Release Date: September 05th 2025. Record Label: Majestic Mountain Records. Formats:DD/Vinyl
Clair-Obscur - Tracklisting
1.Heroine (feat Chris of Acid Mammoth) 04:34
2.Bring Me Down (feat. Patrón) 03:33
3.Stray from the path 05:00
4.My Way 03:04
5.Goin thru the blu part.II 05:18
6.Nightmare 02:30
7.The Fastest Ride 04:28
8.Anything 04:52
9.Winterholidays VS Fuzzroutine 04:12
10.Hownow 03:41
11.The Oswlad Cobblepot complex 05:02
12.Bonus track - Rock n Roll Queen (The Subways cover) 03:32
Members
Franck (drums/vocals)
Tony (guitar/vocals)
Review
Clair-Obscur is the latest album from Psych/Fuzz/Stoner Rockers Electric Jaguar Baby and they fully lean into the modern day sound that QOTSA have developed over the last decade or so but with more catchy rhythms, grooves and a shit-ton of streetwise attitude as well. With a free-flowing style of Garage Rock, Acid and Punk Rock overtones, the band have a playful and highly energetic attitude to their music which does see the band play multiple styles of music with that Acid Rock tinged vibe serving the band superbly well.
Starting off this crazed journey is the excellent opening track Heroine which features Chris of Acid Mammoth fame providing guest vocals with a song that’s refreshingly hip and rebellious from the very start with a murky sludgy grooves being quite flamboyant in places. The song is superbly heavy with a seedy sideline in FUZZY sounds which sees Electric Jaguar Baby align themselves closely to the likes of TRUCKFIGHTERS and FU MANCHU with the Fuzz Rock aspect.
Second track Bring Me Down has a slight departure into Grunge and Alt Rock attitudes with the sound being FUNK ROCK in places with a dynamic mid nineties Stoner Rock presence appearing within the vocals and heavy guitars. The sound once again flirts between QOTSA catchy grooves and the full-on Psych Stoner Rock attitude of today’s modern scene. The vocals are superb yet again with guest musician Patrón appearing along the way which gives this track a cool sense of unpredictability.
Third track Stray From The Path is full of Desert/Stoner Rock heaviness that has a sense of seediness with the subtle flashes of Noise, Grunge and Acid Rock melodies that develop. With a confident stride into aggressive Post-Rock and Noise Rock surroundings, Electric Jaguar Baby really start to find their own voice on this record especially when a distinctive Droned / Shoegaze melody appears within the instrumental movements.
Fourth track My Way is a song that moves away quite heavily from the Psych/Stoner Rock path the previous tracks contained. This is more dominated by Fuzz Rock sounds with catchy Garage Rock riffs and Punk Rock attitude which is quite refreshing to hear but isn’t the most exciting track to hear but I give Electric Jaguar Baby credit for doing something different on this album and this is the first real sign of things changing quite dramatically for the rest of the album.
I can’t review every track on the album as it’s quite a highly involving record with the band offering twelve tracks that allows them the perfect opportunity to craft a different musical style for the majority of the tracks with even more weird and wonderful stories developing from the Fuzz/Garage/Stoner Rock creative template they have at their own disposal.
Electric Jaguar Baby always allow themselves the perfect opportunity to develop themselves further within other areas of Hard Rock with a fearless attitude that may not always work but they still develop a vast collection of outstanding tracks that will appeal to many different factions of the Indie Rock, Mainstream Rock and Underground Rock scenes. That is a very hard thing to pull off but Clair-Obscur is a superbly entertaining record with tracks such as Goin thru the blu part II, The Fastest Ride, Anything, Winterholidays VS Fuzzroutine and The Oswlad Cobblepot complex.
If you’re a fan of the previous albums by Electric Jaguar Baby then you’re going to be in your element here with twelve tracks of superb sounding quality and their excellent cover of Rock n Roll Queen by The Subways makes it all worthwhile.
Overall, Clair-Obscur is a superbly produced record that focuses upon the classic sounds of the Nineties Heavy Rock Scene and gives it a cool modern-day atmosphere and wise-cracking attitude to match.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Viral Propaganda PR for the promo.
Clair-Obscur is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Majestic Mountain Records.
Links
http://electricjaguarbaby.band
https://electricjaguarbaby.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/ElectricJaguarBaby
https://www.instagram.com/electricjaguarbaby
