QUICK HIT: Shotgun Sawyer's "8 Bangers"

Fresh stoner/blues produce from the Auburn, California trio of Brett, Dylan, and David, better known as Shotgun Sawyer, has just been released on a split EP with fellow rockers BandMaster Ruckus. The split is appropriately titled "8 Bangers". Shotgun Sawyer's 4 contributions are sticky sweet, gingerbush salty, and euphorically addictive, hallmarks all of their entire, if brief and budding, atheneum.

You might recall that last August Reviewmeister Pete posted a review of Shotgun Sawyer's incredible LP "Thunderchief", one of the best rock album's of that year, or any year. A follow up in a mere six months is an unexpected and welcome treat, a high octane scratch for an ever-urgent itch.

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Nuclear Dog's Atomic Split: Wight - "Through the Woods Into Deep Water / Wake Up Lucid - "Feel It"

Wight - "Through the Woods Into Deep Water"

Hailing from Darmstadt, Germany, Wight is a band that has already made a mark on the psychedelic/doom music world with the past release of the excellently named "Wight Weedy Wight" and a split release with Stone Axe that includes a really cool live recording of  the song "Wight Weedy Wight". In July they released their second full length album, "Through the Woods Into Deep Water", a spaced out name for a wonderfully spaced out jam of an album. Wight have managed to pack 9 deliciously crunchy and colorful psych/doom songs into this adventurous compilation of heart and skill. These songs are meant for total immersion into audio sensory overload, so to reap the full effect of the unique and diverse melodies on offer with 'Through the Woods' I recommend you slap on your noise cancelling headphones and remove all other forms of stimulus in order to maximize the effect of the aural onslaught Wight have provided on these 9 masterful, musical creations. You will be treated to some shrewd music making, with mouth watering guitars, huge, driving bass, and skillfull, clever drums, not to mention songs that don't strictly conform to traditional structure, freeing them up to explore interesting and unusual places, all leading to an experience that begs for a commitment beyond initial familiarity. The instruments are immense, the musicians are committed, and the songs are an enjoyable journey through a colorful musicscape of immense proportions.

Band members:

Rene - vocals and guitar
Peter - bass
Michael - drums





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Wake Up Lucid - "Feel It"

Edgy, bluesy, gutsy music defines the third album release from Los Angeles' Wake Up Lucid. The trio of cousins that make up the band have coalesced a collection of songs that are striking and original, while paying their debt to influences and style. The songs tend to be both stripped bare of all but the most essential elements required for their kick ass sound as well as being incredibly dense with nuanced riffs, rich and full rhythms, and pleasingly structured melodies. Initially you might compare the music to the White Stripes, due to the similarity in cousin Ryan's vocals to those of Jack White, as well as the pair's guitar work, and there no doubt is an influence there, but the  Baca cousins have provided much more than White Stripes wanna be music here. You can hear their life in this music, the experiences they've had, their viewpoint of what the world means to them in these raw, but adept melodies. They present a rich and braided texture to each song, making sure to rock the roll first, drawing you in, where you are sure to come upon numerous and varied riff passages ripe with bluesy edges, primal chord progressions, minimal and clean bass riffs, and salty trap attacks. The title track is a rock and roll tour de force, brimming with fuzz laced riffage as Ryan belts out a banshee vocal assault. Many of the songs are measured at a deliberate pace, neither high speed energy nor slow ballad, providing a powerful collection of mid tempo rock standards that seem to accentuate the guitar work, such as the songs "Death Valley", "When I Come Around", "Facepaint", and "Rising Tide", while "Fame" and "Arms" bring you back around to a higher tempo, fast driving, hard bluesy edge at a higher pace.

Wake Up Lucid bring originality, uniqueness, and heart to this superb collection of ass kicking rock.

Ryan Baca - Vocals / Guitar
Ian Baca - Bass
Jamie Baca - Drums




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