black mondo grass

Black Mondo Grass By Steve Newton Summers Cold (Independent) Now this is my kind of rock album: the type that puts its wailing guitars right up in your face and makes damn sure every riff is the kind you want to listen to all night. On this 11-track debut, the dudes in Black Mondo Grass combine all the finest elements of '70s guitar rock—the unstoppable rhythms of AC/DC, the ragged intensity of Aerosmith, the melodic sense of Thin Lizzy—but manage to avoid sounding too retro, partly because ...

Black Mondo Grass By Steve Newton Summers Cold (Independent) Now this is my kind of rock album: the type that puts its wailing guitars right up in your face and makes damn sure every riff is the kind you want to listen to all night. On this 11-track debut, the dudes in Black Mondo Grass combine all the finest elements of '70s guitar rock—the unstoppable rhythms of AC/DC, the ragged intensity of Aerosmith, the melodic sense of Thin Lizzy—but manage to avoid sounding too retro, partly because vocalist and songwriter Mike Tee exudes a reckless and wild garage-punk style that's all his own. The five BMG members—Tee, guitarists Shea Kellar and Jaan Spirka, bassist Jeremy Starcok, and drummer Ian Schultz—were all raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario, but didn't hook up until they moved to Vancouver. Still, there's a telepathic connection between Kellar and Spirka, who sound like they've been trading guitar licks since Grade 7. From the slashing opening chords of the aptly titled opener, “Zero to Sixty”, on through to the blister-busting ferocity of closer “Summers Cold Again”, they show a real dedication to their craft. The pair's exchange of wah-wah solos on the rollicking “Copper Sun” is, quite simply, a beautiful thing. Summers Cold was recorded and produced by Jeff Elston at DCM Studios in Deep Cove, and it shows Black Mondo Grass to be a serious contender—along with fellow riffmongers Like a Martyr—for the title of Vancouver's most kick-ass new rock band. Recommend 50 readers have recommended this Georgia straight, Vancouver BC