The subject of this week’s review comes courtesy of Texas, I can’t think of a better place to make dirty music permeate from booze soaked barroom floors. I was thinking to myself the other day, man this whole music thing is getting a bit stripped and raw, like fast, to a welcoming audience (for once), kind of like depression era music. Well, no shit man, we are in a depression and Churchwood’s latest offering of “2” lets the sounds of confusion and blues country swamp fry your brain like it’s going out of style.
The band itself, like so many have tried to do, managed to land a spot on the infamous “Sons of Anarchy” series at a time when getting “song placement” to shred a bare existence seems relegated to Modest Mouse sound alikes doing it with enough extra protection to avoid unwanted pregnancies in the Vampire Diaries crowd. I’ve been examining and soaking in the latest release this past week which has been filled with many Long Beach hiccups of indecision and turmoil. THIS is where the party is at if you’ve got the ears and reckless soul for some backroom hustle with a loose bumping n grind.
The track “Duende” kicks off this outing with an MC5 inspired rhythmic cacophony, Highway 61 grittiness, and the vocal urgency of Hank Williams drowning to death in his own vomit. “Keels Be Damned” follows this one up with Texan Goth Country Vibe. It’s always an awesome listening experience to hear cool musical experimentation that doesn’t pride itself on pretension but uses emotion and moodiness to dictate its slightly unfocused shape of aural pleasure.
“I have a devil in me” pretty much sums up the swamp you’re taking a midnight swim through in “Churchwood 2”. When listening to the entire epic of this full length, MC5’s “Skunk” keeps pulling at me as a starting point listening wise for the uninitiated. The proceedings end with the haunting and gritty pseudo balladry of “New Moon”. The intro riff and chording are quite great, flowing with the breeze of contact high smoke and the mental imprint of condensation rings left on the wooden bar from long days of hard drinking and contemplating the meaning of the outside world’s annoyances and nuances. –K.M
CHURCHWOOD
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LONG BEACH SITE
The Summer Volume is starting to get itself underway and outrageous ideas are welcome, as we’ll be staying in Long Beach for the long haul. Feel free to drop by the F & L LB site and send a message through the contact section. I’ve almost lived one year through my new literary debacle, let’s seal the coffin and make sure the party keeps going where civilization meets the wild. cheers
