IN REVIEW: Turbowolf - "The Free Life"

-

Perhaps among the lesser known bands (in North America, at least) in the bass-heavy hard rock scene that claims Royal Blood and Death From Above as its top talent, Turbowolf have already proven themselves to be more adventurous than most of their peers through two loud, fuzzed out records.

For The Free Life, their third and supremely noisy record, they've gone out and enlisted assistance from their most high-profile peers; Sebastien Grainger of Death From Above appears on the swaggering single Cheap Magic, while Royal Blood's Mike Kerr shows up on previous single Domino. That these genre heavyweights lend their talents to the record can only help Turbowolf's stature, and it's completely justified. In turn, there are also guest appearances by up and coming artists; Idles' Joe Talbot and Vodun's Chantal Brown lend vocals to Capital X and Very Bad, respectively, adding even more flavour to the already delicious grooves.

The most striking thing about The Free Life (and, if we're being honest, Turbowolf in general) is its energy; once this record gets started, there isn't much slowing it down until its closing track (the aptly titled Concluder). The energy level is high throughout, and the band brings pummeling riffs and delightfully warped melodies early and often. The spacey Halfsecret is afforded a little room to breathe, but the ruling majority of songs are high-energy rockers with substantial low ends.

If you count Royal Blood among modern rock's saviours, you're doing yourself a disservice by ignoring their very loud neighbours; with The Free Life, Turbowolf not only prove they are every bit as worthy of your attention, but also distinguish themselves as one of modern hard rock's most intriguing bands.

March 9, 2018 • SO Recordings
Highlights Capital X • Cheap Magic • Domino

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IN REVIEW: Surf Curse - "Magic Hour"

-
Image
  After a slow ascent that saw them self-release their first three albums over the course of six years, Surf Curse found fame in the way that so many young and hungry bands do in this modern age; Freaks , written in 2011 and originally released on their debut Buds in 2013, found itself a sudden smash after soundtracking memes on TikTok in 2020, eventually garnering over 200 million streams and earning the group a major label contract.  The first album following their breakthrough, Magic Hour finds plenty of changes in store for fans; now expanded to a four-piece, this album immediately sets itself apart from previous releases based on the fuller sound in the songs alone. Couple that with a step away from the lo-fi aesthetic that played a part in earlier releases and this is obviously going to be a different experience than people may have hyped themselves up for. That said, the crunchy, energized Arrow and the lush, dreamy Cathy combine for a very strong start even as they fly in the
Read more

Gallantly Streaming: Avenged Sevenfold Go Full On 90's With Familiar, Stunning Results

-
Image
Stream Avenged Sevenfold's Hail To The King here , courtesy iTunes. As uncool and un-hipsterish as it may be for me to admit on a blog, I'm a fan of Avenged Sevenfold. Their breakthrough album City of Evil and its blistering lead single Bat Country sucked me in, and their varied, multiple era sprawling attack kept me around waiting for more. Their 2007 self titled effort was just as strong in its shameless genre hopping, planting their feet firmly in the technical metal that endeared them to so many while reaching out to explore new sounds. With that said, I felt 2010's Nightmare was a step back; while it had some genuinely thrilling moments, it overall lacked some of the adventurousness that made them so interesting. Upon listening to Hail To The King 's title track for the first time, I was admittedly disappointed by its trite lyrics and (mostly) simplistic musicianship. However, repeated exposure has helped the track age well; once you get past the lyrics
Read more

Year in Rock 2023: Honorable Mentions

-
Image
  Well, well, well. If it isn't Sound Bites temporarily coming back to life, suspiciously close to the end of the year. That must only mean one thing; well, aside from the author being supremely lazy and neglectful to his blog yet again. Yes, dear reader, it's time for Year in Rock. Look, I'm out of excuses as to why I can turn from cranking out content at a record pace to a full year of radio silence; suffice to say, this blog certainly isn't a priority in my life (which I have been rebuilding since my last post, but that's all personal stuff I have no desire to steal bandwidth from more deserving and important things). Sound Bites will continue to exist as a mausoleum for my personal music tastes, but it's not pivoting into self-help territory, nor is it roaring back to full-time status. I'll check in periodically, so as to say when there's something worth sharing. It might be once a year, it might be more frequently, but I definitely won't be gett
Read more