John Garcia and the Band of Gold

John Garcia

Produced by Chris Goss, (QOTSA,KYUSS) this one was promising. The album starts with an instrumental. Mister […]
By Martin "Doomed" Desbois
March 10, 2019
John Garcia - John Garcia and the Band of Gold album cover

Produced by Chris Goss, (QOTSA,KYUSS) this one was promising. The album starts with an instrumental. Mister Garcia makes us wait for him. We're gonna have to hit track number two to hear him sing. The music is definitely Garcia's style and we can recognize his signature. On track two, we finally can hear him....faithfully. It's throw an arrow and it scores, bullseye Jim Whisker is a pretty cool track especially the Groban's lead guitar solo. "Chicken Delight" is a more introspective one, lyrically. I would say John wanted to talk personally, in a more intimate way, it was nice of him sharing some things with us.

"Kentucky II" is flawless. Mr. Pygmie did a great job and Mr. Saenz shows an excellent performance. This is quite a strong song. I must say that the song is a little "lighter" than what what we are used to. "My Everything" rocks more and is more aggressive too...nice vibe and groove. Garcia's vocals are impressive. This is a short song that grooves and has a sense of blues, the hard way. it has repetitive patterns, a great three minutes, a complete song in such a short time. "Lilliana" is a great rock song, very moving, simple, and effective. It's a nice candidate for road trips at high speed! The rhythm guitar is strong, fat, and heavy.T he drums and bass are doing rhythm variants to make it catchy and rockin'. Also the back-up chorus can be heard the last minute of the song. Great one...even it's easy listening for me.

For the next one, "Popcorn (Hit me when you can)", I said to myself: Ah, there it us! Great intro! The bass rocks. It has an excellent feel, the drums sounds amazing. Garcia is a beast on this one. It's very good Stoner Rock. Fans will be pleased with the next song titled "Appalache Junction" it's a mid-tempo and toe tapping 100% approved track. Makes the desert a nice place and a wanted destination. This one includes some "psych" and it ends the old school way, with a fade out. "Don't Even Think About It" is great and catchy as hell! I am headbanging at 00:40 already. This one is a little longer than the others. At last the lead guitar offers some delicious wah-wah licks and psychedelia.

"Cheyletellia" has an awesome start, right to the point. Faster, frenetic riffing. Quite repetitive. This one is the longest one for now. It has some variations and feelings. It gains his peak around three minute fourty. It all becomes perfect, everything is expressing great performance, and comes back to the starting speed and tempo. I must admit the title didn't ring a bell for me. I was curious and wanted to google it. ARGH! this is a disease caused by a parasite who appears to affect dogs, cats and rabbits!

"Softer Side" is the closer of the album. It is their "Planet Caravan". It's a track to let the dust down, letting you float in the haze over the sky. The perfect one to light one up. The vocals are like whispers in the ears. It gains intensity around minute three. It has a very seventies feeling to it. And after that great ride, it all slows down and everything must end one time or another.

8 / 10

Excellent

Songwriting

8

Musicianship

7

Memorability

8

Production

9
When clicked, this video is loaded from YouTube servers. See our privacy policy for details.
"John Garcia and the Band of Gold" Track-listing:

1. Space Vato
2. Jim's Whiskers
3. Chicken Delight
4. Kentucky II
5. My Everything
6. Lillianna
7. Popcorn (Hit Me When You Can)
8. Apache Junction
9. Don't Even Think About It
10. Cheyletiella
11. Softer Side

John Garcia Lineup:

John Garcia - Vocals
Ehren Groban - Guitar
Mike Pygmie - Bass
Greg Saenz - Drums

linkcrossmenucross-circle linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram