Few and far between are the bands who can both display their influences and without completely ripping them off. California 3-piece rockers Year Long Disaster are one of those bands. Thankfully, they’re a new band not enamored with the current wave of wannabe “sleaze” bands that seem to be popping up all over. Nor are they a NickelShineTheoryOfADownBack hangers on. No, my friends, Year Long Disaster are a Rock N Roll band, plain and simple.
Blending a raw, garage vibe with 70s-via-90s grooves and hints of psychedelia, Year Long Disaster hit all the right buttons without coming off as fake or contrived. “Love Like Blood” rocks like a mid-tempo Hellacopters tune with a cool, angsty flavor. “She Told Us All” and “Seven Of Swords” calls forth the different sides of Zeppelin‘s influence with a nice stomp groove (the former) and a subdued, acoustic piece with a spacey ambience (the latter). The singer is definitely channeling his inner Plant on “Seven Of Swords”, but not as much in tone as in delivery. The aggressive “Cyclone” sounds as if it could have been included on the second half of a latter day Soundgarden album with another raw groove and guitar layers. Vocally, I’m hearing a blend of Jack White and Nicke Andersson… it’s loose but commanding at the same time. Despite all these established band references I keep making, there’s something fresh and vibrant about what Year Long Disaster are putting across here…and that’s what makes it cool.
So, purveyors of solid Rock N Roll music, take note. Year Long Disaster is here and I think you should check it out. If you’re into any of the bands I listed, as well as Queens Of The Stone Age or White Stripes, give it a listen.
