Jealous Haters Since 1998!
Home | News | Reviews | Day In Rock | Photos | RockNewsWire | Singled Out | Tour Dates/Tix | Feeds

Robert Fairweather & the Luv Machine - Big Maracas


After reviewing the Luv Machine's Blizzard in Chicago in an earlier review for this column, I was expecting Big Maracas (released in June of this year, or 2005 for those of you who have been living under a gigantic rock) to be more of the same. Now, I truly do not mean any insult by that, and if you don't believe me, I'll prove it. Think of it like this; why would a retro blues rock band, who have mastered one of the more technical schools of rock and built a decent career out of it, with several releases and years of playing shows together, and all sorts of accolades usually befitting a much larger band, need to change anything at all? It's the whole principle of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," and really, there wasn't much broke on Blizzard if anything at all. I guess that's why Big Maracas surprised me so much; tiny traces of Latin have been added to the mix along with oodles of lush, psychedelic vibes. In fact, the band has (and this is apparent to me after only about four songs or so) added so much extra depth to their mellow rock that it almost sounds like a different band. The songs have taken on a deeper complexity, often sounding a little bit more rocking or smoking than the predecessors of Blizzard. To add even more change, keyboards seem to pop up a lot on this CD, allowing for more variety in the sonics department. It all makes for a swell time, as well as a CD that excludes new levels of jamming cool.

The title track isn't wasted for a second, and as such, "Big Maracas" kicks things off right away. The song sways in on a cool Caribbean breeze of textured, clean, electric guitars, and clangy drums. The song slowly builds into a rocking climax, and I can say that this song already eclipses some of the best material on Blizzard. "Goin' for Tha Rush" has a spacey, tripped out vibe that almost harkens to Pink Floyd rather vaguely at times. An odd song out of left-field, and a great swerve from the band as well. "Show Me Tha Money" has a killer keyboard tone backing a jamming bass line and some good old fashioned funk. "Into the Mist" is a meandering folk ballad that is one of the album's best highlights; I can already picture three or four movies playing this song at that pivotal "protagonist driving a cool car into the sunset" scene. The groove heaven that is "James Brown" is so freaking retro, yet fresh at the same time, you could party to it for a generation or two. "Ain't Stopping My Train" is a fantastic ballad of rustic guitar picking, and the polar opposite that is "Don't Get Hustled" follows it up with blistering guitar licks and random insanity. I'd probably pick "Hustled" is the best track here, so fun is it to listen to the awesome guitar pieces. "The Emasculator" is a quiet ballad about witchy women, and the gospel-themed keyboards of "Where Did The Time Go?" mesh perfectly with the blazing Southern guitar splendor. "Go to Mississippi" is a throwback worthy of Blizzard meanwhile; the tune has a swampy boogie to it the band explored on a few of its earlier tracks. I can say without a doubt that final track "This is What You Get" is the heaviest Luv Machine track I've heard, the band entering stoner rock bliss with a low groove and flat out rock 'n roll.

Wow...Big Maracas heralds big change. The amount of new directions present here is staggering, and it seems the Luv Machine has been upgraded many times over. Cool, confident, collected, and even a tad eclectic, Big Maracas is like that big Pinata at your 8th birthday party; no matter which angle you decided to whack it at, some kind of candy everyone likes is bound to spill out. The adage holds true here; give this puppy a whirl and most likely a song or two will please any fan of music. In closing, if you're looking for something fun try shaking these Maracas next. I'm willing to bet good money no one who does will feel hustled in the slightest.

Rating:


Links

Visit the official homepage

Click here for tour dates, mp3s, news, pictures, etc.

Click here for even more mp3s

tell a friend about this review

.


...end


.
News Reports
.
Day in Rock:
Lamb Of God's Mark Morton Streams Chester Bennington Collaboration- Rush Members To Make Special Appearance- Unreleased David Bowie Tracks In New Collection- more

Day in Pop

B-Sides: Taylor Swift Reveals Her Mother Has Cancer- Rich Homie Quan Surrenders To Police Over Alleged Nightclub Assault- Justin Bieber Duets With Ariana Grande- Mumford & Sons- more

 Subscribe To Day in Rock

.
 
Reviews
.

Ladies Only: Jennie Abrahamson- Rachel Garlin- Nneka- More

Album of the Week: Led Zeppelin's When The West Was Won

Karyn Crisis' Gospel Of The Witches - Salem's Wounds

The Blues: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers- Arlen Roth, Mike Henderson Band- Slam Allen

Trauma Interview

December in Red - The Way Out

Battleaxe - Power From the Universe Reissue

SOKO Interview

The Compulsions - Dirty Fun

Rock Reads: Morbid Tales! A Tribute to Celtic Frost

Death Penalty - Death Penalty

On The Record: The Wild Beyond

RockPile: Minutian- Odin's Court- THEO

Michael Ubaldini Interview

Root 66: Cameron Mitchell- Stacy Jones- Greg Shirley


. .
.
Today's Rock News
. Lamb Of God's Mark Morton Streams Chester Bennington Collaboration

Rush Members To Make Special Appearance

Unreleased David Bowie Tracks In New Collection

Def Leppard Announce Summer Tour Dates

Avenged Sevenfold's M Shadows Guests On John Dolmayan Album

Aerosmith To Rock Steven Tyler's Grammy Awards Viewing Party

Tedeschi Trucks Band Streaming New Song 'Hard Case'

Queen Bohemian Rhapsody Biopic Nominated For Seven BAFTA Awards

Behemoth Release Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica Video

Blues Music Awards Nominees Announced


Subscribe to Day in Rock Report by Email

.
.
Today's Pop News
.
.
.
Latest B-Sides News
.

More News
.
 
anti Worthy Links
.
AudioNationRadio.comThe Screen DoorA Journal of Musical ThingsLloyd Zeffler blogDemolish MagNightwatcher's House of RockCJ ChilversDeja VoodooThe 1st Fivethecopycat.bizHard Rock Memorabilia Day in Rock @twitter

.
  .
.

Click Here to Buy T-Shirts!
Click Here to Buy T-Shirts!

 

Tell a Friend about this page - Contact Us - Privacy - antiMusic Email - Why we are antiMusic

Copyright© 1998 - 2013 Iconoclast Entertainment Group All rights reserved. antiMusic works on a free link policy for reprinting of our original articles, click here for details. Please click here for legal restrictions and terms of use applicable to this site. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the terms of use.