The problem with a lot of guitar-heavy albums is that the artists spend way too much time attempting to wow the listener with chops, and not enough time improving their derivative, humdrum ditties. Swedish trio KAMCHATKA get around this the same way your bellbottomed pre-Shrapnel heroes did, sliding through oodles of profound, hook-laden blues riffs with remarkable percussive fluidity, and frosting each track with blazing Fender heroics and stunning vocals.

The sound of the band falls squarely between HENDRIX’s “Band of Gypsys” and TROWER’s “Bridge of Sighs”. Some of the tracks are long, but none wear out the welcome. I have no idea what “Mnemosyne Waltz” means, but it’s a churning, simmering beast that moves from a hummable slow shuffle to robust, double-time BILLY COBHAM sort of jam in a finger snap. “Incognito” finds singer / guitarist Thomas Andersson scatting and sputtering over impossible-sounding jazzy psych melodies before turning on a dime headlong into a “Manic Depression” sort of tirade. You get the idea. Think about it this way: every day you work so hard, bringin’ home your hard earned pay. The last thing you need is to waste it on whichever white guy flavor-of-the-month the guitar rags are raving about because his coffeehouse version of “You Got Me Floatin’” sounds like THE JOHN MAYER TRIO. Never mind that shit! KAMCHATKA is so groovy, dark, and addictive; I guarantee you’ll just get lost in it.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.kamchatka.se

MP3 SOUND SCRAP: Wrong End

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