Album Review: Wine Lips - "Mushroom Death Sex Bummer Party"

 

Hailing from the same Toronto scene that spawned the Black Halos, Wine Lips are an odd one. Existing in that weird twilight world where punk meets psychedelia occasionally inhabited by the likes of the Lords of Altamont and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, they've certainly got a unique sound.

While tunes like Eyes, Lemonade and Get Your Money have a feral punk quality to them (the lead singer reminds me of Jeff Drake from the Joneses which is no bad thing), the lurching riffs on Tension and Fingers actually remind me a bit of the psychedelic heaviness of Thee Hypnotics which is certainly a sound I've not heard for a while but no complaints here. A few tracks here remind me a bit of Birdland in their more mid-paced moments as well which is a good thing in my book I promise and there's even an excursion into Wire-style post-punk on In The Clear. Suffer The Joy meanwhile starts out with a speeded up Stonesy strut before going into a full-on stoner rock cataclysm and the swirly guitars of Fried 3 even go into shoegazing territory.

The main minus point with Mushroom Death Sex Bummer Party is that with it being a bit all over the place musically it seems to struggle to hold together as a coherent set of songs at times but you certainly couldn't accuse Wine Lips of not having a very unique sound and it isn't a bad one either. Maybe a bit of work around the edges is needed but this is certainly one of the more enjoyably different albums I've listened to of late.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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