Release
date: April 10th
2020.
Label: Self
Released.
Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
State
Of Mind
– Tracklisting
1.Land
Shark 04:39
2.Deuce
Face
3.Hook,
Line, and Sinker
4.No
Filter/Stay Trendy
5.Side
Effect
6.The
Legend Of FUJIMO
7.Jive
Turkey
8.Hoka
Hey
9.Pale
Horse
Members
Brian
Tarter - vocals/guitar
Lonnie
Buckley - drums
Review
State
Of Mind is the new album from Brass Owl and their overall sound is
quite an eclectic mix of different styles such as Hard Rock, Classic
Rock, Stoner Rock, Grunge, Blues Rock along with Heavy Metal and
Proto Metal sounds. They’ve been described as Heavy Classic Rock
crossed with Acid Jazz according to the PR blurb that accompanied
this release and I wouldn’t be lying that got me intrigued to see
how this album played out.
State
Of Mind is the perfect description for this album as it takes you
along a trippy Psychedelic Blues/Hard Rock journey and you will have
different states of mind listening to this album. Imagine the Blues
Rock swagger of CLUTCH and ZZ TOP then merged with some heavy
stylized 70s/80s Classic Hard Rock/Heavy Metal and you have a potent
mix for a hugely entertaining album.
It’s
by no means perfect but Brass Owl adapt a different identity and
sound with nearly all of the songs of the album. The album is
primarily powered by the band’s love of Blues Rock and the album
goes into many different directions especially when the Psychedelic
Jazz vibes of the album appear whilst still retaining a free-flowing
and highly original heavy sound of their own making.
Standout
songs on the album are: Land Shark, Deuce Face, No Filter – Stay
Trendy, Side Effect and Pale Horse. As the band show their true
creative power on these songs with excellent vocals and hard-hitting
riffs that have a rebellious spirit to them all.
The
instrumental work on this album shown by both Brian and Lonnie is
outstanding throughout especially with the duo playing many different
styles of music that you get a complete picture of what truly
fantastic musicians they really are.
The
production is very cool indeed though the more surreal Psychedelic
Acid based parts do feel out of place at times but that could be the
whole idea with that part of the album. Other than that minor
complaint, Brass Owl are firing on all cylinders with their debut
album and it’s one worth definitely checking out if you’re
looking for a Stoner Rock album with a bit more craziness to it all.
Excellent
and Highly Recommended.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Curtis at Dewar PR for the promo. State Of Mind is available to
buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from the band now.
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