The Vintage Caravan – Monuments
Release Date: 16th April 2021
Label: Napalm Records
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Genre: 70s Rock, Blues Rock, Psychedelic Rock.
FFO: Blues Pills, Dewolff, Kadavar, Deep Purple.
Review By: Paul Franklin
Does anyone remember Encino Man? The early 90’s comedy about two slackers in California who find a caveman frozen in a block of ice, defrost him and give him a modern makeover. Well, if we switch the location to Iceland, replace the slackers with a trio of musicians and substitute the caveman with spirit of 70’s Psychedelic Blues Rock, the result would be The Vintage Caravan, and Monuments would be the fifth instalment in the franchise.
Some space rock sonics precede the opening of Whispers, which does anything but as it slams down with an abundance of distorted riffs. The intro to Crystallized sounds like Inspector Gadget creeping around a haunted house before the guitars sneak from around a corner and the track finds a bouncy groove. Lyrically the track acts as a warning of sorts, describing the tale of a man lost in an Icelandic blizzard who abandons his car and disappears into the unknown, this is echoed in the final moments at the end when the sound of icy winds can be heard swirling around a lone acoustic guitar.
The catchy chorus of the blistering Can’t Get You Off My Mind is bolstered by a huge hook and a soaring solo, whereas Dark Times takes a more considered approach, slowing the pace a couple of times along the way. There is a gentler ballad-like number in the shape of This One’s For You, which in the first few moments brings to mind W.A.S.P’s Hold On To My Heart, then inflects a bit of flower power with some Beatles-esque melodies. It serves as a break from the tightly packed rock, and there is a gorgeous vintage analogue guitar break at around the three minute point, but, maybe it does outstay it’s welcome by a verse or two.
The album’s midpoint is marked by the eight minute Forgotten, a track that unashamedly nicks the intro to Purple’s Highway Star, before galloping away on an unstoppable riff that very oddly made me think of both Maiden and Cotton Eye Joe! (I blame lockdown). These (worrying) thoughts are soon forgotten as the three bandmates lock tightly together and propel the track to an explosion of hard driving, psychedelic-soaked blues rock.
This desire to marvel at the wall of noise that can be conveyed by the guitar-bass-drums combo becomes more and more evident as the album progresses into its second half. The likes of Sharp Teeth, Hell and Said_Done are all quintessential Heavy Rock, but ones where the aim seems to be to get the vocals out of the way by the middle of the song so they can concentrate on the serious business of hammering down a groove. There is sufficient variety to brush aside serious accusations of repetitiveness and enough dedication to the song to avoid descending into the realms of self-indulgent wankery. Album closer, Clarity sees the band take inspiration and advice from The Eagles, taking it easy and spending time savouring the rich, cosy atmosphere that accompanies journey’s end, before they park up at Hotel California.
Five albums in and The Vintage Caravan have got this retro rock ‘caveman’ styled just how they like it. I’m sure you will as well.
(4 / 5)
