Think Jefferson Airplane meets Saint Vitus on the latest from Portland, Oregon doom act Witch Mountain, titled Mobile of Angels. With the mesmerizing vocals of Uta Plotkin sounding like the second coming of Grace Slick, the rest of the band churn out bulldozing riffs and crushing rhythms over which she can soar over. This is truly heavy, heavy stuff, with just the right amount of blues & psych elements to make things really interesting. Opener "Psycho Animundi" just levels everything in its path, guitarist Rob Wrong laying down some massive riffing alongside the elephantine bass grooves of Charles Dingus. Plotkin weaves her magical vocal deliver in and out of the waves of power chords, and it's not hard to be completely swept away by her performance here. She's a bit more bluesy on the slow, menacing death march that is "Can't Settle", as drummer Nathan Carson pounds away underneath some seriously slow mountains of fuzz. They dial it back even further on "Your Corrupt Ways (Sour the Hymn)", a slow blues piece with doom elements that puts them in similar territory to new sensation Blues Pills, with Plotkin soaring to the heavens as she gives it all she has. The title track is easily the most psychedelic track on the album, a chilling number that sees multiple guitar effects drifting through the mix while Uta lends her mystical vocalizations. Witch Mountain finishes up the album with the alluring "The Shape Truth Takes", another bluesy slow builder, as Plotkin drops in emotional vocals over simmering riffs and a scorching guitar solo from Wrong.
This is really strong stuff, and while I would have liked the band to throw in a few more uptempo pieces (the last three songs kind of fall into the same tempo), there's no denying just how good this band really is. They are making the rounds out on the road with Nik Turner's Hawkwind this Fall here in the States, so if you get a chance go out and see what they are all about in a live setting.
Track Listing
1) Psycho Animundi
2) Can't Settle
3) Your Corrupt Ways (Sour the Hymn)
4) Mobile of Angels
5) The Shape Truth Takes
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