Fresh Harvest #4.
Black Tree Suns – Plymouth, England, United Kingdom.
Imagine a hybrid between the tried and tested Grunge of Alice In Chains or Pearl Jam and the moody melodies and sharp riffage of Stone Sour. Imagine calm drum beats, mellow guitar riffs, sweet little harmonies and pain stricken vocals. This is what Plymouth four-piece Black Tree Suns have deliciously cooked up thus far.
With ‘Faded Storm’ the bands rhythmically plod along these calm croon filled pavements before a chaotic, discordant and almost psychedelic flutter on the guitar barely seems in time but at the same time is alongside the tortured lyrics and an obvious influence from Stone Sour.
The majoritively chilled melodies and soft, echoic instrumentals make this a must-listen if you’ve got the blues, or if you just like quiet and calm but deep Alternative Rock.
However, as much as this is clearly where the band see themselves in some ways, with ‘Make A Change’ they take both a lyrical and compositional run of steroids where a far faster Punk and Grunge led track cathartically bursts from its confines without sacrificing the hinted melodic staple sound of Black Tree Suns.
Black Tree Suns: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // SoundCloud // Reverbnation
Dragged In – Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Old-school Hardcore five-piece Dragged In hail from Toronto and bring both the heavy riffs and anger-fuelled vocals to the table with their two EPs, aptly named EP1 and EP2.
Touching on the struggles of finding purpose in everyday life, they do it perfectly with their Black Flag-esque Hardcore Punk and thrashing riffs.
Speaking of Black Flag, the band’s legacy has transcended both the new vibrant world of Punk-Rock and a host of other “alternative” genres and much of this influence can be heard here with the tendency Dragged In have towards to a more Stoner Rock and sludge-esque sound.
EP1 and its visceral and brutally honest and felt Punk was shortly followed by EP2 later in 2016. The first track ‘Burning Inside’ continues this heart on your sleeve approach reminiscent of the other band of Black Flag’s drummer Bill Stevenson, Only Crime.
The melodic guitar lines of both EPs indeed elude to a dark and sometimes more metallic sound but also stand tall on slower tracks such as ‘Until It Kills’ where they are the driving force.
Seemingly like most bands coming out of Toronto at the moment, this really is right up my alley.
Dragged In: Facebook // bandcamp
Crazy Bones – Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Toronto trio Crazy Bones are a fine example of edgy and original music. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Ramones and The Cramps and warping it to their needs, they have trippy Stoner Rock down to a tee.
The sultry Nirvana-style guitar and bluesy vocals gel perfectly, creating a warped space-age soundtrack with cracking art work that couldn’t match it more.
Crazy Bones take their Garage Punk charm and youthful brashness and apply the groove they crave. One moment you hear a union of Garage Punk and Surf and then some sort of Stoner gloom that is ironic in its playful abandon.
It’s bluesy, grungy and little bit psychedelic. The release of their EP Cosmic Drips is an acid trip in itself where the confines of genre have really been broken. I can really only say little as you must hear it to believe it.
Crazy Bones: Facebook // SoundCloud // bandcamp
Crazy Bones can also be found on Spotify
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