Cassette Review // Fred Cracklin "Looming Spook"

https://fredcracklin.bandcamp.com/album/looming-spook

To listen to this cassette would be to hopefully be able to review it, however I've listened to it several times, going in with that idea of being able to get a better understanding of it, and the way which Fred Cracklin creates music just cannot be described with words.  Is it punk?  Yes.  Is it rock n roll?  Yes.  Is it metal?  Yes.  At times, you can take nearly any genre of music which includes a guitar and percussion and find a way to put Fred Cracklin into it.

As the guitar just sings throughout these songs they remain generally fast paced.  There are some moments when it slows down, moments of reflection I think, but I'm also reminded of that early era of Nirvana when grunge was really raw.  Primus and Mudhoney are also names which come to mind here.  It's really also just about the musicianship because it can feel so simple and yet remain so complex at the same time,

On the flip side, a fun electronic video game type of feel starts things off.  This is definitely the more experimental side as there is also this sound like a trumpet but I'm not sure if that's what it really is or not.   Some talking is in the background now, I can barely hear it, and then it just gets all blissed out like a solo Hendrix might have played.  And that's how this defies genres really, because it goes from that classic rock to modern punk like the flip of a switch.   Being all of these things at once is just remarkable.

But what is even more amazing to me is how these two musicians manage to play in unison.   As part of a band or duo you should be on the same page as your fellow bandmates, but the way that these sounds can start and stop so quickly while not skipping a beat by either person playing it's just unreal.  To have one person somehow create these sounds together would be understandable but for two people to be on this same page is just something I've never heard before and it really drives this whole sound that much more.