ALBUM REVIEW: Waiting Room For the Magic Hour – Sacri Monti
After four years away from the studio, SACRI MONTI bring forth their latest album, Waiting Room For the Magic Hour. While the band promise everything fans are expecting, with big heavy sounds and the care free vibe from their previous records, there’s a surprise or two in store. So, what exactly can we expect from the seventies inspired psychedelic five piece?
Waiting Room For the Magic Hour wails into existence with a great air of the heavy rock bands of old, swaggering and cool. The riff kicks in and the flowing motion of the melody carries into the gravelled vocals. There’s a preaching electric organ feel in there, echoes through the guitar and a slight muffle to everything that harks back to a time before. It’s a lovely, bright sound that captivates on a deeper level when you consider the lyrical content; waiting through the mundanity of life until something changes the course of things and alters the reality, we exist in.
There’s a more positive, bitter sweet feeling to Fear & Fire, with its stretched notes and swimming chords. Running up into a much livelier, soul driven track, think along the same thematic feel as LED ZEPPELIN’s Dazed and Confused, but with a much more modern edge to it. The quick licks throughout the riff are smooth and smart, and evidently catchy. As the song travels on through it’s nearly nine-minute run time, it journeys into a verity of rhythms and ideas, swirling and spiralling over each other into an indulgent configuration of guitars. Flowing seamlessly from the echoes of Fear & Fire, Armistice takes the trippy overlay of guitars and breaks itself into a motion of swaying magic. It’s very much in the loose, jam-style that SACRI MONTI play around with best, where everything feels very organic and one-take.
Starlight is a much more subdued affair, with the singing of string bends and blues infused wails from the guitars, while the seventies inspired vocals pull things into a low energy cruise through the track. With these longer songs, things have time to develop, be it in tempo or stylistic feel. In the case of Starlight, by the latter part of the song, it’s morphed into a heavy rock groove that’s dominated by the electric organ sounds and fuzzed up guitars.
Starlight is a much more subdued affair, with the singing of string bends and blues infused wails from the guitars, while the seventies inspired vocals pull things into a low energy cruise through the track. With these longer songs, things have time to develop, be it in tempo or stylistic feel. In the case of Starlight, by the latter part of the song, it’s morphed into a heavy rock groove that’s dominated by the electric organ sounds and fuzzed up guitars. Affirmation is a soft after tone of the previous track, with soft organ keys tinkling out the intro as a bright guitar ponders over a melody of melancholy. It’s another sweet, blues exploration into a sound that really resonates with some of the greats of years gone by. The effect is something that feels familiar, because it’s references in effects and tone are so old school as with THE ROLLING STONES or as previously mentioned LED ZEPPELIN. SACRI MONTI tap into that warm, comforting sound and create something just as noteworthy as some of the bands they take note from.
Gone From Grace is another blues romp into experimental territory. The layering of interlinking melodies is enjoyable and keeps things interesting still, as the occasional flurry of improvised riffs add a flexibility and care free vibe. Moving beautifully, but in such a fascinatingly surreal way, Wading In Malcesine is a moment of shimmering soundscapes, with humming guitars and unprecedented atmosphere. It’s completely instrumental, as with large portions of the album as a whole, but this almost overwhelmingly different piece is a jarringly beautiful step away of anything you’d expect from SACRI MONTI. You Beautiful Demon is yet another surprise, taking a more acoustic, folk feel. More stripped back and full of ambience, the versatility here brings a more FLEETWOOD MAC air to things. The way that this feels so accomplished and meaningful, even with it’s complete shift from what the rest of the album sounds like, ends this lovely album with a mature approach to adaptability.
SACRI MONTI demonstrate that beauty in old familiar sounds, coupled with new and interesting melodies can bloom into a crazy, surreal journey into something you’d not expect. For those looking for a band that can encompass what the seventies brought with soul and groove, or if you want a more psychedelic look at heavy, modern rock writing, Waiting Room For the Magic Hour is a wealth of beauty you won’t regret.
Rating: 7/10
Waiting Room For the Magic Hour is out on the 5th of July via Tee Pee Records.
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