Getting Physical...

CHILD - Healer EP (2015)

Los Angeles' CHILD offer a enjoyable mixture of no-BS riffage, hazy psychedelic rock, and petulant, strutting grooves.  It's clear from the first song of their second release, Healer, that CHILD are all about getting straight to the point, saying what they have to say and getting the hell out.  The EP's longest song is only 5 minutes and with the whole thing lasting a mere 20 minutes, the release certainly doesn't outstay its welcome.

The most striking thing about Healer's five songs is how focused they are.  In a music landscape where many bands of CHILD's ilk work long atmospheric intros and extended spacy jams into their songs, CHILD feel punchy and very immediate.

The vocals are the most unusual aspect of the band - on all of Healer's five songs, the singer is bathed in reverb and echo, giving a trippy vibe to an otherwise fairly straight-up rock sound.  I generally tend to associate the sort of to-the-point riffage that CHILD trade in with reasonably clean, powerful vocals, perhaps in the vein of John Garcia or even Ozzy Osbourne.  Instead, what we get here is something that I would generally associate more with a slow-burning psych rock band than the riff-centric stoner rock of CHILD.  While it might be a little unexpected, it gives the band the unique edge that is needed to set any group apart in such a crowded scene.  It can at times be a little difficult to understand the lyrics - which is a shame as they are interesting – however, the juxtaposition of riff rock and hazy psych works well for them and definitely sets CHILD as their own band.

Also of note is the abundance of memorable motifs and solid hooks on this EP.  The pleasingly crunchy riff of “Window” reminds me of early Queens Of The Stone Age, while “Mountain” has an intro riff that will refuse to leave your head for a long time.  While Healer is brief to the point of fleeting, those with a taste for rock solid riffs and psychedelic inflections will find a lot to enjoy here.

~ Martin

For Fans Of; Black Sabbath, Earthless, Kadavar, Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age

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CHILD - Mountain (320 kbps)

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Overwhelming The Parents...

Child - Child (2014)

Originally released in February last year, the self-titled debut of Australia's heavy blues rock band Child (not to be confused with the Californian heavy psychedelic band of the same name) has finally received wider distribution and a vinyl release, thanks to the ever-vigilant Kozmik Artifactz and Bilocation Records.  Since this one slipped under the RWTD radar at the time of its original release, what better opportunity could there be for us to fix that omission?
Once you've got your copy ready to go, the first thing you'll hear will be the sound of "Trees", a big chunky brick of dirty blues, mixing a steep buzz-wall of bass with careful-handed picking on guitar and earthy vocals.  It's the type of song that makes you want a stiff drink just to get closer to the band's headspace, helped along by the line "Every day, I've got whiskey in my coffee," just one of the lyrics painting the picture of a free spirit trying to make it by in a cruel world.
"Stone By Stone" picks up from there with another slow-moving groove, letting beat-down weariness and a little bit of hope flow together until the guitar heats up into a blaze of psychedelic vivacity.  "All Dried Up" pulls the rug out from under the expectations of its name, delivering a juicy squeezing of rock with more of that psychedelic flavor tinting the blues, and penultimate track "Mean Square" gets even heavier with the wailings and fuzz.
Last of all, the two-parter "Blue Overtone Storm / Yellow Planetary Sun" finds the band just throwing themselves into the waves while calling out to the sky, getting cosmic while staying grounded in heart-felt grit.  While the initial vinyl run of 511 copies has already sold out, it looks like response was positive enough that Kozmik Artifactz might have another batch available in the near future, so if you missed out that first time around, keep an ear to the ground for news of your second chance at this superb heavy blues.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Groggy, That Sinking Feeling, Wicked Lady, Eternal Elysium, Danzig

Facebook • Bilocation Records • BandCamp

Child - Mean Square (320 kbps)

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The Return of Flower Power

CHILD ~ Demo (2014)

While California has always been a place to put out great music, especially when it comes to genres like Psychedelic and Stoner Rock, it's good to see up and coming bands like this putting out Heavy Psychedelic music, mixing the old days of free love and Jimi Hendrix with more modern heavy influences, it's a combination that one could almost overdose on. The newcomers of CHILD have nailed the old/new formula perfectly, putting down spacey, 70's influenced Psych jams on top of a groove heavy Stoner Rock foundation, with an emphasis on the instrumentals. Of the three tracks that make up their demo, all have a slightly different sound, but never straying far from that Stoner/Psych base. With the first track "Drag" you're introduced to the group through a spacey Psych jam, with slower tempos, droning guitars, and vocals that are soaked in reverb. By the time you get to the second song, "Trials" you're hit with a Psychedelic Rock jam that has a serious 70's Hard Rock vibe going on once the song progresses some. Opening up with a simple drum beat and riff, it's not long before the track picks up and you're entralled in howling 70's style guitar solos. This one is probably my favorite from the entire release, thanks mostly to those guitar parts, they're stellar. With this being a demo, no one should expect a crystal clear production job on it anyway, but the rough and raw tone is fitting, very reminiscent of how rock bands sounded back in the late 60's, early 70's. You can go on over to their bandcamp and get in on their debut release for free, and it's a promising sign of things to come from these guys.

~Skip

For Fans Of; Jimi Hendrix, Dead Meadow, Pink Floyd

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