Friday, September 23, 2016

Scorching Desert Blues...

Turnip - Window Killer (2016)
What would happen if you stuck Soundgarden, ZZ Top and Clutch in a blender?  Well, apart from a bloody mess of blended humans and guitars, the resulting brew might sound something like the exhilarating noise that American stoner blues merchants, Turnip, have come up with.
Never To Bleed opens Window Killer with the musical equivalent of a widescope desert panorama.  Blusey slide guitars and husky vocals set an atmospheric precedent that informs, but never restrains, the rest of the album.  Howl sees Turnip move away from out-and-out heavy blues to a somewhat grundgier sound that never quite shakes the shackles of the blues away but definitely feels as though it occupies a different space from the album's other songs.
Desert overlords Kyuss are invoked in spirit and attitude, likewise the ghost of messers Plant, Page, Bonnam and Jones hover over Turnip during their most soulfully blusey moments; but the group make a respectful nod to the heroes of old without ever nicking from them.
The remains that, even if you strip all of the influence away, you're left with a really excellent heavy stoner blues record that shouldn't be missed.  The comedic name belies a band of genuine quality and Window Killer is great album.
~ Martin

For fans of; Clutch, ZZ Top, Kyuss, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden



No comments:

Post a Comment