Review: The Lords Of Altamont ‘Tune In, Turn On, Electrify!’
The mighty rabble-rousing purveyors of Detroit influenced garage rock n roll, 70s New York punk and UK 60s rhythm ‘n’ blues The Lords Of Altamont return with their second release on Heavy Psych Sounds since 2017. First off, this certainly won’t disappoint the already converted The Lords… fans because you’re still guaranteed to hear their rare elixir of real rock ‘n’ roll.
Eleven killer tracks whereby none disappoint, and the standard maintained is high throughout, just asking to be cranked up loud and danced to with the lights out. A sense of abandonment to every track comes with the territory with the The Lords… so give yourself in to it and you’ll certainly be rewarded.
The Lords Of Altamont inception began in 1999 in Los Angeles, California with main man on vox and organ Jake Cavaliere. He has driven this vehicle since then, through many personnel changes and now has delivered, with the help of recent recruitments, their seventh album, and damn fine it is. The nods to MC5 are still in place but without the political baggage, just good time hard hitting rock and roll music.
Their past history of touring with such luminaries as The Cramps and The Who suggests a lot about where their musical interests lie, but also the aural mix you can hear in their current material of some of the most important and influential bands of the 60s and 70s is prevalent as ever – The Stones, The Who, The Stooges, MC5, New York Dolls etc. Personnel changes through the years also included members of The Bomboras, Fuzztones, The Cramps and even Michael Davis bassist from the MC5 (R.I.P.). The current line-up consists of the aforementioned Jake ‘The Preacher’ Cavaliere (vocals and organ), Dani Sin on guitar, Rob Zim on bass and Barry ‘The Hatchet’ Van Esbroek on drums.
Kicking off with Living With The Squares there is no fucking about as track one delivers us a 60s The Stones/The Who influenced slab of great rock and roll, full of tension and attitude with Farfisa organ to the fore. Second track, Burn Me Out continues the garage, 60s vibe which The Fuzztones are also famous for and A nice nod to the New York Dolls as this song could easily have been on their first reunion album.
a killer rock ‘n’ roll record performed with passion, authenticity, and a fan’s spirit…
Million Watts Electrified for me is a real standout track and extremely danceable. One for the live set that will get everyone shaking their butts and allowing a sense of abandonment into their lives at the end of a long hard day. Organ cranked up high resonates on this one too, and in my opinion is a missing ingredient in many bands these days. We’ll Never Leave (This World Alive) is prime High Time MC5 but does it matter? Nope not a bit! If you’re going to take from the musical well of creativity, make sure it’s from the greats, Cavaliere knows this and ultimately makes the song his own anyway.
Levitation Mind introduces the psychedelic side to The Lords Of Altamont with an updated The Stones 2000 Light Years From Home vibe, if you can imagine for a moment that Ron Asheton was playing guitar and not Brian Jones. Blast For Kicksville ups the tempo for more powerful rock and roll. Soul In Flames introduces itself with strings followed by a hypnotic and psych feel reminiscent of Spiritualized, which is very much welcomed and introduces more diversity into the album. This track I feel will become huge in a live experience and is asking to be extended for that particular setting.
I Just Want is business as usual garage rock n roll. Lost In The Future is highly reminiscent of The Stooges Funhouse outtake, but I’m sure that is purely coincidental! A slow bluesy trippy song the like Dirt The Stooges made their own and to be fair The Lords… do as well. Great wah wah guitar displayed on this one too. Movin (Goat’s Revenge) is another close nod to the MC5’s Gotta Keep Movin but it’s good so who cares?
Finishing off with Mud (Wet Brain) this psych blues track concludes a killer rock ‘n’ roll record performed with passion, authenticity, and a fan’s spirit but also a musician’s desire to make something that digs deep and touches you where it matters.
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Scribed by: Tim Keppie
