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Deviant Amps: Strange Voodoo from Electric Salad Studio: Volume 1
ByThe most recent outing by this band is Strange Voodoo from Electric Salad Studio: Volume 1, a solid album of straight ahead rock and roll with a mid-sixties feel augmented by feedback and falling synths wailing to the universe. Opening with the sound of nature and the chirping of birds, while at times the tone seems foreboding, the glissando guitar work of Woodright and Subassa brings a sense of inner peace. Subassa and Chenery lay the rhythm down in the pocket, working off of each other in conversation, with Chenery riffing and soloing fluidly on the drums. Woodwright's guitar work isn't 'flashy,' it rages as he creates layers of sound.
The track "Can't Reach The Floor" gives the impression of a spiritual journey with the lyrics, "Stepping out into the air, touching the ground, it disappears...step through the haze, a perfect flight." On "Holding A Dream," the soulful, flowing groove feels as ancient as the seas and mountains, while on "In The Here And Now," the music becomes chaotic and explosive. "There Goes Your Soul" is slow and haunting, the spoken word vocals laden with delay and reverb as Woodwright laments, "There's only one way out, you have to let go." In his guitar work he progressively builds a wall of sound that dissipates, echoing and fading into a thunder storm after the rhythm stops. The message here is deep and transcendent: having dreams while staying grounded in what is real. When the final track, "And When You Arrive At The End You Are At The Beginning," fades out, the album finishes where it startedwith rain and the chirping of birds.
Track Listing
Rising Up; Here Come The Change; No One Knows; Can’t Reach The Floor; Pushing It Too Hard; Holding A Dream; In The Here And Now (AKA An Adventure In Japanese Plum Bottleneck Glissando); There Goes Your Soul; And When You Arrive At The End You Are At The Beginning
Personnel
Paul Woodwright: vocals/guitar/glissando guitar/synth; Subassa: bass/Japanese plum bottleneck glissando; Keith Chenery: drums
Album information
Title: Strange Voodoo from Electric Salad Studio: Volume 1 | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Damp Recordings