WINO - Punctuated Equilibrium
February 5, 2009, 15 years ago
(Southern Lord)
If you ever doubt the music industry is unfair, consider the plight of one Scott “Wino” Weinrich, a multi-talented individual (vocals/guitar) that despite decades of playing and stints with Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Hidden Hand, as well as this new solo outfit, remains unknown to the majority of metalheads, let alone the world at large, while no talent American (insert alternate nationality here) Idol rejects create an overnight furor. Unjustifiable! Ten varied tracks keep to Weinrich’s love of blues, oft doomy, licks and whiskey-hoarsed veiled social commentary (even the title has a Darwinian overtone). Guess whom he voted for in the last US presidential election? The off-kilter and electronically modified ‘Woman In The Orange Pants’ is a short bit of instrumental psychedelia, while a deliberate ‘Smilin Road’ and ‘Secret Realm Devotion’ slot nicely into any of the aforementioned discographies. At 6:25, ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ is the lengthiest cut, a full-on wah wah pedal jam (drums courtesy of Clutch’s Jean Paul Gaster, a.k.a. JP), in the best of the ‘70s tradition! On the other hand ‘Water Crane’, which can’t crack two minutes, is a voiceless Middle Eastern rhythm. ‘Gods, Frauds, Neo-Cons & Demagogues’ (great title!) has a mix of pre-recorded voices atop one another, ultimately ending with a George Bush quote. The disc ends with a speedy fret board workout called ‘Silver Lining’. Good stuff.
