Desert metal droners DUSKWOOD (2012) are from the wild Southwest ... Southwest as in Yeovil, South Somerset UK. I remember my precious few hours in Yeovil, swinging in the spit and sawdust Black Horse with a pint of Old Speckled Hen in one hand and a fag in the other, later having to leg it after dropping a clanger about how well FC Halifax Town had played earlier. Or was it The Green Dragon Pub? I did have more than one Hen.  It matters not, memories like that don't grow on a cactus.

"Kenosha" does an ex-metal lad proud opening with guitars banging out a main riff more steel than wool, but mates the sound has hair.  Liam sounds ferocious and utilizes a wee bit of the John Garcia vocal touch, that of alternately belting it out then throwing change-ups to a softer dynamic, fluttering head voice. Left to his own device he wails like a Cosworth V10 spinning up past 8 grand on the tacho-meter rounding the flat-out left-hander of Aintree before heading down Wellington Straight at Silverstone, a banshee.

"The Watcher" puts the throttlerod down with an in-trance 6-string chorus opening, then the fuzz appears. This song imparts the ABC and D's of stoner rock dynamics - All in, Balls out and Creeping Death. When Liam sings "building our new kingdom in this Earth" I am ready to join the movement and sign my name in ale. "Oraculum" is a movin' and bruisin' desert blown dust bunny featuring some lovely backing vocals by the DUSKWOOD choir. Think of the QOTSA groove of "Regular John", but with a tarpit trap middle interlude.

Final tune "The Island" groks the opening dynamics of the previous song before making the turn and blasting off with solid stoney riffing. This is probably my favorite song on "The Lost Tales." Hugh lays down some nice wood block beats as well and keeps the whole affair solidly squared away, rhythmic-wise. "The Lost Tales" is what you get when band members lose their baby teeth and after hiding them under their pillows at bedtime, wake up to find them replaced with SLO BURN, UNIDA and VISTA CHINO discs, gifts from the Cactus Doom Faerie.  Being solid devotees of the New Testament of Groove by Garcia, the lads have put on the rubbers and taken us on a 4 song slog through the post-KYUSS bog while not getting out of the mineral muck for an instant - much like previous releases "The Lost Tales" and "Desert Queen."  Crack on, mates!

I'll tell thee what; Giveth thy Mule what he so desires ... offerings of the Spotify playlist featuring Dani Bandolier reviewed bands ...

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/272H3UBARsuksY3BqU0CzP?si=7M3vmKWESpuhnq-Q1sKFIQ