By: Peter Morsellino
Album Type: Full Length
Album Type: Full Length
“Family The Smiling Thrush” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Orang of Noyn
2. Gentle Clovis
3. Hats the Mandrill
4. Smiling Thrush
5. Cecil Succulent
6. Grendle
7. Flatt Controller
The Review:
With a swirling tempest of psychedelia, Boss Keloid return with “Family the Smiling Thrush”. Crafting a sonic experience that is difficult to define, Boss Keloid provides the listener with something to think about, but not without providing the solid grooves that they have come to be known for over the years.
There is no simple way to describe the music of Boss Keloid to the uninitiated. There are elements of psychedelia intermingled with a strong progressive rock influence, backed by a heavy stoner metal groove, but the sound encompasses so much more than that. There is something completely intangible that helps Boss Keloid stand out amongst their peers, and that something is displayed in full force on “Family the Smiling Thrush”.
Songwriting is the star of the show throughout the album, with arrangements weaving intricate webs through the listener’s mind. Meticulously crafted structures rise and fall with a hard soft dynamic that gives “Family the Smiling Thrush” its mysterious sound. At times, I was briefly reminded of Tool or Mastodon, yet these comparisons fail to even breach the surface of what Boss Keloid is presenting, and in truth do the band’s music a disservice.
What comes across through the speakers here is something entirely unique. A melding of genres as vast as the sound it creates. Truly something that is greater than the sum of its parts. “Family the Smiling Thrush” is very much something that needs to be heard to be fully appreciated. Expect thoughtful passages exemplified by heavy grooves with a thick, hazy atmosphere of the unknown. Give this one a listen.
“Family The Smiling Thrush” is available HERE
