Tuesday 31 January 2017

All Them Witches - Sleeping Through The War (Album Review)


Release date: February 24th 2017. Label: New West Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Sleeping Through The War – Tracklisting

1. Bulls
2. Don’t Bring Me Coffee
3. Bruce Lee
4. 3-5-7
5. Am I Going Up
6. Alabaster
7. Cowboy Kirk
8. Internet

Band Members

Charles Michael Parks, Jr. (vocals/bass)
Ben McLeod (guitar)
Allan Van Cleave (keys)
Robby Staebler (drums).

Review

All Them Witches is a band who create cosmic hypnosis. They combine 60's psychedelia, 70's fuzz and 80's groove in their own brand of trance rock. This is a band that is constructed of certain paramount elements of pure rock grandeur, the essence of what comprised the relevant in U2, the mighty in Zeppelin, the abstract in Floyd and the dangerous in The Doors.

Eight songs make up the rooms in this astrological house of an album and each room is decorated differently, just like the signs of the zodiac. This is to be marked as a triumphant return of a band who conjure music from electric broomsticks, upturned cauldrons, black cat organs, and lyrical spell books. The exhibition of paramount song writing power and overall glossy album production are the two commandments followed on this release. 

Here are the songs:

Bulls-is a dream-like song of enlightenment in the new age of sound. This band leads off the album with a warm, fuzz laden lullaby; a mesmerizing blend of powerful and magnetic stoned blues rock.

Don't Bring Me Coffee-this tune is intergalactic garage rock made in the orbit of deep space by psychic astronauts on the fringe of the great beyond. A song played with the dirt of distortion bouncing off cavernous drums, all of which is recorded in a satellite coated with duct tape residue.

Bruce Lee-a galloping ride of hovering organ and shuffling rock mellow fusion whose goal is to proclaim the strength of clarity in a wilderness of doubt.

3-5-7- embodies the rhythmic sway of the turquoise beaded shaman and all his magical allure to predict the magnificent course of the child into the god. This tune consists of melodic keys of organic elongation, distorted guitar riffs and uncomplicated drums, all of which exist alongside a masterful choral delight.

Am I Going Up-this tune is broadcasted through echoes of guitar plucks and strums, background singers of the female persuasion, a smooth vocal delivery, and the use of a machine whose sole job is to make warm, ripe, cinnamon coated apple sounds...welcome to an ascension into the world exotic birds and the feathery vibrations of their solar sails.

Alabaster-this track is a manifestation of reflected instruments backed by spacey jazz percussion. A cool spin that mirrors a functional imprint of repetitious instrument notes and swirling patterns of conga beats.

Cowboy Kirk- a dichotomous, slow beat song that dissolves into psychedelic woe, yet also evolves into an appeal that makes you bob and sway. It is time break all the colors of your kid sister's wax crayon box only to fashion a candle to burn and watch the rainbow bleed down.

Internet-a fantastic, harmonic, blues man, spoken word mantra which trades off with a classic rock vibe that voices the broken code to an all true tell tale lyric demonstrated by watching your neighbors explore an expansive video game civilization instead of the real world around them.

All Them Witches remind us that the darkness doesn't always have to consist of razor sharp teeth, rather it may sometimes offer an undulating caress of the black tongue.

These witches are highly developed entities who have chosen to move beyond the ancient, constant and all to common torture tactics of devil worship, choosing instead to embrace the experimental craft of posthypnotic suggestion and rehabilitation through modernism in music, all the while putting a divine magic spell on us and our mundane culture.

"Sleeping Through The War" is a journey into sound that sets fire to limitations and goes beyond your expectations. The lyrics move like fusiliers and enrich the songs that support the album. This band has stuck its neck out on this release, so give the album a chance to charm you. The oracle has spoken with the prophecy revealed...if you are troubled, it's time to set your self free. This will be a classic album and we are fortunate that it was made in our life time...make room for it along side your other circular friends on the record shelf.

Words by Nick Palmisano

Thanks to Dave at Division PR for the promo. Sleeping Through The War will be available to buy via New West Records on CD/DD/Vinyl from February 24th 2017.

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