Imagine, just for a second, if Queens of the stone age had been fronted by Lee Renaldo and possessed a deep love of Nick Cave and you’ll have some kind of idea as to the twisted world Coyotes Dessert inhabit. As dry as animal bones bleached white by the sun, as gnarly as the curled, arthritic fingers of a long-term barstool inhabitant and possessed of a dirty groove that gives need to a shower after any serous exposure, Coyotes Dessert are a hard-liquor swilling, hard-living outfit of ultimate bad-asses just waiting to take your soul to use as currency with the devil.
‘Roaming’, with its briefly crooned intro, is, in fact, a gas-gargling beast with huge riffs, taut drums and an awkward angular groove that sounds like ‘Rated R’ being brutalised by Black Sabbath. It’s quite an introduction to the band and sets a swaggering stoner tone that lasts across the 14 tracks on offer here. ‘Spirituality’ sees the band laying down that Nick Cave connection, with nimble guitar, ominous bass and Julien Delaye’s sinister baritone all sent spinning into increasingly psychotic territory via scuzzy riffs and alt-rock scruffage. ‘Devil dance’, in contrast, is an all-guns-blazing blast of punk-infused metal with vocals delivered in a series of barks and the guitars fizzing with mischievous intent. It’s a cool song and picks up the pace of the album following the mid-paced psychedelia of the opening pair of tracks. ‘My Belly’ is a twisted, funky piece of work that sounds like a cross between Butthole Surfers and Primus with a touch of Mike Patton magic thrown in for good measure. ‘The river’ is a surging slice of fried rock that defies easy categorisation thanks to its endless stylistic shifts, although its pounding bass lines certainly echo QOTSA at their most insistent. Next up, ‘ a lady’ offers up frazzled guitar work which bears all the hallmarks of having been tampered with by Jane’s addiction even as Julien sounds increasingly like he’s preaching in some wood-lined southern church rather than fronting a rock ‘n’ roll band. ‘Goodbye letter’ fades in on a grungy note before heading back into pure QOTSA territory with its languid soloing and stabs of grinding guitar, its hypnotic beat the perfect backing for Julien’s warm, rich tones.
Kicking into an altogether more active groove, ‘Succubus’ is a slab of potent, toxic blues, all pummelling percussion and slithery guitars. It’s a cool song that cruises along nicely on its grinding bass riffs and interlocking guitar riffs and it highlights the mastery Coyotes Dessert have attained of heavy, psychedelic rock. ‘Nostalgia’ is an odd beast, all swirling guitars, rich, crooning vocals and a throbbing bass that prowls around in the dark with sinister intent. ‘Bring me down’ is a perfect potential single with the band’s unhinged guitar work still very much on display, albeit in a reigned-in form that allows Julien’s varied vocal style to shine through the mix. ‘Apollo Creed’ is a similarly addictive slab of herbally-enhanced rock with a wicked melody that sits calmly in the memory until you either have to remove it from your mind with alcohol, or surrender and put the darn record on again. Opting for a sludgy trudge into heavier pastures, ‘need a rescue’ is the sort of unholy blues you’d expect from Grinderman whilst ‘rejunevation’ is a hard-hitting blast of whiskey-soaked rock music with a potent attitude. Closing track ‘Divine’ leaves the album on a high with its cyclical riff and earth-shaking percussion providing the perfect backdrop for one last bout of tarry vocals before the album spins to a halt.
The Coyotes Dessert are a band who ooze cool. From Julien’s smooth vocal delivery to Yves Terzibachian’s acid-soaked guitar lines, the band offer a refreshingly warped take on the QOTSA template, drawing from a wide variety of sources from Nick Cave to Sabbath in search of the ultimate killer riff. An album that boasts endless replay value thanks to the band’s off-the-wall playing, ‘The wedding’ is a must for all fans of herbally-enhanced rock with an edge.
Find out more here: http://www.thecoyotesdessert.com/
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