Unsuspecting listeners who aren’t familiar with Turtle Bangs’ music might get the impression they are a country act upon first glance at the cover art of their new album Mountain. However, that notion quickly disintegrates as the ear-splitting fuzz of electric guitar rips into the heavy rock sound of the opening track, “Desert Stone,” which continues relentlessly throughout the set’s entire duration.
Guitarist and vocalist Greg Stephen and drummer Casey Carter formed Turtle Bangs in the fall of 2008 while both were residents at Murfreesboro’s notorious Country House. The local duo released their second full-length recording earlier this year, which is a follow-up to their debut, Give Me Your Daughter.
Co-produced with Hank Parker Pruett, the album incorporates a profusion of post-grunge, alternative and garage rock elements slightly tempered with hints of punk to create a powerful and beautifully chaotic musical statement. Stephen’s raw and gritty vocal style is at times reminiscent of Kings of Leon’s Caleb Followill, as he delivers each song with reckless abandon that never eases up during the 12 tracks.
“Lost in West Virginia/roaming in the cold/mountains overwhelming/waiting for the calm to come,” Stephen intimately reveals in the closing track “Mountain Song.” However, listeners should be forewarned that calm is not something easily heard anywhere on this strikingly frenzied indie rock release.
While plenty of passion is evident, these songs are presented in a rough and unpolished, almost demo-like quality that at times becomes monotonous. This fact could hinder some listeners from completing the entire musical journey the duo may have ultimately envisioned. Also, the somewhat less-than-spectacular songwriting contained here only hints at the duo’s promise that is anticipated after hearing the initial tracks.
Although Turtle Bangs’ sound may be an acquired taste, the band certainly deserves credit for creating a bold and aggressive album, which is sure to permeate astute rock fans’ ears and give them something to sink their teeth into.
Stop letting this guy review rock albums, he obviously hates them. He focuses solely on how “ear splitting” they are and fails to mention anything about the music.
This has nothing to do with this article being negative or positive. The thing is it is NEITHER negative or positive. The wording conceals a subtext that is most definitely negative, but at surface level it is merely six paragraphs of lukewarm dreck.
One of the main things keeping Murfreesboro’s rock scene so screwed up is that the independent press is run by chumps who malign -or in the case of Eric Allen, patronize- bands that do good work. This is a LOCAL band. This is not some unfamiliar group from Kentucky that just mailed The Pulse a single, this is a group that has been playing in the Boro for a long time. It seems that a real band from the Boro might deserve some consideration beyond a condescending brush-off that offers nothing except trite phrases like ‘relentless pace that never lets up.’ I wonder if this guy has ever attended a Murfreesboro house show, gotten trapped in a mosh pit, or even been in the same room with a guitar amp. His taste is all wrong for the Murfreesboro scene, and his opinions are vague and say nothing about the content of the ‘strikingly frenzied’ discs that he is obviously spinning once and then throwing away.
Comment February 21, 2011 @ 9:15 pm
Thank you Mosely Sheppard for your comment. My goal as a journalist is to describe and analyze rather than pan or rave about an artist’s work. Just to clarify, I consider the terms “ear-splitting” and “strikingly frenzied” to be compliments of high praise when used as rock music references. My motto has always been the louder the better. Additionally, Turtle Bangs seemed to take my critique in the spirit it was intended, since they posted a quote from it on their artist page at ReverbNation. Thanks for sharing your opinion as I am always flattered when something I write evokes a passionate response, whether positive or negative.
Comment March 16, 2011 @ 5:08 pm