MP3: Mangrove - River of my soul
Last week I featured a bunch of new mp3s from National Records, this week I'm going to start off with a few choice cuts from the Swedish hard rock label Transubstans. I'm always excited when something new shows up from them, because even when it's derivative nth-generation rehash, it's almost always done so killer, I barely notice. Some of their proggier acts definitely push boundaries, but screw it; I even dig the most baseline riff-rockers they can churn out. For example: Graveyard? Hell yeah. Glad to see they're getting respect in the US too, though labelmates Siena Root are a touch better for my money (new album very soon, can't wait!). Interested in hearing more bluesy heaviness along those same lines? Check out Mangrove. Not nearly as retro-obsessed as their aforementioned peers, though they bring the rawk just as loud and proud. And actually, the touchstone act for these guys wouldn't be Black Sabbath, Deep Purple or any other oft-cited 70s act of their ilk, rather I'd say it's (mid-to-late period) Soundgarden. There's tons of pentatonic runs as you'd expect, but there's a definite psych-pop thing going on as well. The vocals approximate a reined-in Chris Cornell too, especially on the choruses. He can't quite nail the siren wail, but I always found that stuff kind of annoying, so it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I just like that it's heavy and catchy. And totally killer, 'natch.
Mangrove - River of my soul