'68

Give One Take One

Written by: PP on 20/06/2021 15:54:38

In just a few short years, '68 has established itself as one of the most innovative forces in music. A two-man operation led by Josh Scogin (The Chariot, Norma Jean), the outfit delivers southern fried hardcore spliced with blues and rock'n'roll, where nuances from stoner rock and grunge are also used in equal measure. The whole expression is drenched in experimentalism and avant-garde songwriting, recalling the incredible creativity of someone like Josh Homme, showcasing just what is possible with rock'n'roll as a genre.

Indeed, it's safe to say we haven't heard a band quite like '68 before, and their third album "Give One Take One" is yet another brilliant display of twisting a genre in all directions at once while retaining the red thread in the process. Occasionally, it's as if Every Time I Die married Wolfmother and then went to jam with Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster, and elsewhere, we're knee-deep in southern grunge with raw hardcore backing much like He Is Legend to parts of Scogin's previous band, The Chariot.

"Bad Bite" is an excellent example, featuring everything from handclaps to stoner metal type distortion, wrapped in a brilliant chorus and plenty of "woah" and "c'mon" eruptions by Scogin. These wild yelps and eruptions of pure joy create a sense of unpredictability to '68's expression, leading to an electrifying buzz of noise-laden cacophony that nonetheless results in incredibly catchy song structures.

Despite losing original drummer Michael McLellan and the chemistry that had been built up together with him since their 2014 debut, replacement Nikko Yamada's percussion is every bit as suitable for the '68 sound, varying in its power and time signatures, thus allowing Scogin's wild experimentations with noise and distortion to truly come to life. There's even a ballad on the record - "Life And Debt" basically sounds like a potential Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes track with its rock'n'roll base and endless distorted howls, much like "Nervous Passenger" which is a similarly dirty rock'n'roll ballad.

While a bit less chaotic than the previous record "Two Parts Viper, "Give One Take One" is arguably their best work precisely because of the slight element of pop that allows the experimentalist songs to be enjoyed with less caustic spazz than before. It results in haunting melodies and a record that sounds like it was recorded in one take, intended for live audiences to consume in sweaty experiences of noise rock on a blues platform.

Download: Bad Bite; The Knife, The Knife The Knife; Nickels And Diamonds, Nervous Passenger
For the fans of: Every Time I Die, Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster, The Chariot, He Is Legend, Queens Of The Stone Age, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
Listen: Facebook

Release date 26.03.2021
Cooking Vinyl

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