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With
an album named like that, what did they think we’d
expect? I was ready to settle for a second rate
uninspired session of some Kyuss worshipping fuckers.
And I love Kyuss, but I’ve had more than my fill of
knock offs. Who knows? Maybe that was the strategy
behind High Watt Electrocutions; distract the listener,
make him/her think of a specific sound, then shock
him/her with something different and even, original. The
surprise element is certainly refreshing. It works.
Because what you get is dense, hypnotic, drug-addled
madness. But there is none of that standard rock
bullshit around here. For that, go listen to Alabama
Thunderpussy or some shit…
Even though
there are certain elements to Desert Opuses that will recall the
tired nature of stoner rock, that sub genre as is widely
recognized is too limiting to describe this. To get the
commonalities behind, well, besides the album title we can cite
certain fuzzy sound that’s inspired most of these guitars. So
when Ryan Electrocution himself (the sole man behind this) says
High Watt Electrocutions is inspired by Godflesh, Spacemen 3,
Hawkwind, Black Sabbath, Spiritualized and the Stooges, he is
coming clean. There is a bit of each all over Desert Opuses.
Despite the
experimental and bold nature of this album, the tunes are
compact and there is very little fucking around. The tunes have
no beginning, middle, nor end. There are no ten-minute songs
either. The riffs are not upfront, nor are the songs based
around them. In fact, the most straight forward cut is opening
cut “Mountains of the Pharoahs” with its bass heavy density and
Kyuss-like background guitars. It’s far from a conventional
song, but that’s as close as High Watt Electrocutions ever get
to radio format.
The rest of
Desert Opuses is spent weaving a much more delicate album. There
is a strong ethnic vibe, “Ode to Snakecharming” sounds like
something written by some Godflesh-influenced messianic guru
from Egypt, while “Light at the Speed of Sound” would have fit
nicely in a Velvet Underground record. There is that droney
feeling to this, like the author is trying to hypnotize the
listener, so the guitars draw wavy lines and sound like sitars.
The bass is sparse and omnipresent, check out those fat strings
in “Obliteration”; this is string-based psychedelia.
Desert
Opuses is an absorbing listener. This is the type of album that
takes time to make and more time to appreciate. I imagine some
genius cult leader making music like this.
Official Site
MySpace
Read the Deaf Sparrow
interview with Ryan Settee |
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