Song Review: The Desert (Has a Place for You) byShapes Have Fangs

Shapes Have Fangs - The Desert (has a place for you)

Album - Dinner in the Dark

Analysis of song:
Released in 2011 by Austin-based rockers, Shapes Have Fangs (which 3 years on are still waiting to receive the same recognition for their talents as similar psychedelic-blues acts, such as Night Beats), this jangly, melodic melt-out is a perfect example of how a song can capture the essence of an environment and make you feel the geography as if it were your own. The presence of both a rhythm player and a lead player on this track, which is almost a rarity in most popular psychedelic rock at the moment, causes the song to hark back to a structure not unfamiliar to something such as 'Run, Run, Run' by the Velvet Underground, the attacking, reverberated lead licks giving structure to the dusty madness of the rhythm section of the song. When combined with the song's video, getting carried away to the sandy destination of the song's namesake isn't hard. Enjoy.

Where to buy:

'The Desert' is taken from The Shape Have Fang's début LP, Dinner in the Dark, which can be purchased in several formats. The 140g 12" vinyl version of the LP has long been out of print now, but,  you may still be able to find a copy on Ebay or Discogs. A digital copy of the album can still be purchased several internet stores in 320 KBSP MP3 format, and lastly, a cassette version of the full-length can also be found, put out on the band's own label, Trade Gothic Records (limited to 300 pieces). 

Song Review: Warpainting By The Myrrors

The Myrrors - Warpainting 

Album - Burning Circle's In The Sky (2008)

A small background of the Song:

If there ever was a song that captured the feeling of strolling through dusty, sun-scorched alleys on a baking summer day it has to be this, Warpainting, one of the best depictions of 'Desert Rock' to date. The band, formed by two friends when they were still in high school, self-released a 5 track EP and posted songs to YouTube. Whilst the band was on a hiatus, this 7 minute stunner gathered over half a million hits. Now the band has reformed and currently sought a new bassist, apparently working on several new projects. If this single is anything to go by, the future is immensely bright for the Arizona four-piece.

Analysis of the song: 

This sand-sodden symphony really highlights what psychedelic rock can be at times, a force which can expand the consciousness without the need for mind-altering drugs. Everything about this track oozes dusty desert-psych, including the album's cover artwork. The light shaking of a maraca, the searing tone of lead guitar, the gritty, reverberated lead vocals, the primitive, metallic sound of a droning drumbeat, this song has a whole host of psychedelic rock's common calling cards, including an explosive breakdown at 6:09, starkly reminiscent of a dust storm one may gaze at from afar on a desert plane.

Where to buy and other trivia:

- Following Burning Circle's In The Sky's success, the band have decided to put up a high-quality downloadable version of the album on their BandCamp, for more information click here.

- If you head over to the Band's Facebook page, there has also been talk about reissuing the album on vinyl and CD in a limited pressing. 

- The Album originally was originally put out by the band on 50 hand-burned copies, here is the original artwork that appeared on the digipak: