Review by Michelle Barron
Blacktop Mojo EP "STATIC"
Independent Release date May 29. 2020 on ALL major streaming formats.
Layers. Layers upon layers of Layers.
The band is taking it back to the EP, extended play, days. Four songs that truly take the listener on a trip unknowingly needed. Ethereal, textured.
The vocals of singer Matt James are Not to be denied. His is not a voice you will choose to talk over. He commands and demands to be listened to. Exfoliating and polishing simultaneously.
Guitarists Ryan Keifer and Chuck Wepfer are as far away from the Drop D riffs performed in previous albums as humanly possible. Hauntingly sneaky, playing off, around, over, and through each other without becoming entangled. Smooth and jagged. Bassist Matt Curtis (Catt Murtis via social media) remains the veins through which the lifeblood pulsates. Never understated and beautifully necessary. Drummer Nathan Gillis is forever the bones of this wicked creation.
A collection that catapults us into a completely different stratosphere than any previous Blacktop Mojo release. This reviewer sees the tones. I listened and envisioned a movie soundtrack. The kind of movie soundtrack that a film would not exist without. The kind in which a scene can be instantly recalled simply by hearing a few notes. Mesmerizing to the extent of losing a sense of self, becoming entwined with the white noise, the cacophony, the choreographed chaos like sinewy vines.
If you are new to this band, Welcome. Welcome to yet another chapter of Blacktop Mojos metamorphosis. By all means, do yourself a favor and actively seek out the previous three albums.
If you're a long-time listener who has their albums quite literally burned into your auditory cortex; expect the unexpected. Prepare to ride with them to a hidden location, one maybe they themselves weren't aware existed.
Comments
ML :)