Dark Green is the fourth release from Montreal-based stoner/psych/prog act Tumbleweed Dealer and follows their 2016 album TDIII - Tokes, Hatred & Caffeine. If you read our review eight years ago, you might remember that we mentioned their sound at the time combined elements of stoner rock, heavy psych, progressive rock, and jam influences, and here on Dark Green that is all still in place, although right from the outset of "A Distant Figure in the Fog", a dark prog vibe, bordering on krautrock, is in full swing. Ominous keyboard sounds, jagged guitars, and very busy drum work permeate the arrangement, and that continues on into the excellent "Sparks Adrift in the Louisiana Nightsky", complex with intricate little guitar flurries, booming bass, acrobatic drumming, and layers of keys. I just love the grooves so far on this album...really well done, and brings you right into the arrangements. "A Plant That Thinks It's Human" features some accessible synth riffing soaring over the top of more of those catchy grooves, and the bass pulls you right in on the horn-laden "Becoming One With the Bayou". The band gets all quirky and complicated on the busy "Dragged Across the Wetlands", while the title track, which is also one of the longer pieces here, reminds once again of the early '70s German prog/krautrock scene. "Ghosts Dressed in Weeds" features a hip hop vocal from Ceschi Ramos along with some horns...musically it's fine, but I find the vocals stick out like a sore thumb here. "Body of the Bog" though is pretty terrific, as insistent drumming and layers of tremolo-picked guitars open up, leading to more of those groovy acrobatic drums, horns, organ, and noodly guitar lines.
Overall, an enjoyable album from Tumbleweed Dealer, an album that's totally not your run of the mill psych/prog/stoner release and not afraid to take chances and do something different. Oh, and the cover art is damn glorious!
Album Band Line Up:
Seb Painchaud-Bass and Guitars
Angelo Fata- Drums and Percussions
Jean-Baptiste Joubaud-Synths & Programming
Guest Musicians:
Antoine Baril-Mellotron, Hammond Organ & Keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 & 10
Guillaume Audette-Wurlitzer, Rhodes and Church Organ on tracks 8 & 10
Jocelyn Couture-Trumpet & Flugel Horn on tracks 4, 5, 7 and 9
Loïc Roy-Turgeon-Trombone on tracks 4 and 5
Zach Strouse-Saxophone on track 6
And special guest star Ceschi Ramos as himself on track 7
Track Listing
1.
A Distant Figure In The Fog 02:52
2.
Sparks Adrift In The Louisiana Nightsky 03:36
3.
A Plant That Thinks It's Human 03:31
4.
Becoming One With The Bayou 03:21
5.
Dragged Across The Wetlands 02:56
6.
Dark Green 04:51
7.
Ghosts Dressed In Weeds 05:16
8.
Moss On The Mind 03:04
9.
Body Of The Bog 06:25
10.
A Soul Made Of Sludge 03:41
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