All Them Witches

Dying Surfer Meets His Maker

Written by: BV on 30/04/2016 23:06:25

The Nashville-based four-piece All Them Witches seems well on its way to become one of the American heavy-rock underground’s most important acts of the moment. It’s not all that surprising with their hypnotic mixture of dusty heavy-blues, psychedelic atmospheres and rather tasteful, yet boundary exploring songwriting all goes together rather well with a tendency in rock music to move towards a more mind expanding mentality in songwriting – most likely due to the massive amount of bands picking up the psychedelic mantle as of late. All Them Witches do so in a respectful manner, never coming off as riding a wave of underground popularity or trends and this most definitely works in their favor.

“Call Me Star” opens “Dying Surfer Meets His Maker” in a desert-blues inspired fashion. It’s a surprisingly low-key album opening which works effectively towards easing the listener into what is to come. The simple but surprisingly heavy groove eventually fades and makes way for “El Centro”, the longest track on “Dying Surfer Meets His Maker”. “El Centro” channels a vibe remarkably similar to Germany’s Colour Haze – the love of riffing is most definitely present as the persistent opening riff tears through the listener’s speakers with a low-end growl that is unmistakably stoner-rock inspired. The track is predominantly instrumental but manages to never quite grow stagnant in spite of this with its continuous face-melting guitar solos and the near-constant shifts in the dynamic of the main riff. As 8 minutes pass, you feel like you’ve been listening for a period not even half as long – and that, in and of itself, should be a testament to the track’s ability to lure the listeners into a groove they can hardly escape from.

“Mellowing” takes things in another direction with its down-to-earth soulfulness. The acoustic nature of the track, coupled with the count-in at the beginning of the track, maintains a very humble atmosphere which signifies a different side to All Them Witches altogether – like darkness to light and a whisper to the sound of thunder. These dynamics are crucial for the All Them Witches experience to play out and they are what make this album feel so organic in its full form. These songs sound like this is simply what came together from these sessions, even though might sound different on other occasions. It sounds fresh because of the band’s chemistry and interplay, and these factors work towards the overall coherence of “Dying Surfer Meets His Maker” in spite of its broad musical range incorporating desert blues, dusty soul grooves and blatant stoner-rock worship.

Throughout its nine tracks and roughly 46 minutes, “Dying Surfer Meets His Maker” showcases a band well-versed in various dynamics channeling these into a focused effort which worships at the altar of a broad array of musical styles – but eventually does so in a way that is entirely their own.

8

Download: El Centro, Mellowing, Talisman
For the fans of: Colour Haze, The Heavy Eyes, Dead Meadow
Listen: Facebook

Release date 30.10.2015
New West Records


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