Adjustable Mustard – Denatured Blue
Dumpster Dog Records – 2026
Rock, Psych, Sixties
Rated: ****
I’m always extremely happy when the postman drops off a package obviously containing a new vinyl record. Completely giddy before opening the package. Even more so when I haven’t ordered one or even expecting one. And to top that feeling, it all turns golden brown when you open the package, put the vinyl on the player, the needle down and hear those warm soulful and fuzzy sounds of Denatured Blue, the new album by the Adjustable Mustard duo…
And with the new Denatured Blue, the Adjustable Mustard two drift deeper into the fuzz-drenched haze of psychedelic rock, without ever losing their soulful sixties glow. But on the new album, the guitars are allowed to bloom like wildflowers and Katie Pitts smoke tinged vocals rise like incense in a room lit by winter sunlight. There are echoes of a long forgotten acid dream here, that is without any doubt that sixties glow that courses through their veins, even though it might feel half remembered, it is still restless and alive in these tunes.
Born from intuition, old notebooks and the beautiful poetry that is coincidence, so I’ve learned, the album feels like a gem discovered in the attic. The couple of Will White and Pitts followed the fragile sparks of inspiration wherever they lead, and allowed melodies to wander, as ideas took on a life of their own. Thanks to a great interview by former Doom Charts colleague Nick Pipitone, from The Third Eye blog and site, I’ve learned about a brutal Nashville ice storm, which became part of this album. And perhaps, the album might indeed feel like the eye of the storm, where chaos was suspended into the creative process.
Your music muscle memory will spark to life on many occasion, without ever coming close to naming the legends of yore that might have made it flare up. Most of all, Denatured Blue sounds like the perfect reminder, that some things, cannot be manufactured. True artist don’t search for perfection. They search for the right lightning strike in the storm. The one they want to capture. The beauty and poetry of the unexpected. Denatured Blue is pure. The quiet freedom of making music simply because the soul demands it…
(Written by JK)
Go listen to the first two singles, Dickerson and Need To Work On Me, now and get ready for the Denatured Blue album to drop on November 9th!
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