Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Weird Omen, Dirty Water Records 2019.
Weird Omen is a French garage-psych-rock trio comprised of the unusual line up of guitar, sax and drums.
Their sound is a combination that falls somewhere between The Cramps and The Kinks but there are many other influences that have shaped their sound including Morphine and The Ramones.
Weird Omen seem to be swimming against many of the current trends in garage by deliberately blending genres to produce something new and different.
As the title of this album suggests, the music has taken on a surrealistic edge.
The title track takes us on an exotic psychedelic journey which then morphs through styles that range from thrash, psych, punk, and even some rockabilly.
With song titles ranging from: A Place I Want To Know, A Collection Of Regrets, The Goat, Trouble in My Head, Out of My Brain, Earworm, Wild Honey, and I Will Write You Poetry the band balances the musical atmosphere somewhere between a gloomy psychedelia and fast paced punk.
The recording process is full of fuzz and distortion.
With a line-up that consists of guitars combined with drums and what can only be described as a strange all-pervasive baritone sax, the sound is remarkably full.
The resultant album is quite hypnotic, retaining elements of the 60s musical palette that is obviously their main departure point, mixed with a deluge of brass, reverb and oodles of fuzz.
The album is due for release in March via Dirty Water Records.
In the meantime Weird Omen has released the single A Place I Want To Know backed by the non-album track Girls Are Dancing On The Highway to whet the appetite.
Only Dirty Water Records could release a record like this and God bless them for doing so.
