Vulture Kult - Don't Let Rock N' Roll Ruin Your Life

Released: September 15, 2012

The Canadian prairies are, in the opinion of this West Coast son, like the barren mouth of hell.  Flat expanses of nothing for as far as the eye can see.  There are no mountains.  So it's no surprise that the prairies are also home to some of Canada's more aggressive bands; they need to express the darkness growing within themselves through the magic of song like Julie Andrews, but with rock and/or roll.

This is never more apparent than on Don't Let Rock n' Roll Ruin Your Life, which is the second full-length from Saskatoon riff rock duo Vulture Kult.  They bill themselves as "rock n' roll for the modern age" and they're not kidding around.  This album is like Black Sabbath's Paranoid remodelled without all the fluff; just two dudes riffing hard and fast and howling songs like Ozzy about drinking ("Cyanide Hand Grenades") and the devil ("Welcome to the Land of the Dead").  There are hints of other styles that pop up here and there to keep things fresh like the southern rock flair on the guitar lines in "Avenue H", and the percussive style throughout the album sounds like the Stooges.  The two closing tracks also stand out, as the creepy ambiance of "Movie of Me" recalls Pink Floyd, and the instrumental "Checking Out" is like a sad surf rock song.  But on the whole, this is a rocking affair that aims to make you "Go Loose".

Vulture Kult just came off a small Western Canada tour in support of Don't Let Rock n' Roll Ruin Your Life which kicked off from their album release show on Sept 15. It looks like things are only looking up for them as they continue the shake the prairies with their modern brand of straight ahead rock and roll.

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Time And Energy - Strange Kind of Focus

Release date: November 16, 2012

If someone put on Strange Kind of Focus at a party and told me that it was just two guys, I would call that person a liar because there is a ton going on in this record, far too much for just two guys and their four hands.  And then I would have to apologize because it is mean to call people liars and also because, lo and behold, Time And Energy are comprised of just Jorge Rios and Brennan Roach, both billed as playing "instruments".  Technically they do list their looping pedals (Boss RC 50, RC 20, RC 2 and a Line 6 Modular) as members but since Skynet isn't active yet, they don't count.  Yet.

Hailing from the heart of Orange Country, California, Time And Energy play a roaming experimental melange of alt-rock, pop, jazz and funk that eschews standard song structures.  They're like a slightly more restrained and mellow version of the Mars Volta.  Though they don't employ recurring choruses, they retain a strong sense of melodic flow and nicely varied instrumentation.  "Thought Forms" for example takes the bass line for a walk while the keys dance circles around the soft soulful vocals, then a dash of cowbell before the keys take the forefront with spacey frills around a melodic vocal melody reminiscent of Morning View-era Incubus, which settles into a snappy drum beat and an A.C. Newman vibe that fades into dissolving synth wave outro.  Each song on Strange Kind of Focus is just as schizophrenic (with the possible exception of "Tree Salad"), and yet they still feel like cohesive works individually, which speaks to the skillful musicianship of Rios and Roach and how well they work together as a unit.

While Strange Kind of Focus isn't due to be officially released until November 16, Time And Energy have been building an impressive amount of buzz off it already.  You can hear a full stream on their bandcamp page, and if you like it they've offered it as a pay-what-you-want download as well.

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