Release
date: October
09th
2019.
Label: Magic
Moustache
Records. Format: DD/Vinyl
Strange
Times
- Tracklisting
1.Mary
03:15
2.CCTV
02:52
3.Slowburner
02:43
4.Avoiding
In A Way 07:00
5.Mind
On Trial 03:26
6.End
03:58
7.Landscape
10:33
8.Catatonia
04:16
Members
Matt,
Alex, Stephen
Review
Stone
Cold Fiction is the debut album from Stoner/Blues Rockers – Strange
Times – and it’s music is steeped and influenced by sixties and
seventies based Classic and Hard Rock. The album has a certain
vintage feel but the band is still quite a loud, brash and heavy
experience that allows the band to explore the different sounds of
music that the band have lovingly crafted for this album.
Opening
song – Mary – is a gloomy Blues Rock offering with the band
adding slight Occult/Doom Rock vibes to their full-on Classic
sounding Psych/Blues Rock grooves. The song starts off rather quietly
and mellow before Strange Times adding different layers of Heavy Rock
and the vocals offer a cool narrative and are never too forceful
which allow them to have an easy-going free-flowing nature to them.
Despite the heavy riffs leading the way.
Second
song – CCTV – carries on the Blues Rock vibe with the band
exploring a more upbeat style of Stoner Rock whilst maintaining their
Blues Rock identity. The instrumental work can be quite complex in
places but still easily addictive. The lyrics and vocals have a
slight Alternative feel but Strange Times still manage to hold my
attention on this song.
Third
song – Showburner – has the same structure and details of the
opening two songs and you can feel the rest of the album will follow
this path. Though, that’s no bad thing as Strange Times prove on
this song they add a lot of variety to their music with distinctive
Loud and Heavy Stoner Riffs merged with their usual Blues Rock sound.
The vocals yet again are superb and you can feel the tension coming
from both the vocals and grizzled heavy riffs being played here.
Fourth
song – Avoiding In A Way – opens with a distorted riff that airs
on the cautionary side of Occult/Doom Rock. This is song is slowly
played but you can feel a heavier environment is about to arrive and
it does which sees a slightly different side to Strange Times. The
song is in no rush to reach its final destination with almost seven
minutes of pitch-perfect Blues based creepy Occult/Doom Rock tones
with a strange Stoner based environment creeping in at different
parts of the song. This is perhaps the standout song held on the
album.
Strange
Fiction carry on their almost creepy mission on the second half of
the album with the ten minute plus epic Landscape being the major
highlight of this part of the album. This is a soulful progressive
journey which Strange Times excel in bringing different strands of
Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock and Blues Rock. Maybe influenced by All
Them Witches on this song but the song has got its own style and
vision that the band fully excel at.
I
missed this album first time round when it was originally released
back in October last year. I’m quite pleased I’ve managed to
listen to the album and I’m happy to report that is a superb
sounding album that has the potential to surprise you in many
different ways.
This
album is getting a vinyl release from a new record label called Magic Moustache Records and I can see this album doing very well within the
Stoner Rock Community who seek an album with a lot more variety than
you wouldn’t expect.
Words
by Steve Howe
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