2024-09-09 07:00:59
(c) Chonglingyin Records
Given more than two years ago spiritual mother Through their contribution to the jam series Live In The Mojave Desert, they have made a strong commitment to the future. The quartet, now found across much of the United States, favors dirty blues, heavy rock, raw metal sounds and a touch of psychedelia, driven by the character voice of Armand Lance. “Footprints” is their second album and Heavy Psych Sounds’ first regular record.
The title track rises after a brief intro, cautiously at first, then firmly, ensuring maximum entertainment. “Trails” only slowly ventures out of the jungle with vague psychedelia before the track really kicks in and surprises with its psychedelic undertones. The moody and sweaty performance has great entertainment value, stomping with deliberate aplomb as the arrangement develops and escalates. While the powerful finale ends too quickly, “Veins” starts off relatively broad, letting the guitars howl and take on a proto-metal intensity, even subtly and intentionally including a throaty scream or two.
Events continue at this unpredictable and comprehensible pace. So “Vessel” makes do with drums and vocals, thunderous and powerful but muted in the undergrowth. What follows is an unstable, fast and simultaneously uncomfortable rocker that doesn’t really fit the picture, which is why it’s so great. “Wolf” ignites the next level of psychedelic escalation, with dense sonic textures and understated instrumental accompaniment that doesn’t take off until much later – but then really. And “Emerald”‘s drum introduction and recurring metallic elementary particles leave you wanting more.
Ultimately, this near-constant play and supposed contradiction is one of Locus’ great qualities. From start to finish, almost everything about Spiritual Mother comes together. You’re never absolutely sure what’s behind that next door, but that’s entertainment at its best. One of the great achievements of the American formation is playing with emotion. Most of the material is a bit weird but not lost in mystical chaos, riffy but not drowned out by a wall of guitars, bluesy but not too heavy. In other words: Trails is an exciting record that sits on the imaginary border between hard rock and metal, with strong vocalists and gripping ideas. No more is needed.
Rating: 8/10
Release date: September 13, 2024
Available via: Heavy Psych Sounds Records (Cargo Records)
website: www.spiritmotherofficial.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SpiritMotherBand
category: Magazines, reviews
1728347733
#Spiritual #Mother #Footprints
