Nite Songs

  Following his excellent collaboration with the Stooges' James Williamson a couple of years ago on the Two To One  album, former Radio Birdman lynchpin Deniz Tek is back with a new album. Two To One  definitely showed that he's still got the fire and the chops over four decades on from Radio Birdman first appearing on the music scene. Long Before Day  is simply the sound of Tek kicking back and doing what he does best - menacing garage rock with a hint of blues to it as evidenced on Ballad Of Chief Joseph , a tale of Native Americans forced off their land to an insistent swaggering riff. Elsewhere, the bluesy Speak Of Ice  and the almost country noir of Home  see Tek taking traditional templates but imbuing them with an air of menace to create something that definitely stands out from the crowd. My only slight complaint about this album is that the pace doesn't really vary too much from the midpoint of the spectrum. That's not necessarily a bad thing and T...

  And so we find ourselves in the presence of garage rock royalty here on Nite Songs as this album sees latter day Stooges guitarist James Williamson joining forces with fellow Detroit native and Radio Birdman six-stringer Deniz Tek. From the Dollsy opening swagger of Jetpack Nightmare , you can tell that both of them are on good form here with the pounding drums and spiralling riff combining to devastating effect. From thereon in, Two To One keeps up the pace throughout and doesn't disappoint with the pure rock 'n' roll gasoline shots of Progress and Good As Gone (reminiscent of the Plimsouls' classic Million Miles Away ) showing off both mens' chops nicely. The key is that while both Williamson and Tek are undoubtedly talented guitarists, both of them know when to rein this in so that the riffs hit home perfectly and the whole thing never goes into fret-wanking self-indulgence. If you want proof, just listen to the chugging riff on Stable which sounds like the...