It's great to hear a band that has some flavour about them. I'm not just talking about something that's a little different or quirky but something that has pure oomph oozing out from every pore and orifice. That's exactly what LEWIS & THE STRANGE MAGICS have and they have it in abundance. I have a soft spot for music that would sound at home in some smoky dive bar nestled in the bosom of a swamp, and this is certainly that kind of music. The debut album from the band is basically just a dozen songs of groove infused sex appeal.

The album opens up with a guitar riff that could be quite at home on any early RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS album. The rhythm and groove of this opening song feels like a wonderful blend of CLUTCH and NICK CAVE and this is a theme that just continues throughout the album.

The guitars have just the right level of crunch to instil a little bit of a mean streak in them. This combined with the smatterings of passion that make this such a raunchy sounding album. I have no idea if that was the intention, but god damn they have achieved it. I feel like thrusting into something hard enough to bleed. All of the instruments work perfectly with the sound though, it's not just the guitars that inspire crimes of passion. The organ (keyboard) is perhaps the best accompaniment, as it's something you don't hear very often, so when you do, it really stands out. The little stabby riffs get the body moving away in motions that defy the laws of physics.

The album seems to weave its way through a narrative about some kind of misadventure in the aforementioned smoky bar involving dangerous women and altered states of mind. Again, I have no idea if this is intention, but I could shake the images of something akin to From Dusk Till Dawn blended with Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.

There are of course some downsides to the album and I guess the only thing that let it down for me is that it feels like it needs a little bit more fire in its belly. There were a few moments, especially in Your Evil Trip, that I felt like it was going to divulge into the frantic mess that makes NICK CAVE live sets so engrossing.

This is definitely an album for fans of bands like CLUTCH, KYUSS and MONSTER MAGNET that have been looking for something that strikes a good blend of each of these sounds. If you don't enjoy the more groovy side of things, then perhaps you need to chill out and appreciate the slower side of life.<