Lords Of Bastard
Cuddles
Bang Mountain Records

Edinburgh mud rawkers and long time Luna Kafé friends Lords Of Bastard put out their second album, Cuddles, earlier this autumn. The Scot combo launched their 9-headed album in late August, more than 4 years after their self-titled debut. It's cuddle time!

Cuddles keeps Lords Of Bastard in the steady, sludgy stoner drive'n'groove. Add some Sabbath, but not as much as on their debut. Cuddles is more advanced, better/cleaner performed and produced. Here are plenty of fuzz-riffs, but also some 'softer', melodic moments. The quartet rocks and rawls quite heavily, but they're also keen on some spacier, psychedelic trips. F.i. is the song "Eggs Any Style" a neat mixture of styles. They're also a bunch with a good sense of humour, as the song title "Lord Have Murphy" is good proof of. Good track as well. The closing track is the monumental, epic "Squirrel Mirror"; a 4+3 (a prologue-main-epilogue) minute-piece. Or, is the last part a hidden, secret bonus track? Anyway, it's way cool and semi-monstrous. Other cool tracks: "Fsssshhewwww", opener "Ghost Time", and "Fourth Dimensional Hand Gesture (John)".

Lords Of Bastard are still a cuddly bunch. The sisters of Murphy? Or, maybe, the divine Murphy? If this Murphy's with the band at all. Have Murphy.

Copyright © 2012 Håvard Oppøyen