Release Date: 5th July 2010

Label: Buddy Head

How can you avoid staring at a kaleidoscope of faces emerging from a dark abyss on the front of an album sleeve? It’s just mesmerising. To avoid getting completely lost I listened to the music but will never forget the cover art.

Joel Morales (Guitar/voice); John Paul Caballero (bass); Edwin Kampwirth (keys, percussion) and Patrick Vasquez (Drums) are the merged faces you can see on the front of the album We Are Dios. You might (as I did) think that ‘Epileptic Tunnel Visions’ as the title of a first song isn’t very in keeping with the ironic simplicity of track titles used in today’s music trend machine. And if you told these guys they’d probably point you to the back door because they are being deliberate. Also they don’t give a shit. The album opens like an ancient horn call before the harmonies meld with bucket loads of reverberation. The tracks do lack that all important third testicle that bands such as Queens Of The Stone Age sell their music on, but the opening track does offer instrumental touches (Tabla, a large deep horn and softly played organ melodies).

The second track, ‘Ojay’ is a combination of straight down the line popular rock with choice psychedelic spurts of colour. These elements are not thrown in to prove a point but are chiselled in carefully. Past influences leak through without apology on tracks such as ‘Stare at Wheel’ which is cuttingly reminiscent of The Beatles and The Beach Boys. This band’s translation of their heroes is built into a framework of well practiced lyricism and musicianship. The clarity of delivery and convincing purchase on the psalms of oak aged popular rock music suggests long hours spent in rehearsal rooms into the early hours of the morning. ‘Tell Me Thing’ sent me to sleep. The remaining tracks are pleasingly psychedelic and to a certain extent owe penance to Neil Young and Pink Floyd. I like their website and on-line gaffs in spite of their music, but that’s no reason to rate them.

3 out of 10     

Posted In Album Reviews, Jul 15 2010. Words - Phillip