Borracho - Splitting Sky

(CD, Private, 2011)

Washington DC’s BORRACHO remind me of ROLLERBALL’s case which, fortunately, I had to deal with last year; the story is pretty much the same though: they both play Stoner Rock, spitting heavy Rock tunes with passionate reading, mixed with a generous dose of MELVINS’ mood. I discovered this band by accident a couple of weeks before, when I was searching for new videos in YouTube. It’s amazing how interesting stuff you might get there if you are searching right. Well, Noah, Steve, Tim and Mario teamed up 4 years ago and “Splitting Sky” is the debut album, released from their webpage, served with a ‘salty taste’ of tequila on top. You still don’t get it, do you?

It is true that nowadays is a hard time for newbies out there, so BORRACHO decided to go solo, meaning to release their material via the internet making it available for free to anyone who would visit their page and discover their powerful, rousing music. You see, there are zillions bands that want to start to be involved with the music industry, admittedly a task not easy at all. So, the best way to be known at first (and famous secondary) in 2011 is via the magic and mysterious world of internet.

Besides the dynamic artwork of “Splitting Sky” and the well-served package which combines monstrous doses of groove, Stoner guitar riffs and badass drumming, BORRACHO prove to the maximum that they have got plenty of ideas, well-played themes and most of all, skills, able to be compared to the first-builders FU MANCHU or NEBULA for example. Of course, they didn’t ‘reinvent the wheel’. Nevertheless, the catchy riff and the groovy rhythm of “Concentric Circles” is the proof for my saying, while Noah’s comfort behind the mic is way obvious, knowing exactly what he is doing.

And these are not the only goodies here; many people complain that Stoner Rock lacks of guitar solos. ‘Not’, I would like to add here, since BORRACHO got everything. Listen to “Bloodsucker” which comes next; the numb guitars have nothing to jealous from other Stoner boulders, the vocals have the perfect proportion of phlegm, while few short-cut solos roam here and there, creating a KYUSS-esque ‘party’ atmosphere.

Of course, we have to deal with some CLUTCH influences too; “Grab The Reins”, “All In Play” and “Grinder” aren’t afraid to admit it, since Noah’s throat adopts Neil Fallon’s ‘quirks’, while the closing “Plunge / Return” shows the way to the locker room, winking meaningfully that more material will follow soon.

The final question is: ‘are BORRACHO able to split the sky in two?’ Well, I think they just did it. Check their web page asap.

8/10

Links:

www.BorrachoMusic.Com
www.MySpace.Com/BorrachoRockswww.Twitter.Com/Borracho_Dc
www.FaceBook.Com/BorrachoDC

Tracklist:

01. Redemption
02. Concentric Circles
03. Bloodsucker
04. Grab The Reins
05. All In Play
06. Never Get It Right
07. Grinder
08. Plunge/ Return

Lineup:

Noah Greenburg - Vocals, Guitar
Steve Fisher - Lead Guitar
Tim Martin - Bass
Mario Trubiano - Drums

Written by Maria Voutiriadou Saturday, 16 July 2011 22:39