Album opener 'Texas Igloo' throws the listener straight into the same territory as the song 'Spacegrass' by Clutch with its heavy bass riff; this is followed by fast and furious guitars, interspersed with numerous yin and yang, back and forth solo’s. Each guitarist has their own tone and attack, creating a swirling space echo sound ,before solidifying into one as the drums and vocals fuse together.
'Middle Room' is an almost acoustic instrumental that neatly segues into the next song. Not overtly heavy, but built on a solid fuzzed out rhythm guitar tone, the album progresses into it's third track 'Stairway to Attic'; a quick paced guitar riff driven track that would make a great single release.
The atmospheric 'Satori III' follows and maybe is where this album settles down, just for a while before unleashing a true psychedelic feedback laden guitar wig out. In the lead up to the album release, the band posted a song teaser on their website 'Old and Creepy' which can now be now heard in it's full context. As part of the album, it’s a strong track; the bass opens, drums kick in, followed by a dissonant vocal delivery with a great guitar riff. Possibly the standout song of the album; it's moody, it's trippy; imagine driving across the Joshua Tree reserve in your van, except you're rocking the gas pedal like it’s a cry baby wah, you need to hear this.
'Kraft' follows next with a more classic desert vibe, deep slow bass riff intro and brooding vocals; you can hear a distinct Kyuss influence, stabbing bends morph into a slow laid back melodic solo guitar outro. 'Three to Five' enters with a bombastic guitar solo, all fizz and gusto and maybe that's where the casual listener could encounter a problem with the album overall; it has a tendency to run away with itself, with self indulgent guitar solo's. I couldn't help but feel whilst listening that the core riffs and melodic content could be developed a little further, I think that could've elevated this from great to brilliant.
Overall, Petyr delivers plenty, but not being familiar with the culture, or world of skateboarding (and this album is steeped in it) it sometimes feels like the adrenaline rush drives the guitars into overkill and loses the more creative parts that would really make this debut album stand out more.
The record has been pressed on turquoise vinyl, there's also a limited run of just 300 copies on brick red wax too, thisLp is definitely worth seeking out, you can check it out now via the stream on the Bandcamp Player below.
Viva El Swain
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Petyr on Outer Battery Records
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