IN REVIEW: Turbowolf - "Two Hands"

 

Coming three and a half years or so after a self-titled debut that turned some heads on their home turf, Turbowolf's second album gives more insight as to why they've been referred to in some circles as the saviors of rock n' roll. Opener Invisible Hand gets the album going at a furious pace that turns into a mean, half speed monster before coasting into lead single Rabbits Foot, an elastic track that's full of heavy groove. Solid Gold follows, a chugging, fuzzed out track with processed children's vocal effects and cheesy backup vocals that end up resulting in a bizarrely charming track tries to finds commonalities between Royal Blood and Kasabian. Current single Nine Lives has strut, swagger and a massive sound to match its spectacular video. The album doesn't lose much steam until its second half, which finds the band stretching out their songs in length and scope. It gets no less intense, though; Twelve Houses pummels its way toward the five minute mark, while Rich Gift pushes disorienting volume levels and muscular riffage for the bulk of its seven minutes.

Two Hands runs an impressive gamut from psych to punk and several points in between; the songs are consistently unpredictable, evoking memories of The Mars Volta, Primal Scream and Queens of the Stone Age (sometimes all at once) among others. Eclectic, spastic and thoroughly entertaining, this is a record that has no shortage of ideas or thrills.

April 6, 2015 (UK) • Spinefarm

Highlights Rabbits Foot • Nine Lives • Rich Gift