Monday 23 September 2019

Spirits Of The Earth - Tree Lore (Album Review)


Release date: August 18th 2019. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD

Tree Lore – Tracklisting

1. Errrggghh
2. Fly Through Space
3. Ragnarok
4. Cosmic Wizard
5. Live And Learn
6. Tree Lore

Members

Kie de-Courci – guitars, synths, programming & vocals
Tim Stokes - bass guitar and vocals
Ciaran Crowley – drums percussion and vocals
Graeme – synths, keyboards, programming and bubbles

Review

Straight out the sprawling metropolis of Bromley, Kent in England, Spirits Of The Earth come from a mould of Hawkwind, Monster Magnet, Motörhead, stoner rock and a serious case of out-there headfuckery. The band are a brand new acquaintance to me and I couldn't be happier, because I really like what I hear. Since I didn't know what to expect when listening to their new album, 'Tree Lore', I believe that helped keeping my senses more perceptive to the six songs on offer. And that's perfect, if so, because this a fantastic recording. Prior to the introduction to these guys all I knew of and about Bromley was that authors H.G. Wells, W.E. Johns and Enid Blyton were born there, while more notable former and current residents are Poly Styrene, Siouxsie Sioux, Billy Idol and Aleister Crowley...and Bromley FC! And now, this alien concoction called Spirits Of The Earth are honed in on world domination which will put Bromley even more on the map.

How can you go wrong by opening an album with an instrumental brain melter called ‘Errrggghhh’? Easy, you can’t! Of course, not, it was a trick question. Spirits Of The Earth unleashes their sonic attack from the word go and they never let off until ‘Tree Lore’ is over. True, there are slower segments here and there, but overall these guys simply destroys molecules and atoms, only to create new exciting worlds. Next up is ‘Fly Through Space’ and it is punkish/ Motörheadesque in approach with seriously spaced out electronica exploding all around in the soundscape. It becomes hypnotic as the heavy riffs are played on repeat with the thunderous drums and bass guitar crushing my head. Wonderful, people, absolutely wonderful! ‘Ragnarok’ drops a lot of the electronica but continues the relentless full-on assault. About halfway through, they slow down and turn kind of trippy for a while, only to reignite and completely annihilate everything in sight.

‘Cosmic Wizard’ is next and holy skullduggery, this amalgamation of lead heavy, skull crushing metal and some seriously trippy electronic space rock/ electronica is a mind opener if there ever was one. Coming at me at 200mph there’s no stopping Spirits Of The Earth, and why would I want to stop them? Fantastic! ‘Live And Learn’ picks it right up and after travelling through an exploding super nova, the band takes me on a tumultuous, yet cathartic mind fuck with this beast of a song. Closing out this brilliant album with the instrumental title track, it starts of almost like an electronic dance song before a trance-inducing riff and the earth-shattering rumble of the bass guitar leads the way. And this is how it plays out, meditative, mind-expanding and absolutely wonderful. Definitely the slowest song but probably the best, which says a lot since this is one truly amazing recording.

In a world oversaturated by so much – too much? – music, great bands are often overlooked giving the crappy stuff all the attention. Therefore, I am so thankful Spirits Of The Earth was sent my way, because my world so much better because of it. I mean, these guys are phenomenal and dear readers, you should take heed. Music this great needs to be out there!

Words by Håkan Nyman

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