Mount Carmel

The power trio is not necessarily a medium that's left much necessity for further exploration. Groups both celebrated and lost from the 70's exemplified its vitality as an engine of rock's barest and rawest nerve but there's something to be said for those that do it and do it well. Mount Carmel may seem like a backwards gaze from all appearances but if they didn't encapsulate the form so damn well and remind you of how satisfying that raw nerve of rock can be they wouldn't be worth so many return trips. Their sophomore album for Siltbreeze is everything we were actually hoping of that new Howlin' Rain album and largely it’s everything that album wasn't in all the right places. It’s tight, dirty and muscular but without ever feeling overworked or picked at. There's a bit of polish, but its more like the sounds of hearing musicians comfortable in a studio than sheen or glossy gimmickry. True, this one sits right down in the parlor of '76 but it has that ability to remind you why the toothsome punch of rock first caught your ear rather than just making you pine for some old favorites.

Download:
[MP3] Mount Carmel - Swaggs

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