Stubb – Cry Of The Ocean

1. Part One
2. Part Two
3. Heavy Blue Sky
4. Sail Forever
5. Heartbreaker
6. Devil’s Brew
7. Snake Eyes
8. You’ll Never Know
“London’s are a band whose name has been familiar to me for many years. However, it is only with the arrival of their second LP “” that I have had a chance to familiarise myself with their intoxicating brand of heavy, fuzzed out blues rock. Within a couple of spins, I was kicking myself for not getting to know them earlier.”
“A cursory glance at the tracklisting tells you straight away that you are in safe hands. Any band that is willing to separate tracks into parts/movements/suites in true classic Prog style are obviously people of exquisite taste. “” embraces this in fine fashion, kicking off with the powerful opening salvo of Parts 1 & 2 of the title track. Part 1 begins by establishing a serene and suitably oceanic atmosphere with calm guitar and gentle toms, bringing to mind Fleetwood Mac’s classic “Albatross”. The band picks up the pace, bringing in some suitably aquatic vocals before unleashing a weighty stoner riff, demonstrating the might of at full tilt. Things slow down a little as we enter Part 2 which introduces an anthemic stomp not too dissimilar from Fleetwood Mac again, but this time in full “Rumours” pomp.”
“This strong curtain raiser features all of the winning elements that explore in more detail over the subsequent six tracks. Taking an obvious love of classic 60/70s power trio, Cream and modern disciples such as Sweden’s Kamchatka, they add a healthy dose of Kyuss desert dirt and a desire to embark on psychedelic jams akin a more grounded Earthless (whom ably supported in London recently). A stumbling block for some bands with similar influences is the vocals. There is a fine line between the soulful, raw vocals of the likes of Paul Rodgers or John Garcia and sounding like Black Stone Cherry or some terrible, overwrought X-Factor wannabe. The vocals here are thankfully firmly on the right side of this line, demonstrating a satisfying mix of tunefulness and punky enthusiasm.
The likes of “Devil’s Brew” and closer “You’ll Never Know” demonstrate the kind of hard, dirty stoner rock that have established ‘s reputation. The latter brings the album to a close in suitably epic fashion by saving the longest and wildest, overdriven, wah-drenched solo until last. A whole album of similar tracks would have still made for a great listen, but it’s the tracks where stretch out in new musical directions that leave the biggest impression here.”
“”Heartbreaker” shares more than a title with Led Zeppelin. Rather than echoing the powerful riffing of that classic track, this brings to mind the folkier acoustic side of the 70s monsters and provides a welcome oasis of calm as the album’s centrepiece. The album highlight for me however is the superb “Snake Eyes”. I mean it as a compliment of the highest order when I say this track wouldn’t sound out of place being stumbled upon, bleary-eyed late at night watching a BBC4 Old Grey Whistle Test compilation. The track takes ‘s core sound and adds a liberal dose of heavy Deep Purple Hammond and a yearning, soulful edge which brings to mind the likes of Procul Harum, particularly during the huge chorus. The track then veers into high-octane instrumental interplay which brings proceedings to a close, having covered all the best parts of 70s classic rock in seven minutes.”
“Overall this is an awesome album from , which given the current popularity of heavy retro rock deserves to find them a wider audience. Whilst being shamelessly derivative and hugely in thrall to obvious influences, bring a modern rawness and honesty to their music which sets them above many of their more popular peers.”
The Sludgelord, Charlie Butler
LP album (Black)
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