Wednesday 1 April 2020

Hovenweep - Salivan Journey (EP Review)


Release date: March 27th 2020. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD

Salvian Journey – Tracklisting

1.Cave 06:30
2.Salvian Journey 06:21
3.The Last Ones 05:40
4.I Am A Locust 07:41

Members

Mike -Bass/Vocals
Michael -Guitar
Wade Von Bogs -Drums
Jesse -Organ/keys

Review

Salvian Journey is the new EP from Psychedelic Rock collective Hovenweep who weave different styles of Heavy Rock into their deeply emotional new release. The band are not your standard Psychedelic Rock band with Hovenweep adding elements of Grunge, Desert Rock, KrautRock and Doom Rock for a deeply satisfying sound.

Opening song – Cave – is more of exploration of different strands of music that come together at the right moment for a trippy and emotional modern sound whilst offering a classical style of Psychedelic Rock and even Post-Rock at times. The band do feel partially inspired by Russian Circles on the mellower parts of the song. Hovenweep are quite progressive in their musical thinking and their outlook with the lyrics contained on this release. The vocals are excellent and they do a great job of bringing the listener into their dark and trippy world.

Second song – Salvian Journey – is a more Desert/Stoner Rock driven song with trippy elements being added along the way. The song does take time to get going but once the haunting 90s vintage Grunge/Alternative Rock vibes appear the song fully takes flight. The vocals are more restrained on this song as Hovenweep let the music do all the talking with some of the heaviest riffs appearing on this part of the record.

The other two songs on the EP – The Last Ones and I Am A Locust – carry on the superb mix of heavy and weird styles the band play and use so well on these two songs. The EP has a strange 60s/70s Psych Rock environment but still allowing the listener to experience a heavier style of Psychedelic Stoner Rock which can be quite hard to describe in places.

If you’re a fan of bands such as King Buffalo, ELDER and Weedpecker then Hovenweep play that similar style of music whilst focusing on playing their own original style of music. The vocals are a mix of clean vocals and heavy growls and I didn’t expect the heavy growls at all. So KUDOS to Hovenweep for trying something different with this record.

The EP sounds superb from start to finish and allows Hovenweep to sound super-cool in places. The EP has quite a progressive dynamic to it all that you wouldn’t expect for a debut release.

Overall, Hovenweep have released a stunning debut EP that is overflowing with wonderful ideas that demands multiple listens to fully appreciate.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

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