HARD CHARGIN'

Ahhhhhhh...another album by my beloved Dreadnaught. This is a good era for the band's fans, the long hiatus after the excellent Musica En Flagrante ended as we got two EPs that came out in 2013 and 2015 and now a full album with all new material. Style wise I can say the band has stayed put, if you heard any of their recent EPs, Hard Chargin' won't be any different, they keep on that cool southern american country thing going on while mixing it with a funky vibe and some weirdness all meshed together creating a wild and unique style of their own. There are tons of different ideas here, they like jumping from one to the other before you'll get too comfortable in your seat, this is 100% progressive and they do it while still keeping everything super super groovy! Their unique unmatched sound is also present, the everlasting crunchy tones of Justin Walton and Bob Lord mixed together so perfectly sometimes you can't tell where one begin and the other end, they also add keys and saxophone to the mix contributing to a fuller sound. Rick Habib is of course in good shape turning these guys into a very powerful trio. The playing is of course top notch and complex, this will take several spins to fully comprehend, although they are as far as being technical as you can think of, there are about a million notes flying all over through different layers of sounds, when they really kick it into gear you know they are trully one of the best bands out there.

The album begins with a couple of rockers, which is about the most conventional as you're gonna get from this album, although they are short (only 3 minutes) they are both very intricate, going through several ideas, especially check out Gaudy Baubles, the playing is just amazing, there is so much going on in there, it's kinda hard grasping what the hell is that you're listening to. Even in the next 1 minute track these guys are letting it all loose, jumping from heavy riffing to bizzare vocals and even a short manic solo by Walton which is on fire already at this point. Takin' A Ride With The Fat Man is the next 8 minute track, although this one lets you breath for a while it doesn't really say the trio has calmed down in any way, on the contrary they now have more room to mess with you, that's the place where they unleash their weirdest sounds, and go flying away somewhere half way through, this song again has so much going on it's hard to fully describe in words. Express Delight is going into my list of favorite Dreadnaught tracks, starting with that insane intro where distorted guitar sounds go together with a calm saxophone and flute under a fuzzy dirty bass, fantastic! the tension rises and breaks into this intricate rhythm with sax and keys, beautiful! it continues from there on and on, just check out the playing here, Walton and Lord are really nailing it there, how are they coming with those noises an phrases I will never know. Slave Girls offers another progy tune jumping through several ideas now adding a violin to the party, classic stuff! The stage is set in Mummies Of The Cobbosseecontee where they can delve into more experimental territories, this is maybe their longest song to date clocking over at 10 minutes. The intro is fantstic, very much like something from the Musica En Flagrante album. Piano, keys and drums all mixed together in an avant garde kind of theme, it then blows away and continues, It's a race car of crazy guitar licks and odd bass lines sounds, Killer stuff all the way.

Dreadnaught continues to release high quality material after all these years, and it just puzzles me how all this time and they are still pretty much unknown even in the archives. Do your self a favor and get to know this band! 4.5 stars rounded down this time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!