John Garcia – John Garcia

John Garcia – John Garcia

Napalm Records – 2014

Rock, Desert, Stoner

Rated: *****

The man has been talking about doing this for ages. And over the years many many many songs were collected. And only a cool eleven tracks made it to his first official solo album. And we can only say that the honorable Mr. John Garcia has selected eleven gems and that he with his entire group of friends kills it. With help from Harper Hug, Trevor Whatever, Dandy Brown, Mike Neider, Dave Angstrom, Danko Jones, Tom Brayton, Mark Diamond, Nick Oliveri and The Doors legend Robby Krieger he crafted something solid, huge and monumental. One could assume that a collection of songs that has been growing since 1998 lacks coherency or might sound dated somewhere. But shit, this record is simply amazing from the first note to the very last. It has it all. Stoner grooves, rumbling bass, bluesy feels, steamy rock, gritty riffs and crazy guitars. And above all the Garcia voice that sounds better than ever. The only weird thing might be the Black Mastiff cover Rolling Stoned as the second track on this album. But this is probably included because the man loves the song, the band and is producing their next record. Just listen to the wicked His Bullets Energy or the stomping Argleben! (When was this track born? After hearing from his new Dutch friends? More info will come.) But simply put, the album is brilliant and hits you like a desert thunderstorm. One of those moments where the horizon suddenly turns black and the ground shakes violently due to the sonic boom far away. And it ends with Her Bullets Energy a song started, back then in 1998, or perhaps even earlier, and sounds like a future we all hope we deserve. There is peace and tranquility and there’s acceptance and love. And there’s more of all that spread out over that one track than all the other emotions one goes through listening to the rest of the album. To be honest, I am incapable of saying much more… Simply blown away…

(Written by JK)

Facebook