Sasquatch

IV

Written by: BV on 19/12/2013 18:51:31

Sasquatch is a three-piece sludge/stoner-rock outfit from Los Angeles, California. Having previously released two densely packed studio albums called “I” and “II” that were downright excellent, the band initially went into a hiatus only to emerge with an altered lineup to release “III” in 2010. Now, anno 2013, Sasquatch have returned with, you guessed it (or read it in the headline), “IV”.

Opening with “The Message”, Sasquatch once again display their affinity for groove-laden sludge/stoner with muscular riffs, fat bass-lines and impeccable drumming. The testosterone fueled riffing of “The Message” serves as an endearing welcome into the latest release of Sasquatch where Keith Gibbs’ vocals in particular stand out as excellent. Naturally, the groove is accredited to the band as a unit, a single entity if you will but Gibbs’ vocals have placed themselves magnificently on top of this groove machine to really burst out some energy.

Moving on to “Sweet Lady”, a slightly funky wah-riff opens the track whilst the rhythmical foundation readies itself for yet another bout of insane grooves. The repetitive nature of “Sweet Lady” seems quite enthralling at first listen and actually continues on like that for quite a few more listens. The hook of the song is catchy as hell with a simplistic guitar-bend leading the way, making for an easy yet extraordinarily memorable listening experience. As Keith Gibbs opts for his soloing duties, fueled with bountiful amounts of fuzz, the rhythmical duties of Rick Ferrante and Jason Casanova should not be underestimated as the groove they retain whilst Gibbs solos is as thick as a soundscape ordinarily created by, at least, one more musician.

Nearing the final three tracks of the album, the weaker sides start to rear their heads. Obviously this album is laden with near-epic amounts of groove and masculinity. However, the album is unfortunately also fueled by a tentative need to steer clear of any radical dynamic mix-ups on the album, making for a rather uniform listening experience when approaching tracks like “Me and You” or “Drawing Flies”. – Especially so, after having given the album more than a few spins. The songs in particular, aren’t at fault here. Rather the length of the album coupled with a lack of diversity, as my attention repeatedly wanders towards other places when nearing this particular segment of the album. Granted, the three songs towards the end are actually quite potent in their own right, but they seem far inferior when coupled with a runtime of this caliber coupled with an insistence on sticking to the same form. As such, this fourth outing from Sasquatch brings little new to the table, yet rocks out with a lot of what we’ve come to know them for.

8

Download: The Message, Sweet Lady, Smoke Signal
For the fans of: Nebula, Orange Goblin, Clutch, Astralnaut
Listen: Facebook

Release date 24.09.2013
Small Stone Records


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