Album Review: The Lords Of Altamont - "Turn On, Tune In, Electrify!"

 

Still very much out there and kicking two decades into their career, this is no less than the Lords of Altamont's seventh album and finds them kicking out the jams as only they can. Yes, they remain a band firmly rooted in the heavier end of psychedelic garage rock but as long as they keep injecting their tunes with the sort of power and urgency that's become their trademark you won't catch me complaining too loudly.

Opener Living With The Squares lays the template down from the off, a frenetic guitars, bass, drums and keys pile-up which reminds me a bit of Mott The Hoople's old proto-punk classic The Moon Upstairs while the similarly heavy Burn Me Out is pure early Deep Purple, maybe with a touch of the Stooges chucked into the mix (indeed, they cover Iggy and co's Lost In The Future elsewhere on this 'un). Million Watts Electrified and the pounding We'll Never Leave This World Alive kick the tempo up even further with their driving guitars and synths and scowled Stonesy lyrics.

There's plenty of other high octane thrills on here with the likes of Blast For Kicksville and Movin' (Goat's Revenge) providing the snotty energy that links the band to groups like the MC5 while the more mid-paced Levitation Mind, Soul In Flames and the epic sludgy six minute closer Mud provide the more psychedelic stoner end of their repertoire owing a sly nod to the likes of Thee Hypnotics and Monster Magnet. I Just Want, meanwhile, sits nicely between the two with its pounding rhythms and mind-blowing synths and snarled vocals.

The Lords of Altamont are never gonna win any awards for originality but at least they infuse their music with the sort of ferocious energy and power that shows they've got a genuine respect for it rather than just lazily ticking off the clichés and you have to respect that. For that well balanced mix of fury and mind-boggling out-thereness, Tune In Turn On Electrify definitely bears seeking out.

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NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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