The Pitch: Three friends out of Salt Lake City playing Southern-infused sludge that is at once Neurosis, Queens of the Stone Age, and Seer.
What I Like: This album strikes a nice compromise between desert rock and heavy sludge. From the very start, the riffs are pure Josh Homme. I picture this being played on some dry, dusty landscape not unlike in old Kyuss videos. The vocals, however, are pure sludge. For the most part you're getting the gruffer side of old Mastodon or Baroness, though at times sonic comparisons to Fugazi don't miss the mark either. Taken as a whole, I often found myself thinking about Hives In Decline as Alaskan if they had recorded on a sun-beaten plain instead of their cold, Northern climate. But shifting from comparisons, I love the enormous and sometimes proggy ("Till Body Quits") riffs, deeply-rooted emotions, and overall organic, live sound.
What I Don't Like: Always room for improvement. I think that while there are elements of The Ditch and the Delta's sound that are a bit different than their peers, their is still plenty of similar groups competing in this genre. Keep stretching your horizons is all I have to say.
The Verdict: A wonderful record that deserves the attention of the sludge community. These guys have a lot of talent, passion, and eclecticism of influences to take this sound to some exciting places. Check out "Sleeping Dogs" below, stream it early HERE, get the album Friday.
Flight's Fav's: Hives In Decline, Sleeping Dogs, Till Body Quits