Rating: *****
boWsER are a hard rock band from Australia that has gained comparisons to one of my all-time favorite bands, Queens of the Stone Age. That's some serious pressure to live up to in my opinion. I mean, I've always said, "If I had a rock band, and they could sound like any current band, I'd want them to sound like Queens of the Stone Age." So in a sense, I'm excited to check their sophomore album "Whispers From the Wicker Man" out, but I'm also nervous for them. Will they live up to the hype?
I have 11 rock and roll tracks to listen to and digest so I'm gonna hop right to it. I have generously left the link to view their music video right here in this browser tab so you don't even have to leave. Just watch it and then right after that read what I thought about the whole album and you can decide for yourself if the new boWsER joint is worth a test drive for yourself.
Watch the video for "Supersonic" on Youtube below:
When the album starts with the Franz Ferdinand on decaf fun of "Easy" you know The album starts with "Renegade" and I immediately get the QOTSA comparisons. It's tuned down and dark without yielding any melody and it makes for a really solid start to the album. Dope stuff here. "Caught the Raisin" is next and it's another jam. This one adds a degree of funk to the mix and it works well here. This reminds me of early Queens (I hate to keep going back to that comparison but it's there) and I'm here for it. "People in the TV" and "Supersonic" are both highlights for me, with the ladder sounding like a mix between Kings X and Faith No More. A great choice for a lead-off single, though any of these could be to this point. Really great album to this point. "Chemicals" is a solid album track, while "Animals" takes a cue from Primus with its unrelenting bass. "Killed a Roman" is another funky one and I like the band in this space musically. So far there hasn't been a bad tune on this album and most of these are just killer. "Wicker Man" captures the campy vibe of the horror classic (both of them actually) perfectly. This band rocks. "Count Static" continues the QOTSA-inspired theme. I could totally see Joshua Homme rocking this one out. "All About the Money" is the penultimate track and ends up being one of my favorite tracks on the entire record. I actually listened to it twice before moving on to the final track, "Fault Lines". This one has a decidedly poppier sound than most of the other tunes on the album and could be a good choice for a single at some point, though they have plenty of choices there. Totally blown away by this one.
