published: 24 /
10 /
2007
Label:
Small Stone Records
Format: CD
Unashamedly retro latest album from excellent stoner rock outfit Mos Generator who take as a blueprint the classic 70's heavy metal sounds of bands such as Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy
Review
In a postmodern world, looking backward has as much value as looking forwards. Mos Generator are unashamedly staring the 70's straight in its bloodshot eye, and doing a damn fine job of it too – 'Songs For Future Gods' reeks of the classic tropes of heavy metal, before spandex and perms sent everything pear-shaped.
The usual postmodernist take on musical genres is to update them somehow; to rob the clothes and leave the flesh behind, like dressing up in your parents' wardrobe relics for a night out. Irony, pastiche, the knowing smugness of the culture vulture ... none of that from Mos Generator. Rather than simply taking the stink of 70's rock as a starting point, they've taken it as their end-point too.
Looking back at what in retrospect looks like little more than an era of bad drugs and worse fashion choices, it's easy to forget that the 70's was when heavy metal found its true voice, and penned the blueprint for the multitude of subgenres that proliferate today. The obvious canonical touchstone is always Black Sabbath, and Mos Generator's music unsurprisingly has similarities to the early sound of Ozzy's boys.
But unlike a lot of stoner rock outfits, Mos Generator have looked further afield, and 'Songs For Future Gods' features the bright melodic hooks familiar from 'lighter' bands like Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy. So you've got your strong central riffs, naturally; but it's not just about rumbling around in drop-D tunings for six minutes per song - there's dynamic motion, contrasting passages full of light and air that throw the jagged rocks of the riff valleys into sharp relief and cast long shadows deep into the songs. It's nothing new, and there's no arguing the toss about that. But it has an authenticity and attention to detail that can only be produced by skilled and dedicated craftsmen at work in a medium they love with a passion.
But I've not yet mentioned the really distinctive feature of Mos Generator yet – and that is the strong and powerful voice of singer/guitarist Tony Reed. Reed's delivery has more than a touch of familiarity about it too, at least if you're familiar with Dave “Monster Magnet” Wyndorf's better output, but juxtaposing this highly characterised and strident style against the old-school authenticity of the music itself makes for a winning combination. Reed knows that rock and roll is theatre, but that doesn't make him any less committed to belting out his lyrics as if they meant everything to him. So soak up some tall tales of being dazed and confused with your head in the outer reaches of the solar system, and luxuriate in song titles so overstated that you just can't help but smile, like 'Son of Atom Smasher' and 'Wizards of the Prophecy Pen'.
It's the perfect package for fans of the original sound, and there's plenty to enjoy for those who discovered it through the stoner resurgence of the early 90's ... and there's every sign that this sound is making yet another comeback. So perhaps Mos Generator will get the chance to launch a new generation of future gods into orbit.
Track Listing:-
1
Silver Olympus
2
NandV
3
Son of Atom Smasher
4
Wizards of the Prophecy Pen
5
Into the Long Sleep
6
Yes My Lord
7
Lumbo Rock
8
Acapulco Gold
9
Sleeping Your Way to the Middle
10
Y'Juana
11
You Feel It Until You Can't Feel Anything At All
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