Pothead - "Tuf Luv"
(Janitor Records, 2003 JRC1010)
Pothead - "Tuf Luv"
(Janitor Records, 2003 JRC1010)
Uploaded to Aural Innovations: September 2003
This has got to be one of the coolest bands I have discovered in the last year. We were turned onto this band by Dirk, who books shows in Rostock Germany and was so kind to put us up at his house when we (Gas Giant) played there. The band was formed back in 1991 but things did not really happen for them until they settled into the Berlin music scene after leaving Seattle! Anyway, this is the bands ninth release and they are still kicking ass with their own unique sound and brand of balls out rock and roll! The band don't write any long songs, all the songs are 2-4 minutes but each is a unique entity. It is the somehow hypnotic quality that some of the songs have that give this band a real unique sound and feel. The stories told are quite powerful and sometimes political on this CD. The CD opens with the great "Rock Child" and into the "Dr. Destructo!" Great riffs and a powerful sound. This is a great hypnotic sound the band create with powerful riffs and tasteful guitars. Brad, the vocalist and guitar player writes all the songs. He uses a lot of different styles of singing to create a very eclectic mix of music, some of which has a very stoned feel in some way. "Globetrotter" is almost like a country shuffle song. "Constantinople" has a 80's heavy metal riff and feel and some powerful historical lyrics. A great song! "Kumquat" is a short and powerful song with a great building riff. "Troop" slows it down and is a very dark song, unlike anything else on the CD. Heavy, brooding stuff. The title track is the bands radio friendly light rock tune. Not unusual for this band. All the bands previous CDs that I have now heard have good, more accessible songs like this. "Bananas" is a funny 2 minute song based on a very simple riff. Cool song. "Stadium" is an excellent number with a great piano line and harmonica and then the hypnotic guitar riff enters in. Fantastic stuff. "Tacoma" brings back another 80's style heavy metal riff. Fun stuff. "Aquarius-The East Rider" is a slow building mysterious song. I love the vocal deliver and the way the song just builds up. "Truck" ends the CD. A simple American driving song.
The band have an amazing web site with tons of MP3 files of the older records and live streaming videos from concerts and lots of cool stuff. Check it out at: http://www.pothead.de.
Reviewed by Scott Heller