New York is a vivid and interesting place to live leading to expressionism in a way that only New Yorkers can provide. Some people from the hood are full of character and this band from Astoria, Queens, New York is of such a kind. They brought out an EP, “Maxxed”, following on from their album “Shove ‘n Love” in 2021. Recorded in Rolapola Studios, New York with Andy Baldwin at the helm and released by 558 records. Apparently, this EP was put together from previously recorded material, except “Heart of a Buffalo” which was re-recorded with the help of Wildwood recording studios, Brooklyn.
Walt ‘Sick Walt’ Novak and Max Capshaw are the founding members from 2014 and a few other musicians helped out. Their roots lie in a band called ‘Murphys Law’ that shone through with a punk influence evident.
This is an album that bristles with energy as it romps around the speakers. It opens up with the track “Oh Weh Ha” with its powerful Cult-style eerie guitars before the tom drums dance about and the raunchy guitar rhythms kick in after.
It is a solid opening track with a lot of fun involved. Into the next track, we head to that old-school New Yorker rock that gets you jumping around with both knees in the air while wearing long jean shorts with chains attached to wallets. Hold on to your bandana folks!
Walt has a powerful voice that has a solid style with well-polished edges. As we hear in “Heart of a buffalo” he has the ability to create his own chorus effect that soars to heights from down lows. Being a song about missing his hometown, he grips our emotions by the shoulders and it guides them through the lyrics. The vocal effects that take place in “Your Lies” give his voice an interesting distorted edge like teetering on the edge of a black hole, especially his laughter at the end. Perhaps the combo of simple lyrics and the particular familiar style of songs might not lend to them being stand-out songs, though digging into “Oh Weh Ha” will get you feeling perked up when feeling down.
All the guitars get to take a spot to shine on the album. In “My street” the bass has a really cool play with a whammy bar and effects as it follows on from a swamp rock guitar intro. Production allows the vocals to shine through very well and they probably tend to become the focus more than the other instruments.
This is an album that you can tuck into and loop through.
It’s great to have an album where all the songs have their own identity and features that set them apart from the rest as there are interesting aspects to each song giving you something to pick apart. Their previous album carried a lot more of a rock vibe to it but they have managed to carry their head high leading into this EP that has a slightly different identity.
Tracklist:
- Oh Weh Ha
- Truth Trader
- Heart of a Buffalo
- Your Lies
- My Street
SickWalt: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: 558 Records
Category: EP
Country: USA
Reviewed by Byron Lotz
