North Carolina fine purveyors of scuzz ‘n’ buzz Rocky Mtn Roller will make their full-length debut on Sept. 12 with Haywire on Who Can You Trust? Records. And yeah, it’s a beer-cans-on-lawn rager, no doubt about it. Eight classic sounding tracks that spell bologna ‘baloney’ and go where the riffs take them. But — and it’s a sizable but — if all you hear in “Hoodwinked Again” (video premiering below) is raw-recorded chicanery and a hook, my sincere suggestion as your friend is that you listen again. In four minutes flat, the four/five-piece come peeled out on biker riff glory, and almost right away, a tense current of guitar or keys coincides, tapping out the meter. It’s there under the verse, and departs from the chorus (I think), letting the wah guitar add likewise subtle psychedelic flourish in a seeming answer back to opener “Automatons in the Sky” before that tap-tap-tap returns. Oh, and there’s shred. Like, everywhere.
Those nifty cosmic/weird touches persist. The later “Part Time Rocker” stomps out a ’70s vibe that sees the guitars of Zachariah Blackwell and Ruby Roberts aligning for solos and departing each other’s company again only to pair up again for the rolling riff. Is there a layer of acoustic guitar on “Automatons in the Sky?” That would go well with the oh-by-the-way-we-like-Hawkwind multi-layered delivery of the title-line, or the proto-NWOBHM reinvention of the subsequent “Haywire” (premiered here), that title-track sounding rushed in precisely all the right ways. Later on, “Protocol” busts out some of the most urgent crotchal thrust I’ve heard since Death Alley made their debut nine years ago, delivering metal-via-rock grit while still keeping the party of “Hoodwinked Again” and side A closer “Human Tumbleweed” here, that latter cut offering a bounce that reminds of Thin Lizzy and suits the critique of lifestyle in the lyrics — which, interestingly, kind of follows the opposite perspective of “Part Time Rocker.” Clearly the answer is to rock all the time, with purpose. So they do.
A holdover from their March 2020 self-titled debut EP (review here), “Monster” begins with a quick flash of lysergic synth and fulfills that promise with a steady current of wah and later shove, and as they careen through “Part Time Rocker” and “Protocol” toward “Sun Setting Pink” — the closer and longest song at 6:35 — the payoff is there in the energy of their delivery as well as the manifestation of the underlying breadth of craft. That is to say, they at last reveal they’ve known all along what they’re doing and declare themselves ready to ride twyn Skynyrd leads into the song’s titular sunset, which they do until the last shimmering guitars are gone behind whatever the name of that hill is over there. And that final minute’s stretch, following head-spinning drum fills from Alex Cabrera and the must-you-go-so-soon momentary departure of bassist Luke Whitlatch (who also did the album cover), reinforces the message way back in “Automatons in the Sky” that Rocky Mtn Roller are nowhere near as simple in terms of overarching style as they might at first appear, and that as raw as this first LP is, and as focused as the band are on harnessing forward momentum in propelling you from one end to the other, they do so not without being mindful of atmosphere and with an inventive conversation between the guitars, bass, drums, vocals, and sometimes keys.
This is something to keep in mind as you take on “Hoodwinked Again” and its VHS-grainy, lots o’ fun video below. It speaks for the entirety of Haywire in its tonality and the barebones feel of the recording — very much an aesthetic choice and one that ends up suiting them well — and offers hints of the individual take that feels emergent in their sound. To bottom-line it, there is a ton of potential for exploration in what they’re doing here, and enough elements that they could spend the rest of however long they’re together — months, years, decades — tipping the balance back and forth, and probably having at least some amount of a good time doing it. And at that point, why not?
Preorder links and whatnot follow.
Please enjoy:
Rocky Mtn Roller, “Hoodwinked Again” video premiere
PRE-ORDER ‘HAYWIRE’ HERE: http://whocanyoutrustrec.bigcartel.com/product/rocky-mtn-roller-haywire-lp
PRE-ORDER THE LIMITED ALTERNATE COVER VERSION HERE: http://whocanyoutrustrec.bigcartel.com/product/rocky-mtn-roller-haywire-lp-alternate-version
Recorded and mixed Jan – Mar 2021 at Shangri Nah Studios (Urbana, IL) by Matt Wenzel. Drums and bass at Boombox Studios (Mahomet, IL) by Caleb Means. Mastered at Louder Studios by Tim Green.
Cover art by Luke Whitlatch. Band logo by Infected Arts. Photo by Jordan Whitten.
The LP is released in an edition of 300 copies on black vinyl.
An alternate cover version with screen printed sleeve is available in an edition of 30 copies.
July 31 – Asheville, NC at Fleetwoods w Thelma And The Sleaze and Forteza
Aug 4 – Pittsburgh, PA at Rock Room w Mower *
Aug 5 – Brooklyn, NY at Our Wicked Lady w CT Hu$tle and the Mu$cle, and Mick’s Jaguar *
Aug 6 – Philadelphia, PA at Kung Fu Necktie w Purling Hiss *
Aug 7 – Richmond, VA at Cobra Cabana w Sinister Haze and Wetwork *
* w Limousine Beach
Rocky Mtn Roller:
Zachariah Blackwell – Guitar and Vocals
Ruby Roberts – Guitar and Vocals
Luke Whitlatch – Bass
Alex Cabrera – Drums
Mad Dog Wenzlo – Synths
Who Can You Trust? Records store
