Hola Amigos, been a long time since I last rapped at ya about some albums I bought. Well, I bought some albums! So here’s what’s up:

Gojira : Fortitude

This is such a great band. They’re heavy, but they an interesting heavy. They’re usually something new, whether it be driving and pummeling metal or some spaced out jams, but the delivery is unique from most of their metal peers. Kinda like if Mastodon merged with late 90’s Meshuggah. It’s not really fair to compare them to anyone. They’re also not some kind of genre hopping experimental act, like Between The Buried And Me (a death metal Mr. Bungle) (I’m going to get roasted for these comparisons).

I’ve enjoyed most of their stuff to date, and I like this one, but it doesn’t get truly interesting until halfway through the album, starting with The Chant. Prior to that, much of the tracks feel like “the usual” for this band that always sounds pretty fresh in a pretty stagnant scene. Lots of start & stop with the chugging riffs broken up by the squeals of bended high notes. It’s good metal, sure, but starting with The Chant (which is very, uh, chant-y compared to the rest of the materials), to the end of the album with heavier tracks like Sphinx and Into The Storm, that’s where the band sounds the best, where all their elements merge well. Maybe I’ll start with The Chant going forward and have it loop around at he beginning of the album from now on, as my new playthrough. The first half doesn’t stand out, the 2nd half is pretty great: overall, 2 coffees up, recommended.

Frisco : Love Songs For Phantom Limbs

Hey, remember when I talked about that band Lost Goat, and mention them every chance I get? Well, one of the members, guitarist Eric, appears on this album by the bay area garage rock band Frisco. I managed to track down a copy over the weekend, so I could give it some spins beyond my half-attention on Spotify while working. Here’s a track:

This is kind of a “what if Led Zepplin had shorter songs and were fronted by Jello Biafra from the Dead Kennedys” vibe. It’s a little hit or miss – I dig songs like Shot Down (embedded above) and Gold Cutlass, but even some of the short songs seem to be a little repetitive some how and where out their welcome. I don’t dislike it, the good songs outweigh the meh. Hopefully we’ll hear more from them in the near future. A coffee & a half up.