Turkey Vulture’s second EP, 2024’s ‘On The List’ saw the US noise rock duo stretching out. The bulk of the material concerned itself with massive, heavy riffs blending garage rock and sludge metal influences, but in ‘Jill The Ripper’, the intense duo showed how they could apply a clean sound without losing their sinister edge. Showing a more experimental side, the number took influences from dark folk and applied an accordion to give the performance an almost sea-shanty like melody. In its own way, the results were just as devastating as the Vulture’s heavier tunes, but more importantly, it appeared to give their DIY sound an even bigger scope for the future.
For those who disliked this tonal shift, the lead track on their ‘Dead To Me’ EP puts things “right”. A “heavy take” on ‘Jill…’ opens with a barrage of smashed snares and cymbals coupled with a stop/start riff. In taking this approach, the re-recorded track immediately advertises its aggressive edge. With this riff used effectively to bridge the verses, it also takes on an important musical stance, offering a fuzzy, classic sounding stoner sound, on which listeners can really focus their heavier interests. Using a fuller version of this riff to underscore a soaring bass harmonic, the sea shanty melody makes a welcome re-appearance, but in the main, this noisy reworking latches on to some speed driven garage punk riffs that work Jessie (bass/vocals) and husband Jim (drums) into a frenzy. For some fans, this will definitely be the definitive recording. If, somehow, you’ve arrived here and this is your first listen to Turkey Vulture, the punchy approach employed throughout this performance will actually provide a decent introduction to a pleasingly rough and ready musical act.
The newly written and recorded title cut teases with something more melodic, but without losing a whole world of brilliant fuzziness. From the outset, Jessie weaves a great bass sound, using harmonics to weave a high tone, whilst Jim rattles through a groove laden drum part. There’s a dark vibe here, but never a heaviness. It’s bluesy, but never resorts to the blues. A reasonable reference point would be to call this a solid garage rock workout with stoner undertones. Musically speaking, it’s one of the duo’s more commercial arrangements, but they’ve ensured things don’t veer too closely towards the immediately accessible by coupling a great melody with a really ragged vocal. Jessie barks through her chosen lyric with an almost spoken, scattergun approach, whilst Jim interjects with various shouts, really making the best of the semi-raw production values. As with the first version of ‘Jill The Ripper’, this shows that Turkey Vulture are far from being one-dimensional noise makers.
Despite just offering two new songs, ‘Dead To Me’ packs a huge wallop, both musically and sonically. The rough around the edges approach that Turkey Vulture fans have come to expect really suits the duo here, and in the title cut, Jessie and Jim come armed with one of their most interesting recordings to date. Neither track will appeal to the more melodically inclined ear, of course…but in terms of flying the flag for a DIY aesthetic, this short listen continues to suggest that Turkey Vulture are one of the rock underground’s most sonically pure acts.
April 2025