Review: Driftwood Pyre - Driftwood Pyre

Driftwood Pyre hail from Minneapolis in the US and were, in part, born from the ashes of First Communion Afterparty, the former band of mainman Liam Watkins. Whilst the band name may have changed and new members recruited, Driftwood Pyre have retained the same hazy take on garage/psych, but possibly a tad more 'mainstream' (and please don't take that as a criticism!). The result is the wonderful, self-titled album released by the equally wonderful EXAG Records of Belgium back in November.

The album gets off to a cracking start with 'Man On A Wire' and its garagey vibe and ringing guitar....it's The Velvet Underground if they played straight rawk'n'roll. 'The Day Nico Died' has thumping drums, echo-laden vocals and some warm, fuzzy guitars that give the track a Jesus and Mary Chain feel and it fair rattles along at a pace. 'Comatose' slows the tempo down and once again the VU comparison seems apt...it has the slowburn of 'Heroin' but soon turns into a more anthemic number with traces of early Charlatans (UK). 'Creation' sees the band travel back to the sixties with some dreamy psych and has some lovely vocal harmonies which only reinforces the 'retro' feel. 'Take Me To Your God' starts with some ace drone before reverb-soaked guitars kick in giving it a hazy psych feel that would not be out of place on Fuzz Club's 'Reverb Conspiracy' comps....probably my fave on the album. 'MAD' sees some organ joining the fun embueing the album with a nostalgic atmosphere. The guitars especially on this track are great....swirling and insistent. 'Karmaceutical' again benefits from some clear, ringing guitars while 'Keep On Moving On' is a more relaxed garage revival number straight from the Paisley Underground scene of the eighties. 'Paper Petals' has a very Stones like guitar introduction before said guitar warps into psych mode over some plaintive vocals and rock-solid drums. 'Super Moon' is an acoustic guitar based number but the treated vocals, way down in the mix and dripping with delay, raise this way above 'singer/songwriter' acoustic fare. Album closer 'Great High Line Heist' is also the longest track at over seven minutes (the average length of the preceeding tracks is about three and a half mins)and is ostensibly a mid-tempo psych number but is more complex than the shorter songs.....variations in tempo, cameos from acoustic and electric guitar, some spacey synth effects and breakdowns which seem to 'reset' the track....lovely stuff indeed!

This is a great album, artfully mixing garage and psych without sounding the least bit contrived. The songwriting is intelligent and meaningful and overall it is an album that takes the listener on a journey from modern day back to the sixties via the eighties. It is a worthy addition to any labels roster, so kudos to EXAG for getting in quick. The album is available from the EXAG website or the bandcamp page.