Broken Guru - Bent Up Halo (Self-Released)

Broken Guru is a garage band from New York City, and they have released a fiery, psychedelic spirit on their new full-length Bent Up Halo. Riding upon their credo, “I don’t like my future,” the band deliver a heavy hitting, bluesy, and hedonistic rollercoaster ride. Their sound captures the darker side of 60’s garage rock from The Sonics to The Monks. On songs like “Got To Be Mean,” less than subtle hints of AC/DC also exist, as the screeching falsetto is eerily reminiscent of Brian Johnson. If you like a tough as nails, hard rock approach to the genre, than this band is for you.

There are a lot of mod influences as well, and on “Tryin” they sound almost breezy and jazzy in comparison to the songs around it. In the 60’s there were a million garage bands that wanted to sound like The Beatles, but they either lacked the musical prowess and/or they were too heavy and punkish to pull off a copy cat. What’s remarkable is that Broken Guru sounds like one of those bands. They’re lean and mean, but they also have a strong sense of melodicism to what they do. Bent Up Halo will be released on April 28th, and it is definitely not one to be missed.