SPIRITU - Self-Titled
Meteor City - 2002
By Gonzo
/bandpics/spiritu.jpg
Dynamic heavy rock. Elemental, even. Spiritu play what at first sounds like generic stoner groove with a crusty covering of fuzz, but beneath it they display songwriting elements not usually associated with the stare-at-your-shoes, see-you-at-the-end stoner-rawk brigade.
This 6-song, self-titled, offering opens moodily with 'Z (Noonday Demon)', crawling across the sunblistered surfacing of a cerebral mindscape. It continues through, maintaining the level of playing you expect from any band out of the Meteor City stable, and continue to impress. There are elements of Sabbath (when the Sabs were heavy and experimental, not experimenting heavily) - particularly apparent at the beginning of 'Slump' - and an early 70s swagger they carry off with conviction. Voxman Jadd has a fine rock voice (and in 'Glorywhore' bringing in a Patton-esque spoken word element in parts - me likes!), and guitarist Chav is a band unto himself. The rhythm section of John (bass) and James (percussion) solidify it all into a smoking ball of rock.
This disc as one of those long-haul-drives-in-the-sun discs. It's a soothing, smoothe, pleasing example of the genre. It breaks no walls down, but rather makes you want to sit against them and chill out.
Standout tracks: Z (Noonday Demon) for its dreamy, jammy sounds; 'Glorywhore' for pretty much the same reasons. If you don't like sludgey rock'n'roll, you may well not like SPIRITU. If you're a fan of the genre, this is pretty much a no brainer, so do yourself a favour and get in on the act...
8/10
Meteor City - 2002
By Gonzo
/bandpics/spiritu.jpg
Dynamic heavy rock. Elemental, even. Spiritu play what at first sounds like generic stoner groove with a crusty covering of fuzz, but beneath it they display songwriting elements not usually associated with the stare-at-your-shoes, see-you-at-the-end stoner-rawk brigade.
This 6-song, self-titled, offering opens moodily with 'Z (Noonday Demon)', crawling across the sunblistered surfacing of a cerebral mindscape. It continues through, maintaining the level of playing you expect from any band out of the Meteor City stable, and continue to impress. There are elements of Sabbath (when the Sabs were heavy and experimental, not experimenting heavily) - particularly apparent at the beginning of 'Slump' - and an early 70s swagger they carry off with conviction. Voxman Jadd has a fine rock voice (and in 'Glorywhore' bringing in a Patton-esque spoken word element in parts - me likes!), and guitarist Chav is a band unto himself. The rhythm section of John (bass) and James (percussion) solidify it all into a smoking ball of rock.
This disc as one of those long-haul-drives-in-the-sun discs. It's a soothing, smoothe, pleasing example of the genre. It breaks no walls down, but rather makes you want to sit against them and chill out.
Standout tracks: Z (Noonday Demon) for its dreamy, jammy sounds; 'Glorywhore' for pretty much the same reasons. If you don't like sludgey rock'n'roll, you may well not like SPIRITU. If you're a fan of the genre, this is pretty much a no brainer, so do yourself a favour and get in on the act...
8/10
