Album Review: SVEGA – What Comes First Is Correct
SVEGA is a kickass two-piece band from Idaho that draws inspiration from the psychedelic fuzziness and fat riffs of the 70s and 90s, but always sounds completely original. We were lucky to receive a link to their upcoming album What Comes First Is Correct before release. Let's fasten the seat belts and prepare for a rocky ride!
"We Hang" is built on a fat, heavy, muscular, bone-breaking riff. When the band came up with it, the song basically "wrote itself in one take". The rawness of the guitar sound is somewhat counterbalanced by the double-tracked sound of the vocals which, in a very subtle way, adds a more polished character to the track.
"Unchained" is a beautifully viscous and highly melodic composition with a riff somewhat reminiscent of Radiohead's "Myxomatosis".
The ironically titled "Demo track 89" brings a more carefree, light-hearted attitude. The band "almost threw this one away because it seemed too simple", but luckily they did not: "it just got stuck in our heads". Be warned: it's gonna get stuck in yours in no time as well!
"Under A Tree" is powered by a poisonous psychedelic groove slowly dissolving you like a bath of acid. The creative approach to guitar panning adds to the song's mind-altering capabilities. The track's pace leaves a lot of room for Jeffrey Lockett to get creative with his drumming. And the band openly admits it: "This is why it stuck, it was just fun to play!"
"Bear" roars and runs with no second thoughts. Whatever or whoever crosses its way, will get trampled or end up between its massive jaws. The dizzy atmosphere of the track is just as mind-altering as the magic riff of the preceding song.
"No Shirt"'s spiky riff channels anxiety and unease. To be honest, the song induced flashbacks from my fly agaric trip: the heatwave all over my body, the tingling in my limbs and the numbness in my belly. All my thoughts slowed down until I couldn't think them anymore. It didn't go away even after the song ended. Crazy stuff!
"Almost Over" is a beautifully noisy interlude that once used to be a song. And it leads to "Kick Me" which... well, it pretty much kicks you. Right to the balls of your soul. The song has an interesting outro section that sounds dead-serious. But it also has a funny whisper "Kick me", which did start off as a joke, according to the band, but which works just right.
"Intra" is a trip inside your inner dark forest. Shawn Vegas confesses: "Just like many of the songs on the album, I would just surprise Jeffrey with the riff. Intra was one where we got trapped in a bubble the first time we played it, we couldn't make a mistake and the song was written in a single take." The textures are black and bottomless like tar pits with sabretooth lions trapped inside, and the melodies cut you up like the sharpest of knives!
"Purple" is slow and hypnotic. Punch-in-the-guts riffs give way to soft and sleepy finger-picking, and the rhythmic pattern sounds almost ritualistic. We'll let Shawn tell the track's story again: "The creativity in this song stems from my background in classical music, it’s a soft hypnotic rhythm from the fingerpicking pattern that would put me to sleep."
"Stairway" ends the album on a strong note, being one of the most on-point and memorable compositions on a record full of them. The album's topic of letting the subconscious rule you all started from this piece: "This was the first song I wrote before all the others on the album, done with fake drums I punched into the DAW with my guitar and bass, with words that made no sense, I just did what came first and it was always correct -turns out to be the theme of this record."
Overall, the album might appeal to vastly different audiences. Its piercing melodies and high degree of drama should draw in the fans of Radiohead and early Muse. Its riffs would scratch the itch of almost anybody. It doesn't matter if you dig Black Sabbath, Rage Against the Machine, Queens of the Stone Age or Foo Fighters, WCFIC is guaranteed to satisfy you. And the album's creativity and sonic bravery is likely to attract the admirers of proggier outfits, like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Porcupine Tree. But all of this doesn't matter. I had to name so many (often bitterly contradicting!) names just because SVEGA never sounds like anybody in particular, while always bearing a million of handprints from all musical eras and styles.
Mark your calendars. The album will appear on all streaming platforms as well as the band's Bandcamp on March, 19. To make your wait more pleasant, be sure to listen to the pre-album singles below.
"We Hang" is built on a fat, heavy, muscular, bone-breaking riff. When the band came up with it, the song basically "wrote itself in one take". The rawness of the guitar sound is somewhat counterbalanced by the double-tracked sound of the vocals which, in a very subtle way, adds a more polished character to the track.
"Unchained" is a beautifully viscous and highly melodic composition with a riff somewhat reminiscent of Radiohead's "Myxomatosis".
The ironically titled "Demo track 89" brings a more carefree, light-hearted attitude. The band "almost threw this one away because it seemed too simple", but luckily they did not: "it just got stuck in our heads". Be warned: it's gonna get stuck in yours in no time as well!
"Under A Tree" is powered by a poisonous psychedelic groove slowly dissolving you like a bath of acid. The creative approach to guitar panning adds to the song's mind-altering capabilities. The track's pace leaves a lot of room for Jeffrey Lockett to get creative with his drumming. And the band openly admits it: "This is why it stuck, it was just fun to play!"
"Bear" roars and runs with no second thoughts. Whatever or whoever crosses its way, will get trampled or end up between its massive jaws. The dizzy atmosphere of the track is just as mind-altering as the magic riff of the preceding song.
"No Shirt"'s spiky riff channels anxiety and unease. To be honest, the song induced flashbacks from my fly agaric trip: the heatwave all over my body, the tingling in my limbs and the numbness in my belly. All my thoughts slowed down until I couldn't think them anymore. It didn't go away even after the song ended. Crazy stuff!
"Almost Over" is a beautifully noisy interlude that once used to be a song. And it leads to "Kick Me" which... well, it pretty much kicks you. Right to the balls of your soul. The song has an interesting outro section that sounds dead-serious. But it also has a funny whisper "Kick me", which did start off as a joke, according to the band, but which works just right.
"Intra" is a trip inside your inner dark forest. Shawn Vegas confesses: "Just like many of the songs on the album, I would just surprise Jeffrey with the riff. Intra was one where we got trapped in a bubble the first time we played it, we couldn't make a mistake and the song was written in a single take." The textures are black and bottomless like tar pits with sabretooth lions trapped inside, and the melodies cut you up like the sharpest of knives!
"Purple" is slow and hypnotic. Punch-in-the-guts riffs give way to soft and sleepy finger-picking, and the rhythmic pattern sounds almost ritualistic. We'll let Shawn tell the track's story again: "The creativity in this song stems from my background in classical music, it’s a soft hypnotic rhythm from the fingerpicking pattern that would put me to sleep."
"Stairway" ends the album on a strong note, being one of the most on-point and memorable compositions on a record full of them. The album's topic of letting the subconscious rule you all started from this piece: "This was the first song I wrote before all the others on the album, done with fake drums I punched into the DAW with my guitar and bass, with words that made no sense, I just did what came first and it was always correct -turns out to be the theme of this record."
Overall, the album might appeal to vastly different audiences. Its piercing melodies and high degree of drama should draw in the fans of Radiohead and early Muse. Its riffs would scratch the itch of almost anybody. It doesn't matter if you dig Black Sabbath, Rage Against the Machine, Queens of the Stone Age or Foo Fighters, WCFIC is guaranteed to satisfy you. And the album's creativity and sonic bravery is likely to attract the admirers of proggier outfits, like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Porcupine Tree. But all of this doesn't matter. I had to name so many (often bitterly contradicting!) names just because SVEGA never sounds like anybody in particular, while always bearing a million of handprints from all musical eras and styles.
Mark your calendars. The album will appear on all streaming platforms as well as the band's Bandcamp on March, 19. To make your wait more pleasant, be sure to listen to the pre-album singles below.