From note one of Crobot’s debut album, ‘Something Supernatural’, there can be little doubt as to what you are going to get, a wall of feedback building into the massively hook laden riffs of ‘Legend of the Spaceborne Killer’. Even without seeing the band, it’s easy to imagine cowboy boots planted firmly on the front stage monitors with the guitarist indulging in a bit of classic six string theatrics as the vocalist swaggers across the stage with a cocksure strut first made famous by Jagger and countlessly copied through successive generations of crotch and rollers.
By the time the second track ‘Nowhere to Hide’ fires out of the speakers, the formula is firmly set in place for a hard rock opus, the single and airplay friendly three minute track dripping with solid seventies influences, pounding beats working against blues tinged riffing, ‘The Necromancer’ throwing a harmonica into the mix with lyrics that are more then a little influenced by Sabbath’s ‘The Wizard’ in the opinion of this reviewer. The breakneck pace slows a little in the gentler wandering ‘La Manu du Lucifer’ where the band start with a fine slice of Free inspired slithering, vocalist Brandon Yeagley getting to exercise his vocal chords with some Paul Rogers howls to play against the histrionics of the wall of guitars, a workout clearly necessary to achieve the screams of ‘The Skull of Geronimo’, a number that throws a bit of stoner rock into the mix with some trippy effects.
Every one of the eleven tracks on this album is played with a distinct skill on the part of every member of this Pennsylvanian four piece, and it is instantly apparent that they have been drinking deeply from the waters of classic rock to wash down a steady diet of Cream, Free, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin, with a slice of Lynyrd Skynyrd pie thrown in for dessert. Even the lyrics, such as ‘Wizards’ with its tale of sword and sorcery battles against dragons to rescue the princess scream of a bygone age, and like the other numbers, it is played with passion and aplomb, whilst album closer ‘Queen of the Light’ encapsulate the whole sound of the band into a single five minute dose in a rock ballad that had it come out in 1974 would have dominated AOR stations and filled arenas with a massive blast of pomp and hip thrusting confidence.
Whilst the album had me nodding away with a grin from beginning to end, the slight problem I had with ‘Something Supernatural’ was that so much of it made me not think of the album I was listening to, but what it reminded me of. That may well be my problem with the better part of four decades listening to hard rock to my name; newcomers to the scene without my baggage would probably enjoy the album far more as something new to them. In that respect, Crobot may just be the right gateway band to attract those who dabble in the occasional bit of rock care of QOTSA or Wolfmother into something heavier and less likely to get commercial airplay, and for that, they are to be commended. Whether they bring anything new to the world of hard rock is another thing.
(7/10 Spenny)
Leave a Reply