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Palm Desert-Rotten Village Sessions
Artist : Palm Desert
Album : Rotten Village Sessions
Label : BSFD Records
Year : 2013
Genre : Rock Source : CDDA
Encoder : FLAC 1.2.1 Bitrate : 911kbps
Playtime : 47:35 Size : 325.00 MB
Tracks:
01 Down The Odyssey 08:04
02 Till The Sun Goes Down 03:40
03 Ghulassa Saloon 00:35
04 Mani 04:51
05 Damn Good 03:49
06 Shades In Black 07:31
07 Orbitean 01:11
08 Acid Phantom 04:58
09 White Wolf 12:56
- -- Release notes ---------------------------------------------------- -- -
Since the 2011 release of "Falls of the Wasteland", Palm
Desert have now come out with another collection of songs
seemingly written in the high deserts crispness of the Mojave
Desert air titled "Rotten Village Sessions". The 2011 release
was credited, as mentioned above, with a sound similar to the
kings of the high desert, Kyuss, so the anticipation, if not
expectation, for "Rotten Village Sessions" will be 'can they
do it again'? Or would they even want to do it again. What
will it be like?
As it turns out, Palm Desert stick to the formula, perhaps
working on crafting an even finer collection of stoner rock
tunes than before, something certainly not easy to do,
something not many bands, regardless of location, would want
to attempt, but Palm Desert have not only made the attempt,
they have pulled off another solid collection of songs that
fit perfectly in the pantheon of the high desert stoner sound
perpetuated by Kyuss in the 90s.
Is the music on this album original in style? Does it break
new ground or reveal anything new at all? Perhaps not, at
least not in style or genre, but who the fuck cares? Is it
good stoner rock? No. It's GREAT stoner rock, and I, for one,
am very appreciative of this foursome from Wraclow, Poland
taking a sound they obviously love, and that I happen to love
as well, and whipping out 9 fresh, healthy versions of a rock
sound that is becoming rare. There is no direct copying of
anything here of which I can tell, just new songs brilliantly
written to a style that is quite rightly one of the best rock
has ever produced, one that came and went in relative
obscurity for most, but luckily not for us.
Band members for Palm Desert are:
Kamil Ziotkowski - drums
Jan Rutka - bass
Piotr Lacny - guitar
Wojciech Gatuszka - vocals
Within the stoner rock style that Palm Desert employ are
brilliant and gifted vocals, crucial to the high desert sound
as set by John Garcia of Kyuss, eminent and energetic bass,
never simply blended and relegated to the background as so
often happens in many rock bands regardless of style, guitar
that riffs and hooks, solos and scorches with the best of
them, crucial to making memorable, enjoyable melodies, and
drums, like the bass, that powerfully carve out their own
space on these songs, not simply relegated to providing tempo
and beat, but creating wonderful, vibrant music within the
tapestry of Palm Desert's music.
The opening song, "Down the Odyssey" sets the tone, an eight
minute intercontinental ballistic ride over the tops of
saguaro and joshua, hooking from the outset, both in
memorable melody and powerful blows to your stoner rock
loving head. This is the kind of song you fall right into the
middle of and ride for all its worth.
I love the echoey drum sound on track #3, "Ghulassa Saloon",
that quickly leads into track #4, "Mani" where the musical
threads here are trippy, catchy, and just plain groovy. It's
a unique and incredibly enjoyable song that successfully
employs unusual execution in instrumentation.
Palm Desert close out the album with a couple of classic
sounding stoner songs, "Acid Phantom" and "White Wolf". The
guitar work on "Acid Phantom" is pure and beautiful stoner
rock, enjoyable for its effort as well as its dead on sound.
"White Wolf" is ten minutes of sheer music brilliance, with a
haunting, pitch perfect guitar weaving a tale of wonder and
excitement, building up along the way with ever broadening
drumwork, bass riffs, and vocal intensity. After ten minutes
is a hidden little guitar ditty that adds a dash of flavor.
It is there, I'm sure, just as a little thank you for those
of us that made it to the end and enjoyed the trip along the
way.
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