Rock, Metal

Geezer - Geezer (2016)

2018-06-11T14:22:45Z

Geezer - Geezer (2016)


1 	Sunday Speed Demon 	3:19
2 	One Leg Up 	6:27
3 	Sun Gods 	9:29
4 	Bi-Polar Vortex 	9:00
5 	Dust 	8:02
6 	Hangnail Crisis 	5:32
7 	Superjam Maximus 	5:59
8 	Stoney Pony 	4:29

Bass Guitar – Richie Touseull
Drums – Chris Turco
Guitar [Additional Guitars] – Matthew Cullen
Guitar, Vocals – Pat Harrington

It was exceedingly difficult to argue with the idea when New York heavy blues jammers Geezer opted to take their 2013 Gage EP and build it out into a second full-length the next year as their debut on STB Records and the follow-up to their self-released first outing, Electrically Handmade Heavy Blues. Since then, they’ve remained prolific. The Gage LP (review here) came out through STB and Ripple Music, and Geezer went on to release the Live! Full Tilt Boogie (review here) tape that same year as well as the 2015 digi-single “Long Dull Knife” (discussed here) before also taking part in the first installment of Ripple Music‘s The Second Coming of Heavy series of limited split LPs, working alongside Washington D.C.’s Borracho (review here).

On some level or other, each new outing has marked a step forward in the trio’s progression, and this encouraging trend continues on their self-titled LP (also through Ripple and STB), which presents 51 minutes of new material across an eight-track stretch that plays between straightforward mega-fuzzed bounce and expansive jamming as the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Pat Harrington, bassist Richie Touseull and drummer Chris Turco ooze their way through extended fluidity on “Sun Gods,” “Bi-Polar Vortex” and “Dust,” a sort of jamming trilogy that follows the more straightforward opening duo “Sunday Speed Demon” and “One Leg Up” and ends up making a major statement in the personality of the album as a whole, despite a measure of sonic variety in itself. Worship of tone, the stellar fretwork and graveling voice of Harrington and the nod from Touseull and Turco regardless of tempo tie the songs together as Geezer step into their own, and if it’s not a coincidence that their third long-player is self-titled and the statement they’re making is this is who they are as a unit, then the confidence that signals in their approach is well justified.

They begin at a boogie clip with “Sunday Speed Demon,” the shortest inclusion at 3:19, and continue to push through with strong momentum as Turco‘s drums lead the way into “One Leg Up.” Other reviews have called out the latter track’s lyrics as sexist. The band has countered saying context is everything. I won’t argue with either side. The artwork they had for the digital single didn’t do much to help their case, and while we’re citing the politically suspect, closer “Stoney Pony” fits right in as well. One could debate endlessly about how Uncle Acid get to write songs about murdering women and have it called aesthetic artistry while Geezer tap into “My girl’s built like a pony” and it’s not. I don’t care to. “One Leg Up” is almost woefully catchy, however — for that matter, so is “Stoney Pony” — and by being almost twice as long as the opener and departing into a dreamy wah solo in its midsection, it effectively smooths the path into the drifting “Sun Gods,” the 9:25 highlight of Geezer‘s Geezer and the first part of the aforementioned trilogy of jammers with “Bi-Polar Vortex” (8:56) and “Dust” (7:59) behind it, the former perhaps the most spaced-out of the three and the latter finding ground in part thanks to a hook referencing Queens of the Stone Age‘s “Long Slow Goodbye.”

It’s important to note that although each of the record’s “big three” have this unfolding grandeur, they’re also memorable thanks to an underlying core of songwriting. Geezer have proven time and again to be ace jammers as few East Coast acts are — the deluxe edition of the self-titled comes accompanied by the bonus LP A Flagrant Disregard for Happiness (premiered here); a single-song half-hour semi-improvised work that further drives the point home — but as the slow-rolling “Dust” begins the shift back to more structured vibes that will continue through “Hangnail Crisis,” “Superjam Maximus” and “Stoney Pony,” their blend of the ethereal and the terrestrial is seamless and their flow once again seems to be the realization of what their progression to this point has been driving toward. Again, Geezer‘s Geezer indeed.

I’m not sure where the LP actually splits — if it’s four tracks on each side and “Dust” starts side B” or if “Stoney Pony” is a CD-only cut; it has kind of a bonus-track-y feel to it, almost tacked on — but it’s clear as the guitar starts “Hangnail Crisis” that the album has entered the last of its three movements. Think of it as a trip out and back. You start on the ground, launch, and return. That’s not to say the roll of “Hangnail Crisis” or the layered lead work late in the surprisingly uptempo “Superjam Maximus” don’t have their hypnotic aspects, but it’s no less of a palpable turn than that into “Sun Gods” from “One Leg Up” despite the work Harrington, Touseull and Turco do to ease the transition. When they commence, the starts and stops of “Stoney Pony” offer one last bounce and nod to the listener and another catchy, bluesy chorus, which isn’t really anything that “Hangnail Crisis,” “Superjam Maximus,” or for that matter “Sunday Speed Demon” and “One Leg Up,” didn’t accomplish, but neither does it detract from the outing overall, which maintains its fluidity right up to the end.

Geezer‘s third album isn’t perfect — nor is it intended to be — and while I don’t believe a group who base so much of what they do around improvisation and songs developed therefrom necessarily finishes growing at any given point, I do think this is the moment at which Geezer have locked into and demonstrated clear intent toward a multifaceted style that engages the listener with deceptive variety and consistent, high-quality songcraft. On a sheer performance level, they’ve never sounded better, whether that’s the increased confidence and melodic range in Harrington‘s vocals, the blend of fuzz in the bass and guitar or the manner in which any player at any point seems ready to take the fore. Considering that in combination with the strength of the material they’re putting forth, it becomes even easier to see their self-titled marking Geezer‘s true arrival as a band. ---theobelisk.ne

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Geezer - Psychoriffadelia (2017)

2017-05-19T14:28:28Z

Geezer - Psychoriffadelia (2017)


1. Hair Of The Dog
2. Stressknots
3. Psychoriffadelia
4. Red Hook
5. Dirty Penny

Pat Harrington – vocals, guitar
Richie Touseull – bass guitar
Charles Ruggiero – drums

Didn't we just have a new album from Geezer last year. I know we did as I made their self-titled album my favourite album of 2016. Now the guys are back with Psychoriffadelia. What can we expect from Geezer this time round. More of the same glorious spaced out/cosmic stoner sounds from the last album or something else altogether. Well I have good news and bad news in regards to the album. Bad news first, there are no traces of any cosmic/spaced out riffs from the last album. None at all. Don't let that put you off. The good news is that Psychoriffadelia is still another excellent album from Geezer where the riffs are king!!!

Psychoriffadelia sees Geezer opt for a more stripped back psychedelic blues/stoner rock sound. This album sees Geezer going back to basics with a more vintage blues rock sound. It's still gloriously heavy and the opening track - Hair Of The Dog - shows that Geezer haven't lost their drive in creating highly energetic and infectious riffs. The mood and lyrics of the album are ever so playful like they were on the last album. It's quite a groove laiden sound and one we haven't heard from Geezer before.

Maybe Geezer will be one of those bands who try a different sound with each album that they release. The song has an excellent sing-along cheeky chorus that you will be singing along to in no time at all. The music drifts from classic stoner rock sounds to the more heavy pounding blues rock/metal kind of sound. Geezer are in boisterous form and the album is packed full of this angry and playful attitude.

Second track - Stressknots - is another blues rock driven sound with Pat's vocals having a slight Brant Bjork influence. It's good to see Geezer incorporating elements of Desert Rock at times though the focus is primarily on their favoured Blues/Stoner Rock hybrid sound.

The third track - Psychoriffadelia - offers a brief hope to the previous albums spaced out sound with a glitchy sounding radio transmission, but nope. Geezer still opt for this albums blues rock driven score. This song is one of two epic tracks that Geezer have provided here. This is my favourite song off the album as it sees Geezer in more of a laid back mood. The blues rock vibes create an early soothing atmosphere with moments of heavy stoner rock slowly creeping in. The mood becomes heavier and way more psychedelic as time passes by. This is the type of song is where Geezer always excel at as they love to jam with their musical instruments. It's purely an instrumental affair.

The final two tracks - Red Hook and Dirty Penny - are a mixture of laid back Blues Rock and Americana especially with Red Hook. As that song has a slight folk based feel. A cool slide guitar offers Geezer in more reflective mood. The final song - Dirty Penny - is an almost fourteen minute track where the band throw everything at you. Heavy psychedelic blues/stoner riffs played with aplomb and excellent lyrics that has a distinctive hard rock feel.

I can see why Geezer have released Psychoriffadelia instead of a more natural based follow-up to their last album. Sure I would have loved something similar to their last album though you have to give Geezer credit for releasing something different. It has a lot of things in common with their last album.

Both albums are particularly heavy and both show Geezer are masters in creating their own special kind of Blues/Stoner Rock sound. I still prefer their last album to Psychoriffadelia. Though this is still an exciting and fantastic sounding album to lose yourself in. Long-time fans will no doubt go crazy over this album and newer fans will enjoy the different variety of riffs on show. Psychoriffadelia is another outstanding album from Geezer. ---outlawsofthesun.blogspot.com

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