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Spidergawd

Spidergawd III

Written by: HES on 28/01/2016 17:45:04

The Norwegian rockers of Spidergawd blew this scribe away with their sophomore album “Spidergawd II” and they are back with the same errand on their new album, fittingly titled “Spidergawd III”. All three albums have been released within a 3-year timeframe and, unfortunately, this dogmatic approach has meant that this third installation is missing a bit of editing.

The form is the same as it was on the two previous releases: Energetic, yet bluesy Americana-inspired rock and roll with a winning no-frills approach. Where Bent Sæther’s bass dominated the soundscape on “Spidergawd II”, the guitar of vocalist/guitarist Per Borten seems to have gained a more prominent position on this third installation. Borten’s vocals are still straight-outta-the-ashtray, but unfortunately, they don’t show as much range as they did on former tracks like “..Is all she says” from the second album. It seems most of the vocal work on “Spidergawd III” is revolving around yelling-style vocals that grow a bit strenuous to listen to.

Among Spidergawd’s most recognizable features are their dry, droning grooves, not unlike the works of Queens of The Stone Age, and these are easy to find on tracks like “The Funeral”, “No Man’s” and “Best Kept Secret”. But the best tracks remain the ones where Spidergawd leaps into more experimental twists, like the extremely fuzzed out baritone saxophone that by now has become one of the band’s main identifiers. The trio “Lighthouse pt. 1”, “Lighthouse pt. 2” and “Lighthouse pt. 3” paint a much more creative picture of a band that sometimes lose themselves in their own, very distinct sound.

Where the album falls short is primarily in the construction of the melodies. In the seas of droning and repetitive motifs of this third album, there are too few bright hooks for the listener to latch on to, leaving the album more introvert than its predecessors. But in spite of all those reservations, tracks like the slightly proto-punked “El Corazon Del Sol”, the overwhelmingly catchy “Lighthouse pt. 1” and the groovy stunner “Picture Perfect Package” still ensure some redemption on Spidergawd’s behalf. “Spidergawd III” is by no means a bad record, it just seems that this album could have used a little more tweaking before its release, as it never reaches the same impeccable level as “Spidergawd II” was on.

Download: Lighthouse pt. 1, El Corazon Del Sol, Picture Perfect Package
For The Fans Of: Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stoneage, Stone Temple Pilots
Listen: facebook.com/spidergawd

Release date 22.01.2016
Crispin Glover Records