A lot more mono(metallic)chromatic than most of the MeteorCity hopheads, and a little confusing at first. The hypenotes compare Mushroom River Band to Entombed, Motorhead, and Fu Manchu, neglecting to mention that latter-day Entombed sounds a lot like Motorhead and Fu Manchu. So this basically sounds like … Entombed. Now, Entombed recorded one of the only early death metal albums I still listen to (Left Hand Path) and the only pertinent death’n’roll album (the Hollowman EP, which is more concise and focused than Wolverine Blues.) So, sounding like them is not at all a bad thing. (A case could be made for, “OK, but why?” but I’m swnging with the determinism right now, so I’ll move past it.) This album roars and crackles and pops, and it’s cool but not all that paradigm-shifting. Until you get about three songs in, and it starts hittin’ like a fucker. The riffs get rockier, the vocals get…ummm… singy-er, (though Spice keeps that scorched earth timbre) and the whole thing starts sounding less like Entombed and more like the dream Entombed/Hellacopters confab that every newjack on the planet wants to see happen. Still not paradigm-shifting, per se, but awesomely fun and flat-out cool as shit. Fourth song “Change It” rocks so good that I was moved to pour out my Taylor Fladgate and crack a PBR. And that’s pretty much the channel for the rest of the disc. Black leather toilet cakes and tie-dyed bondage. A Stooges-in-Gothenburg gangbang that reminds the listener of chrome-spiked backseat atrocities. (Or maybe that’s just me.) MeteorCity’s slogan is “the best rock ever,” and bands like Nebula, Atomic Bitchwax, and Mushroom River Band are most definitely bringing the noise. Simsalabim has zero of the psychedelic effects (or affectations) of many of their labelmates, but it’s the heaviest nugget yet from a truly kick-ass label. Rockommended! Knockin’ you out with my American thighs.

[Visit the band's website]

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