I actually had Spotify recommend this album to me after listening to my last few MDM picks. The most accurate thing I've seen so far in relation to Belgian Alt. Rock band Creature With The Atom Brain is that they're the Belgian equivalent of Queens of the Stone Age. Things never get as heavy as a QOTSA record, but the same stylistic ideas and fuzziness are there. The Birds Fly Low is the bands third album, continuing in their tradition of "fuzzy stripped-back Rock 'N' Roll noise with a generous helping of weird." It's just good ol' Rock 'n' Roll, bringing some great new riffs, vocal melodies and interesting beats into the fold from a place you wouldn't expect to rock so hard.
It's definitely weird, and dips into Stoner Rock and Psychedelic territory all over this record, like on Slide. Things get real weird on the bonus track R-Frequency, doesn't stop it from being fun. Tracks like the album openers Hit The Sky and Wolf Eye are reminiscent of 70's-era hard rockers, and follow similar themes. Lead singer/guitarist/keys player Aldo Struyf's vocals have a really nice grit to them. He sings pretty clean, but that layer of grit riding underneath is something I've come to really dig in hard rock. Black Rider Run features a guest vocal from Screaming Trees frontman/QOTSA collaborator Mark Lanegan, and the track is just...perfect Stoner Rock, with Lanegan bringing his haunting, barely there vocals to what would otherwise be a fun romp. The track Nightlife is definitely my favorite on the album, with a driving beat that just sticks with me, and that riff I find myself humming all day, and right after that, the raucous Red River.
This album is just a weird, fun, rockin' good time.
Spotify
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