Release
date: April 13th
2018.
Label: Riot
Season
Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
The
Making Of Junior Bonner
– Tracklisting
1.Cag
Mag 04:42
2.Two
Shapes 04:04
3.Roman
Nails 03:28
4.A
Dredger Thirst 05:02
5.Shingles
To The Floor 03:44
6.Cellmate
05:32
7.The
New Evil 04:22
8.Keep
It Out Of Your Heart 04:51
9.Little
Lanes 05:13
Review
UK
Sludge Rockers - Henry Blacker - come of age with their splendidly
heavy new album - The Making Of Junior Bonner. Henry Blacker has been
more recognised for being a spin-off band from Henry Blacker. Though
that's going to change with this album. As Henry Blacker are three
albums into their career and this is perhaps their most complete and
most confident record to date.
The
previous two albums saw Henry Blacker creating a Punk/Sludge/Stoner
sound with varied results. I'm a huge fan of their first two records
but The Making Of Junior Bonner is in a league of its own.
Opening
track - Cag Mag - is a sludgy driven number with heavy outbursts of
Punk driven Stoner Rock sounds. The song wastes no time in creating a
not so subtle atmosphere where the music drifts from one psychedelic
sound to the next. The doom based guitars can be quite melodic and
heavy at the same time with the pounding drums adding quite a
progressive feel. Henry Blacker's overall sound does feel inspired by
the "Miami/Florida" sound that spawned such killer bands
such as Torche, and Floor. Though Henry Blacker still retain a
certain British charm with the delivery of the vocals.
Second
track -Two Shapes - offers a more "upbeat" kind of sludgy
groove with the music being slightly louder than the vocals. When the
heavy psychedelic sounds appear the music becomes that little bit
heavier. The one part I enjoyed the most about this album is how
Henry Blacker added elements of Desert Rock to their overall sound.
So the whole feel of the album can be quite upbeat and sunny in
places whilst still offering a bleak atmosphere on certain parts of
the album.
Third
Track - Roman Nails - is one of the loudest songs on the album with
Henry Blacker unleashing a trippy amount of aggression.
The
Making Of Junior Bonner has its fair share of experimental moments
with the band changing their overall sound on certain songs of the
album with fourth song - A Dredger Thirst - offering a fine line
between Psychedelic Stoner Rock riffs and the bleak Sludge Rock
vibes. The lyrics are slightly depressing in places and shows you how
Henry Blacker have improved as songwriters since their debut album.
My
complaint about Henry Blacker two previous albums that they were on
for too short. Mostly under thirty minutes. So it's good to see this
album being on for a more reasonable forty minutes. The second half
of the album is equally good and heavy as the first part with Henry
Black playing a more daring sound on tracks such as: Shingles To The
Floor, Cell Mate, Keep It Out Of Your Head and Little Lanes.
The
production is good for the most part. However there were a few parts
where I had to increase the volume on my portable music player. It
won't stop your overall enjoyment of the album but it's something you
should lookout for.
The
Making Of Junior Bonner sees Henry Blacker at the top of their
creative powers and offers one of the most entertaining Sludge/Stoner
Rock albums you'll likely to hear all year. A definite contender for
one of the year's best albums.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Andy at Riot Season Records for the promo. The Making Of Junior
Bonner is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl from Riot Season Records now.
Links:
