Hailing straight out of Sabbath city
in Birmingham, UK, Alunah first came to my attention in 2018 with a superb rendition
of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” off of their excellent Amber & Gold EP. It marked the arrival of new vocalist Siân
Greenaway. They followed it up with Violet
Hour in 2019, an album which I liked but that didn’t blow me away. The
quartet will release their sixth LP, Strange
Machine, on April 15 via Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds Records.
Things get going in style with
the title track, a catchy, spacey song and Greenaway’s vocals are a thing of
beauty here amid the percussion-driven, guitar-laden atmosphere. “Over the
Hills” is a faster and solid track that gets you nodding your head. They slow
it down a bit for “Fade into Fantasy” which showcases a different facet of the
band with a very accessible song. Love this one! “Broken Stone” is a heavy, killer
song infused with psychedelic vibes, and certainly a highlight of the album. The
aptly-titled “Psychedelic Expressway” has a vintage psych sound full of
infectious rhythms. A contender for my favorite song on this LP. “The Earth
Spins” features guest guitars from Shane Wesley of Crowbar fame putting his spin
on the trademark Alunah sound and a terrific song at that. It morphs into the
short “Silver”, which proves that all that glitters isn’t always gold; a truly
awesome song with very cool guitars. “Teaching Carnal Sins” is soulful and
bluesy at times and yet another fantastic cut where Greenaway shows how much of
a strong presence she has as a frontwoman. The Strange Machine winds down with what is in my opinion the best song
on the album and one of Alunah’s all-time greatest with the groovy “Dead Woman
Walking.” This one has it all from a sing-along chorus to the band sounding
like a well-oiled machine.
Alunah delivers a phenomenal album that doesn’t have a single dud on it. By now they are masters of their craft and the songwriting on this LP has evolved and matured to elevate the band’s status and push them even farther in the stratosphere to reach the masses. Full of doom, heavy rock, psychedelia, hints of prog, and experimentation, Strange Machine is an album that will make the rounds on year-end lists, I’m sure. Pre-order your copy today, folks; this one deserves to be played loud!
Heavy Psych Sounds’ Bandcamp page for Strange Machine: https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/alunah-strange-machine
Alunah’s Bandcamp page: https://alunah.uk/music
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