Album Review: Tensheds - "Deathrow Disco"

 

Tensheds is the solo career alter ego of Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind keyboard player Matt Millership and Deathrow Disco is no less than his fifth solo album. It’s an intriguing and enjoyable beast as well which shows off the guy's versatility as a musician to good effect.

The sheer scope of this album could easily have been a disaster in the wrong hands but it’s to the immense credit of Millership and his co-accused here that they manage to pull something pretty damn good out of the hat here. Opener Youngbloods sees Millership going full Ray Manzarek with a screeching keyboard solo that almost sounds like guitars before taking it to a whole new level on Gold Tooth and Sharp Threads which sounds like a couple of rolling blues rock numbers with Millership replacing the guitar parts with his keyboard playing. A tricky one to pull off and he deserves a lot of credit for doing so.

There's plenty of other highlights here as well from the the panicky Black Blood to the funked-up Troubleshooter and the atmospheric gothy Secrets. The Picture Book, meanwhile builds from a gentle opening to an epic, almost gospel style, chorus before the gentle psychedelia of Forever In Dreams guides us gently home.

An impressive effort from Tensheds then which really deserves your attention if you're unaware of this band at the moment. You can investigate in more detail at the group's Bandcamp page.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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