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Though they now have two guitars, bass, drums and keys/horns, at its heaviest Howlin' Rain drops the boom of a power trio. Think Cream's sonic punch, the heaviness of Mountain, the layers of Procol Harum, the overdriven blast of Vanilla Fudge, echoes of San Francisco Bay Area bands like Oxford Circle and Kak, and the folk/country influences of early Grateful Dead. Listeners may be momentarily fooled by the 54-second opener's horn-led suggestion of film noir, but the album's first full track kicks in with a lengthy instrumental of raging drums, organ and squalling psych guitar leads. Even the quieter breakdowns are often only short breathers from the full-on attack, with vocals from Ethan Miller (also of Comets on Fire) that alternate between raggedly hollered and moments of Jack Bruce-like tenor. There are a few moments, such the soulful "Nomads" and "El Rey," that are almost tranquil (at least, in comparison to the full-on jams), with the guitars giving way to bass, drums and electric piano before returning for hypnotic solos. The closing "Riverboat" is actually folky and pastoral, in an electric sense. Throughout the CD Garett Goddard (drums) and Ian Gradek (bass) provide the sort of musicality that leaves Miller's guitar free to fly. The instrumental stretches, even when thickened by Mike Jackson's rhythm guitar and Joel Robinow's organ, still feel elemental. The original trio's sensibility (as heard on the their self-titled 2006 debut) is still here, but layered with new instrumental and production complexities. [©2008 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]Read full review
like a derek & dominos for today, and thats a mightty compliment. just barely in control, hurtling foward like a train, weedy (but right) vocals. wonder if they sold their souls for this (like clapton did)....
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