ALBUM REVIEW: Ouroboros – Borracho

BORRACHO aren’t short of riffs, that’s for certain, and when it comes to heavy psychedelic rock, that’s exactly what we’re asking for. Bearing that in mind, we should theoretically have no complaints with their latest offering. However, in a confused and lacklustre outing, the Washington D.C. rockers truly exhaust the one trick pony and never get a firm grip on the monster sound they try to unleash upon your speaker. To be fair, the album is far from a washout and at times, the three-piece touch upon SOUNDGARDEN level execution in their gnarly riffs. Pair this with the lively, bouncy energy BORRACHO bring to the table, and you get a touch of VELVET REVOLVER-style classic rock chic.

But as a whole, you don’t need to be a fly on the wall to guess the thought process behind the album. You can bet any amount of money the plan of action was to crank up the fuzz pedal and layer riffs upon riffs. At times sludgy at other times grungy, there is an overall identity crisis that lingers across the album and it leads to a messy execution. The guitar solos also leave much to be desired and seem a little lost alongside the gigantic riffs. Neither melodic nor shred-worthy, they sit in no man’s land and, all things considered don’t add much to the overall compositions. Compared to some great riffs scattered across the seven-song record, it is a real shame. See Lord Of Suffering where a malevolent descending riff stomps down the neck of the guitar. The solo that accompanies it seems a little thin in comparison and is reduced to filler.

But then along comes album highlight Machine Is The Master. A raucous, pounding, catchy, chorus-driven tune celebrating the arrival of our robotic overlord masters. “Machine is the master, human is the slave, machine is the master, death is all I crave,” chants Steve Fisher over the sublime thumping riffage. In this instance all the pieces come together and the planets align beautifully to create a solid dystopian rock anthem. Compare this to the rest of the album and the real problem starts to reveal itself. Most of the songs seem directionless.

Although separately the components are fine, they rarely gel together and whether it comes down to the final mix or the compositions of the band members is unclear. Listen to second track Succubus and there’s a lingering synth in the background which if elevated would bolster the riffs and make the track more unique. But by sticking to the playbook and merely serving the guitar, it falls into the discard pile of generic stoner rock songs. What the album is crying out for is a bit of nuance and composure. All in all, there are some highlights on this record and if your main purpose in life is to seek out big beefy guitar riffs then crack open a beer, turn it up loud and headbang to your heart’s content. Because in this stodgy album it’s all you’re going to find.

Rating: 4/10

Ouroboros is out now via Ripple Music.

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