Karma to Burn

1. Ma Petite Mort
2. Bobbi, Bobbi, Bobbi - I'm Not God
3. Patty Hearst's Closet Mantra
4. Mt. Penetrator
5. Eight
6. Appalachian Woman
7. Twenty Four Hours
8. Six-Gun Sucker Punch
9. Thirteen
10. (Waltz of the) Playboy Pallbearers
11. Twin Sisters and Half a Bottle of Bourbon
12. Six

Rob once said something to me that holds pretty true. If you hear about a record, and the cover catches your eye each time you see it in the store, get it, it's probably genius in waiting. My latest "discovery", West Virginia's Karma to Burn is one such gem that I regret not picking up from day one. Pretty much signed to Roadrunner by a fluke (evidently a friend of the band managed to bend the right ear at RR Records...) Karma to Burn never planned to have a vocalist. John Garcia from Kyuss fame came in for a while, but that was ditched. After the label's threats to cancel the project, the band grabbed J. Jarosz, who wasn't what you would describe as a fromtman by any stretch. Forced to improvise, my ears find the illicit marriage of these two entities pure art, for personally, I feel that the vocals are an integral part of this album, filling out another tier of sound which really completes the named tracks. On the flip side though, it's also pretty easy to see that KtB could easily survive as an instrumental trio, as evidenced by the numbered tracks (six, eight, thirteen) which just soar in emotion. This has been unfairly lumped into the whole "stoner rock" genre, which just pisses me off, as that just serves to denigrate and alienate potential listeners. If I had to compare, the names Tool, Clutch, Kyuss and Wig all come to mind. Good cover of Joy Division's 24 hours further shows their area of expertise, as this is all pretty emotional stuff. Honestly, just buy it if you like any of the things I just said, you won't be disappointed.
Rumor has it that Garcia may be involved again which would be interesting to hear.
9 out of 10

Wild, Wonderful Purgatory

1. 20
2. 28
3. 30
4. 31
5. 29
6. 32
7. 25
8. 26
9. 1
10. 3
11. 7
12. 8

The story behind KtB is an interesting one, ranging from the band getting signed through a series to crank calls to the induction of their "vocalist" only upon the threat of being dropped. Well, whatever happened to work together to create their self-titled album was truly magic, for Karma to Burn is still up there with Kyuss' Sky Valley as one of the greatest rock albums in my collection. As much maligned as the vocals were, they worked there, J. Jarosz's weird sing-songy voice adding a special element to tracks that truthfully were strong enough on their own instrumentally. Well, KtB is back to their intial plan, with MIA releasing their instrumental opus stateside along with the 4 song E.P. that Roadrunner had canned in the past. Will and Richie return (guitar and bass, respectively) along with new skinsman Rob to finally show the world what they have to offer musically. What's my take? Again, there are moment where everything just clicks, but for the most part, WWP is more of a crusty rock album made by humans, where the debut was an ethereal experience created by gods. To me, this is all dependent on what the guitar is doing, because when the riffing is basic or kinda bluesy (20, 28) things are a little plain, but when the tone kicks in 29, all you wnat to do is lie back, relax and just be enveloped by the music. Granted, I haven't had the time to let WWP be absorbed to the same degree as it's predecessor, and I also had expectations for this record (always bad), I still prefer the sound that was reached on the debut, something by which I'm reminded when the last four songs burst from my speakers. An solid release from an incredible band, yet not reaching the immortality status for me.
7 1/2 out of 10