Gargoyl – Gargoyl
Release Date: 9th October 2020
Label: Season of Mist
Pre-Order/Stream: Bandcamp
Genre: Grunge Jazz
FFO: Revocation, Ayahuasca, Alice in Chains.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Often, side-projects can be a mere extension of the artists main band, their day job if you will. So, it is somewhat of a surprise that Gargoyl features Dave Davidson of Revocation and Luke Roberts of Ayahuasca, as their self-titled debut album sounds utterly different than either of these bands.
Gargoyl have been linked with a variety of musical genres, none of which really fit, ‘Progressive Grunge Rock’? Not quite…. ‘grunge meets black metal’? Well, unless I have misunderstood the lyrical content of the album, then there is fuck all satanism here. A ‘Jazzier Alice in Chains’…. That just about covers it. This is a grunge jazz album, full of fucked up time melodies which also includes the 2nd coolest of any instrument – the Saxophone, as played on ‘Acid Town’.
It is unlikely that this album will grab you on your first listen, it took me 3 listens to begin to actually like it. ‘Ophidian’ has a guitar riff that sounds as if the notes are being played in the wrong order, similar to Les Dawson on his piano (if you are under 40, google him). Many of the tracks just sound wrong, but once you delve into this album you encounter a morsel of magic. It’s like a bottle of Cava that, when you get to the third glass, begins to taste like a Dom Perignon.
That said, it isn’t all gravy, some songs just don’t work. ‘Electrical Sickness’ is a botched abortion of a song and you will begin to taste that Cava again during ‘Waltz Dystopia’.
In short, Gargoyl is too out there to be an album that will hold you down and force itself upon you. Instead, it has moments that will seductively stroke the back of your neck before pulling out a chunk of hair. The Alice in Chain theme permeates throughout, mostly due to the vocals. Gargoyl have to be commended for releasing an album utterly different from their day jobs.
Ultimately, it lacks consistency and is, perhaps, just one step too far from the norm.
(3.5 / 5)
