ALBUM REVIEW: Little Wars – Thunderbird Divine
For all the innovation in rock and metal in recent years, sometimes it’s just as exciting to sit back with an album that oozes classic rock vibes. Philadelphia stoner crew THUNDERBIRD DIVINE clearly feel the same if their second full-length Little Wars is anything to go by.
Psychedelic rock albums can often get fans’ pulses racing with just a quick glance at the album credits, specifically the range of instruments played on the record. Here we have such delights as the sitar, theremin, melodica, synths, drones and “weird stuff”. This list should immediately give you some indication as to how you’re going to feel about Little Wars before you’ve even listened to it. Opening with the instrumental Pony Express, the band conjure imagery of the Wild West, not unlike the beginnings of an Ennio Morricone soundtrack, the shuffling snare evoking the movement of a train over distant desert tracks while harmony-laden choral vocals crescendo over a wistful melodica melody.
After that cinematic introduction, the band get going properly on the Hammond organ-led Times Gone Bad. It’s a powerful, dark, bluesy number with some impressively chunky riffs and excellent lead guitar work courtesy of frontman Erik Caplan and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Adam Solomon. The layers of sound the band have put down on this track make for a wonderful calling card, as the rest of the album follows in equally groovy, bombastic fashion.
Last Laugh is a similarly stomping tune, the verses powered by an enigmatic, gravel-throated vocal performance from Caplan before opening out into a massive, almost gospel-like chorus. With all band members providing vocals, we’re given an almost wall-of-sound of harmonies in places on this record which prove to be incredibly satisfying and there are some nice lyrical touches here too (“Call yourself King / The fat lady, she will sing!”)
The opening of Black Rhino Mantra recalls 1990s MONSTER MAGNET in all their glory, particularly their darker, more introspective moments such as Black Balloon or Dead Christmas, Caplan’s vocals really embracing a balance between haunting minor notes and aggressive delivery, something Dave Wyndorf always pulled off so well. These Eyes is a little more classically heavy, opening with an Iommi-esque riff. As the song progresses, the combination of guitars and Jack Falkenbach’s brilliantly vamped keyboards is reminiscent of DEEP PURPLE in their early 70s period.
These comparisons are not, however, intended to suggest that this record is derivative in any way, nor is it merely a tribute to a bygone era. The energy evident in each musician’s performance on the album gives this collection of songs an urgency and power sometimes lacking in the work of other retro-revivalists. The sheer variety of sounds and the way each of them sits so well in the mix means there is always something new to get your ears around. Tides, for example, is a riff-loaded instrumental piece that shifts through three separate movements in its five-minute running time, each section highlighting the wild experimentation that fuels THUNDERBIRD DIVINE, while still tipping the band’s collective cap to the greats that have gone before them.
The two songs that end the album, Old Black Crow and the gothic Americana waltz of Carousel bring the focus back again to the atmosphere THUNDERBIRD DIVINE create so effectively, returning to the dark Old West cinematics that opened the album, giving the record a pleasingly cyclical feel that will have you reaching for your stereo to start the whole journey again.
Like MONSTER MAGNET jamming with THE BLACK CROWES and MC5, this album balances heavy psychedelic and groovy, dark southern rock brilliantly. Although it doesn’t do anything wildly ‘new’ with these genres, Little Wars is at its best when the band are going all out on the likes of Last Laugh and These Eyes, blending those wall-of-sound backing vocals with the howling guitars and powerful vocals of Kaplan. There is a lot to enjoy here for fans of good old-fashioned rock and roll.
Rating: 8/10
Little Wars is set for release on August 30th via Black Doomba Records.
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