THE VINTAGE CARAVAN – Arrival (2015)
*
Based in the small town of Álftanes on Iceland (but with operational headquarters in UK), THE VINTAGE CARAVAN was originally made up of Óskar Logi Ágústsson on guitar and vocals, and Guojon Reynisson on drums, with bass player Alexander Örn Númason joining the band in 2012. Their previous album was ok, but not featured here on the blog because we considered it too generic.
Now the trio are releasing “Arrival“, and we can say it worth a listen: this is much more melodic and groovy, and I can certainly dig that.
With a combined age closer to any single member of their most obvious antecedents, youthful Icelandic trio The Vintage Caravan deal in a purist form of 70s-informed bluesy classic rock with a capital ‘C’.
Deep Purple, Cream, Black Sabbath are just some of the bands that flash through in the mix – all of it brought together by the band’s considerable musical skill and feel.
On some tracks on “Arrival”, that fuzzy patina and tone of the past is so distinct, it’s as if the music was teleported in directly from forty years ago. Even the album artwork is all about retro.
However, The Vintage Caravan as unit sound fresh and pretty contemporary. And now they have added a welcomed dose of melody to their songs.
Take as example “Babylon”; it’s a heavy, groovy track but at the same time melodious and almost catchy. A short, 3-minute stomper with a kicking punch.
In fact all the tracks – including the longer “Last Day Of Light”, “Eclipse” and the dark “Winter Queen” – sounds like another step in this young band’s evolution. Now most the songs are short and to the point, really effective.
While the vocals of Agustsson are good throughout the album, the main attraction here is the music itself – especially the guitar, with riffs that just rumble up and down your spine.
“Arrival” is a grand rock’n’roll ride that shimmers and shines with groove-heavy, riff-powered hard rock with a touch or two of psychedelic color, as well as the classy bluesy hard rock.
There’s many influences on all The Vintage Caravan members, but I think the guys are crystallizing their own personality on this new record via a more melodic foundation.
Classy guitar-shredding, basslines so heavy they take your breath away, commanding drums, and a chant-like quality to the vocals is what you will find on “Arrival”. Classic Rock, my fellow readers.
Very Recommended.
01 – Last Day Of Light
02 – Monolith
03 – Babylon
04 – Eclipsed
05 – Shaken Beliefs
06 – Crazy Horses
07 – Sandwalker
08 – Innerverse
09 – Carousel
10 – Winter Queen
11 – Say Hello
12 – Five Months
Oskar Logi Agustsson (guitars, vocals)
Guojon Reynisson (drums)
Alex Orn Numason (bass)
BUY IT !
www.emp-online.co.uk/art_299131/
.
