Pink Floyd’s sixth album, ‘Meddle’, is regarded as a prog rock masterpiece. The band had released enjoyable works prior to its release in 1971, but ‘Meddle’ is arguably the first album where all of the “classic Floyd” ingredients came together to create something coherent. David Gilmour has referred to it as the first album since his appointment as guitarist that really made sense, and – as enjoyable as bits of its predecessors are in their own weird and wonderful ways – it’s hard not to argue with that logic. The thunderous bass groove driving ‘One of These Days’ very much looks forward to parts of ‘Animals’; in Gilmour’s ‘Fearless’, there’s a melodic prog songcraft that he would take forward and make the heart of ‘Dark Side of The Moon’ and even the post-Roger Waters ‘Division Bell’, and via the mighty ‘Echoes’ – a side long epic – bits of the Floyd’s soundtrack recording past collide with huge solos, and there’s even a melodic phrase that would be reworked a few years later to become one of ‘Dark Side’s timeless musical touchstones. Unfortunately, there’s the lazy blues of ‘Seamus’, too – something that undoubtedly grew from their Pompeii animal cruelty jam ‘Madamoiselle Nobs’ – but very few albums are perfect.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
EVOLETAH – Calliope Dreaming
Evoletah’s 2020 release ‘Run With The Hunted’ wasn’t quite as well rounded as their previous offering, the absolutely stunning ‘We Ache For The Moon’, but it took the Australian band further into a world of introspection in a way that, if approached in the right mood, showed off some great atmospheres. With no help from a mixed up world, it took Matt Cahill and Ben Johns three years to craft a follow up, and much like its slow gestation period, 2023’s ‘Calliope Dreaming’ is in no rush to grab the audience’s attention. Although a slow burning listen, it continues an interesting journey transitioning further from a landscape of adult rock and pop into a world of downtempo grooves and jazz/lounge inspired sounds. Despite being even more laid back, it’s actually a better album than ‘Run With The Hunted’, which proves that Evoletah aren’t stuck in a rut, or cursed by a feeling of diminishing returns.
MIDNIGHT TRIPPER – Paranormal EP
Released just a year after their ‘Ride The Wave’ EP, ‘Paranormal’ continues Canadian metal band Midnight Tripper’s journey through a world of heavy riffs, and if anything cranks the volume and tension, ensuring an even noisier experience than before. There’s something inherently classic about their chosen sound, but it doesn’t take a predictable 80s route. Instead, the best bits of this EP fuse classic metal with a strong rock ‘n’ roll ethic, creating material that’s aggressive and grubby, but above all, conveys a high octane feeling of fun.
YAWNING BALCH – Volume One
As their name more than implies, Yawning Balch is a musical project that combines the talents of the entire Yawning Man band and Fu Manchu guitarist Bob Balch. Stoner fans have come to expect great music from both parties, but in their respective acts, neither have managed anything quite as drawn out as the sounds that fill half of this debut from the desert/stoner rock supergroup. Fu Manchu, especially, have often represented the accessible end of the stoner spectrum, so this really gives Balch an ideal landscape on which to stretch out.
GODS OF SOMETIMES – Gods Of Sometimes
You might assume that a band featuring Fu Manchu’s Brad Davis on various musical duties would take a stoner rock route, but his Gods of Sometimes – a duo formed with similarly multi-faced studio hand Andrew Gukamakis – paints a much broader musical canvas. Their self-titled album has a hazy desert rock air in a couple of places, but the bulk of the material shouldn’t just be pigeonholed as such. Nor is it an easy love letter to an alternative rock past; there are elements within the arrangements that call back a much earlier time, whilst still sounding relevant at the time of recording.