Release Date: July 26th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
Gavial Haze: Tracklisting
1.Propane Kid 07:55
2.Acid Freak 05:19
3.Lords of Wastelands 06:41
4.Trainwreck 04:51
5.Since We're Out of Jail 06:37
6.Purple Bird and the King 08:12
7.Jet Fuel 05:18
8.Terraform 08:14
Review
I needed to take a break from setting up a YouTube channel so I reached for one of my favorite new albums, this excellent instrumental face melter from Gavial Haze. Beautifully blended psych, 70's jams and stoner rock, Gavial Haze’s new album (self titled) is a powerhouse. On Gavial Haze’s Facebook page they describe themselves as Instrumental Psyched Fuzz Stoner Rock from la Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. It’s a pretty damn good description. Unfortunately I have not been able to find out much information on the band's personnel, so look for an update with that information in the future.
I got to preview this one before its release on July 26th and this album kept me glued to my speakers for multiple listens, quickly gaining a spot on my heavy rotation list in a week that included new music from Black Capricorn, Orange Goblin, Shun, GRID and several other ridiculously good albums (also looking at you King Botfly!). Released during a storm of amazing new music, definitely be on the lookout for this one.
I love instrumental albums. I love how I get to let the music direct my mind and fill it with whatever imagery strikes my little brain's fancy. Sometimes I get a “space” feel from a band like monkey3, or maybe a more desert/western feel like in El Supremo’s Signor Morte Improvvisa. This album was no different. It has an overall post apocalyptic feel, but it definitely feels like a story. The record is spacey psych rock in parts, metal in other places and just pure hard rock wailing in other sections. Gavial Haze is never boring, that's for sure. A varied landscape of guitar driven madness, this album is infinity listenable. As for my interpretations, I kinda let the song titles fuel my hallucinations so let me tell ya how it went for me…
Propane Kid. Is he/she building a machine? Maybe a car or a ship? Are there post apocalyptic fuel issues ala Mad Max...or is this a tribute to generator parties and their influence? In my head Propane Kid is a character in a fast paced story. Gavial Haze provides much drama with changing tempos and heavy guitar intertwined with thoughtful and introspective passages. Propane Kid is hard desert rock guitars over a psych landscape. The song feels like busy desolation, a frantic tribe readying for an incoming attack or catastrophic climate change. There is preparation and building represented by the tempo and song structure, so much building is going on in my mind when I listen to this track; it's like one of those infinite fractal videos built for tripping. This got me immediately in the mood to check out the rest of the album!
Acid Freak... this guy's been baking in the hot desert sun for a while now...and he's probably seeing God. Despite the name, this is a hard rocker, not a spacey psych trip. There is a feel of Swedish desert fury on this track. Perhaps inspired by bands like Dozer, Kal-El, or even Truckfighters, Acid Freak is a hard driving track. This one has some nice metal riffs and tones. It seems like Acid Freak has seen a lot and has a story to tell about it, a pretty rough story but told beautifully through solid instrumental performances by each player. The guitar work is stellar. This guy is a player!
A bit of a heavier approach in the 3rd song at the beginning...Lords of Wastelands beckons at being a grim post apocalyptic warning. I don't know about you but I'll take a pass on surviving any kind of Apocalypse, thank you. It just seems like it's gonna take a lot more effort than my old body is capable of. However, I love the songs of the post nuclear/famine/environmental world breakdown. That some heavy stuff, metal as fuck. But, like all things, there are grey areas in life and in this song as well. Lords of Wastelands, in the midst of its turmoil, has a beautiful soft middle section which gives the track depth and storytelling without words. It's really a beautiful change in the texture of the track and you wonder if maybe these Lords just might have everyone's best interests in mind. I mean we can hope, right? Great song crafting here, I can listen to this track over and over again (and I have).
Trainwreck. The song starts soft but soon speeds off down the rails in a wonderful way. Twists and turns, tempo and layering changes. This album is incredibly consistent in its tones, themes and presentation. This track is a good example of that consistency. No filler on this album, which can be a difficult goal for an instrumental album to obtain. This rocks all the way through, always keeping my attention and filling my head with wonderful tones and psychedelic imagery. I guess since on this track it appears the Acid Freak and Propane Kid may now be free from incarceration they have time for a nice thick deliberate desert jam. The heavy rhythm section deepens the feel, laying down a badass drum-bass combination that takes this song to the next level of heaviness while retaining it's storytelling and attention to moving the album forward and not drifting off into meaningless noodling.
The Purple Bird and the King, when I first read the title I wondered if the king and his bird would be hunting down the boys, ole Acid Freak and Propane Kid. In my interpretation this song sounds more like they are in it together, or maybe the King is giving aid like Obi-Wan and Yoda helping out Luke Skywalker. Obviously, I'm taking some liberties (and maybe some mushrooms - jk) with my interpretations but that is what I like about an album like this. I prefer to listen without seeing any music videos or reading about a new album, so on my first listens I can just let the songs take over my mind and lead me places that the band maybe didn't even suspect people's imaginations may carry them off to. The riffs here are satisfying and have an awesome metal tone that is accessible to the psych rock and low desert punk ears out there. The Purple Bird and the King really does sound like the bad guy has the upper hand, that classic moment and dismay in movies or literature where all seems lost but also where hope is found.
Jet Fuel. Acid Freak and Propane Kid combine for what seems like a climactic ending or perhaps an end to the current drama. This is perfectly placed. A brash rocker that precedes the finale on the album, the heavy riffs, thunderous guitars are epic in scope. Gavial Haze uses this song to build tension, releasing and building that tension over and over again. Nice metal riffs and quick pacing will bring you to your feet here. Once again, excellent quality drumming, pounding out galloping metal rhythms give this track something a little extra extra. This is a satisfying rock drama!
The finale, Terraform, it's like a new beginning at the end of the album. Hard and fast in the beginning, slow and introspective in the middle...this is another intelligent, well crafted song. Terraform is beautifully performed by every member of the band. This is heartfelt and simply gorgeous in its more mellow passages. I enjoy the direction and focus of these jams, nothing wasted, all killer etc. The guitar tones really fit the mood swings of this tune. Energetic drumming propels the songs into ruckus energy in its heavier moods and the bass keeps everything perfectly inline throughout the proceedings. This track is Cream-like, maybe harkening a bit to Tales of Brave Ulysses in parts of this final ripper. So good!
This is an impressive album by Gavial Haze. I assume we will have more to come from these guys, I sure hope so at least. I would love to see these songs live. This album has a wonderful retro jam streak while retaining a modern desert/psych rock feel. I have this on heavy rotation for a reason. Gavial Haze’s self-titled album is just so good!
Words by S Patrick Brooks
Links
Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
