 Dirty
Bird / Gravitron / Birdwing
"Black Wing EP" split EP
4
Walls Records
Genres: stoner rock, hard rock, sludge
Dec 13 - 19 2004 |
Dig it. 4 Walls Records has lasted a full year (a major
timeframe in the world of independent record labels), and they're out
to celebrate. The Black Wing EP features two songs apiece
by each of the label's three bands, and if you're a lover of fuzzy
stoner rock, you're in luck. But act fast - only 375 copies of
this have been produced, each hand-stamped and hand-painted (with a
black feather attached for good measure). First off we've got Dirty Bird (Louisville, KY), a
down-and-dirty sludge-rock group purveying pulverizing music recorded
with lo-fi production methods. Featuring Glasspack and Monster
Magnet members, it's an ambitious project - and it doesn't
disappoint. If you think "storage shed zombie rock"
sounds like fun, you're in for a treat. The band's debut full-length
is coming soon from 4 Walls, so I'll be looking forward to that.
I'm familiar with Gravitron (Chicago), so I was looking
forward to taking in their two songs. I was not
disappointed. This is fuzzy, heavy
stoner rock not far off from the MeteorCity sound, but more grittily
produced. Both these songs will be released on the band's
upcoming sophomore album, which sounds like it's coming along very
nicely.
Birdwing (Louisville) closes out the set with some
explosive, insane hard rock. The vocals are haunting and
penetrating, and the guitar and rhythm section just drill in to
you. All-out rocker "Let Them Know" is probably the
best song on this entire EP.
4 Walls should be commended for releasing yet another solid record
- this EP has me really primed for the label's future
releases.
84%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
6 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2004] |
