There seems to be a no-nonsense ethos to Kadavar. Not bothered about straying from the sound they dig – ‘70s-era hard/psych/stoner rock – the band’s music says, “If we want to play guitar lick after guitar lick, we’re going to do it. If we want to adopt nicknames like Lupus, Dragon, and Tiger, we’re going to do it. If we want to name our album after our hometown, you know what, we’re going to do it.”
The band’s third LP is the result of four months recording live in the studio on analogue gear, and their first since French-born Dragon replaced Mammoth on bass. Taking no prisoners, the band launch straight into an ear-ial assault with Lord Of The Sky. It’s held together by fuzzy-phaser guitar hooks and groove-driven bass, which are complemented by classic rock vocals and drums. It’s what AC/DC would sound like if they went psychedelic, and it prepares you for what’s to come.
The Old Man, the first single off the record, follows a gypsy-ish riff. Lyrically, it sounds like they’re trying to stamp themselves into history: “And the old man sings this song/ This song I wrote”. Generally, the lyrics are pretty rudimentary, but they’re German’s singing in English so give them a break. Though, there are some poignant moments in See The World With Your Own Eyes, which tells the story of the band’s past troubles. The line “Rolling down in a broken car” refers to the 1964 Ford Galaxy they bought for their Come Back Life film clip (off their last record Abra Kadavar), which blew up only a couple miles down a New Mexico highway, blowing thousands of their dollars with it.
They end with a bonus track, paying tribute to German songstress Nico by covering her Reich der Träume (Land of Dreams). It’s a departure from the rest of the record, moving into an avant garde space and singing in their native tongue for the first time. Overall it’s a solid effort from the longhaired, bearded Deutsche-men – the meat and two veg of psych rock.
BY LEE SPENCER-MICHAELSEN
