Right before the pandemic hit, I came across a video clip of a French band playing alone in a church, as part of the excellent video curation by KEXP, the excellent radio station based in Seattle. “I guess these guys are France’s answer to Osees” I thought to myself. The escalating riffs, the guitar positioning, the power and crunch – definitely some similarities.
Fast forward four years later and I finally got to see them play live, ironically the same night when Osees are playing a couple of miles away. I usually don’t skip a local Osees show but I couldn’t pass up the chance to see Slift for the first time, and they did not disappoint. A writhing fury of bombastic rock energy, it’s like the band has the keys to a secret vault where only the finest riffs are kept.
Siblings often share some sort of paranormal ability to lock in sync without any verbal or visual cues, and the Fossat brothers certainly flexed that power throughout their set. Punishing, driving and unrelenting, they’ve clearly moved on from their Dwyer-inspired beginnings and have charted new paths into deepest ether of space rock. If anyone is listening, a US release of Ummon would be much appreciated but in the meantime, Ilion has plenty to like in its grooves as well.
Like Slift, Meatbodies played in front of projections, and both bands used it very well in very different ways. Another trio, this LA-based band has certainly pored over the collected works of Ty Segall but manage to put their own stamp on the songs. (Unsurprisingly, leader Chad Ubovich has played with Ty, Mikal Cronin, and Fuzz). Garage, psych, punk – all of these elements find their way into the mix, but most importantly the stylistic bits are anchored to solid songs. Without that, it’s just a bunch of window dressing.
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