stoner rock to psychedelic tunes and beyond. All this flows together seamlessly and the different styles complement the album, rather than sounding like a band struggling to find itself on wax. A lesser band might have made an album that sounds the way a kindergartner's collage looks, but Bruce! know what they hell they are doing. Bruce! does not let the listener become complacent. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. And if you don't pick it up now we'll remind you come December, cause there's no doubt this one will rank high on the Best of 2013 list.

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Album Of The Day-Roadsaw-"See You In Hell" (2008)

The Album Of The Day is "See You In Hell" by Roadsaw.



Review:

At the 2005 Emissions from the Monolith Festival, Roadsaw frontman Craig Riggs admonished the crowd to "Maintain the fuckin' yeah." We wouldn't expect any less in return from the seminal Boston band and their back from the dead reunion album, See You in Hell.

Especially since See You in Hell, the first new material in roughly six years, boasts not only 3/4 of the line-up from 2002's Rawk n' Roll (Craig Riggs – vocals, Tim Catz – bass, Ian Ross – guitar, with drummer Hari Hassin replaced by Cortez' Jeremy Hemond) but also original lead guitarist Darryl Shepard, who last played with the band on 1997's Nationwide. That makes this version of the band a sort of supergroup, and that ups the level of expectation.

After a cute/pointless introduction that reminiscent of the music played at the end of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the band delivers as promised. “Who Do You Think You Are” is a gut puncher of a song that's about as classic Roadsaw as you can get. It's got a heavy, pummeling main riff, a driving rhythm, soulful vocals, a shit hot solo, and plenty of attitude. “Look Pretty Lonely,” the second track, doesn't miss a beat either. It's reminiscent of past bruisers like “Satellite” and “Bad Ass Rising” - it just lays into you relentlessly.

Come to think of it, See You In Hell is pretty much exactly what's needed until the eighth track, “Dead Horse.” This ballad isn't bad, but it does sound more like an outtake from Antler, the mellower, more Southern rock leaning group that Riggs and Catz started up in the first part of this decade. There are a handful of other tracks where Roadsaw slows things down a touch (“The Rules,” the title track, “Leavin',” and “Receive”), but in those cases they don't come off so mawkish.

Most reunion albums fall short of expectations, but not so with See You in Hell. There may not be any surprises – Roadsaw is as Roadsaw does – but there are enough killer, no bullshit riffs to maintain the fuckin' yeah for a long time. Recommended.

(John Pegoraro, StonerRock.com)

Track Listing:

01. Intro
02. Who do You Think You Are
03. Look Pretty Lonely
04. Go it Alone
05. The Rules
06. See You in Hell
07. Up to You
08. Dead Horse
09. Leavin
10. It's Your Move
11. Receive

Listen

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Official Website

Roadsaw Reveals New Songs

Boston`s Roadsaw has uploaded two new songs to their MySpace page. The songs, "Who Do You Think You Are" and "Pretty Lonely," will appear on See You in Hell, due this June on Small Stone Records.

New Roadsaw Songs Online

Boston`s Roadsaw has posted samples of two new songs on their MySpace page. The reunited band, which features Dave Unger (Antler, Fast Actin` Fuses, Cropduster) on keyboards, Tim Catz (Antler) on bass, Ian Ross (Antler, Quitter) and Darryl Shepard (Hackman, Milligram) on guitars, Craig Riggs (Anter, Quitter) on vocals, and Jeremy (Cortez) on drums, will be releasing a new album, "See You in Hell", this year on Small Stone Records.

New stuff sounds great. Check it!