I’m always up for a power trio and this one, hailing from Cincinnati, are a welcome addition to the oeuvre…Brass Owl unleash State Of Mind and supply nine tracks of rock with funk, blues and jazz inflections, all wrapped up in a good old jam band. Does it work? It’s a resounding yes from me.
Opening with ‘Land Sharks’, the traditional drumstick count-in leads into a blues-based, heavy shuffle with a lighter bridge and lovely guitar solo that brings a strange recipe to mind…Budgie Cream Mule! ‘Deuce Face’ starts with a great bass line and guitar bends and leads into a slightly grungy vocal but always heavy and always instrumentally powerful. The time changes and riffs (and cowbell) evoke the best of the jammers of old. They change the feel cleverly with ‘Hook, Line And Sinker’ as we get that promised funk and jazz mixed with proper rock and some backwards guitar too…imagine a lost Stevie Wonder track discovered and heavied up by Gov’t Mule and you’ll get the idea. It not only works, its genius.
Next up, we get more genres mashed together as prog and blues meld seamlessly on ‘No Filter – Stay Trendy’ and then a brilliant jazz-infused drum solo…yes, that’s right and it is all superb. Talking of mashing…how about Sabbath doing Southern rock? Well, that is the atmosphere ‘Side Effect’ imbues in me and, yet again, it just works and works well. It has the moody, sparse backing and then crashing, heavy riffs that early Sabbath so effectively employed: as do Brass Owl.
Change again for the instrumental ‘The Legend Of FUJIMO’ (no, I don’t know the significance of the capitals). This is a showcase for all three – bass and drums lay down a fearsome backing as the guitar shreds without overdoing the widdle. ‘Jive Turkey’ is heavier, jazzy blues and ‘Hoka Hey’ is the surprising interlude as acoustic guitar shimmers and a flute echoes across this instrumental. The title is Sioux for something like “let’s go!” and leads neatly into the final track, ‘Pale Horse’ as we stay in the Wild West for a rousing, varied and truly heavyweight song.
As you may have gathered, I love this album; it has the weight, variation, skilful playing and energy that combines in just the right way so, if you like your rock heavy, bluesy and liberally spread with jam…buy it now!
