blacktop mojo has been a renegade favorite for years. each new release from this band rises to the top for an immediate review and with each new release, my expectations grow accordingly. you see, they’ve had time to get better at their chosen craft. i am going to be harder to impress as we go. so the guys have a new self titled release and it’s time for me to go to work.
sennheiser hd280s – on. volume, lets just say “up”. now lets answer that question – did blacktop mojo show growth and maintain same feel? pretty important to me. lets hit play and see what happens.
first we take on wicked woman, their 2nd pre-release. build up, check. energy, check. the song making you say “holy fuck, dude” – check. ah hell, here we go.
bed tundy? these guys loves to move first letters around – keep that going, love it! now for the song; different feel, expanded lyrical grammar, same “ah hell” feeling with a little something new. background vocals make me smile on this one.
while i have a policy of never commenting on every song, this release will push me. rewind is about to catapult to my favorite new song and i’m only on song 4.
hell, song 5 comes along, jealousy, and competition for favorite new release has a challenger. by the interlude we have in song 6, the word “epic” crosses to my mind.
epic.
ok, enough song by song commentary from me.
now – did blacktop mojo show growth? for that, what constitutes growth? did you keep your original intent? did you build upon it by showing greater attention to the details? ALL the details? did the band show growth in style while keeping the same feel? again, very key to me in measuring growth.
well, lets see.
for the entire release, the story changes and you get pulled in. song tempos and transitions change and even the entire style at times at every instrument. each change however advances the story. you see, that’s what makes a good story grow. this is how you measure growth of a band.
you’ll cover a gambit of emotions in short order as it feels like a rollercoaster ride. you feel like you’re watching a very tight and cohesive story unfold. build up? check. tempo changes and plot twists? check. time to slow and reflect. check. bring it all back home in the end? ah hell, check.
the biggest key to me here is the transitions have shown great improvement not just in the song but how the songs are put on the release. each musician in the band does something more than they did before. these are the “details” i was talking about. these are the things you learn as you master your chosen craft.
and master it they have.
so, growth of the best kind most certainly achieved. hit their website, blacktopmojo.com, and see where you can listen and buy it. this is simply the best complete rock release i’ve heard in many years.
see you at a live show soon, guys.
8-17 update
added after i’ve had more time to just listen – lyrically, this is some of the most amazing lyrics, song after after song, i’ve ever read through. so very well done, guys.
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