Llama Llodge – Lock Den
Llama Llodge – Lock Den – EP Review
One can only imagine the intensity of the debate.
“Din is a word too you know, and it would make more sense.”
“Well…no. And fuck you. We’re going with Den.”
And back & forth, rinse & repeat, as they say. At least I imagine. I could be wrong. I often am.
From the brilliantly warped minds that brought you Lock Doubt earlier this year, Llama Llodge returns with their latest three-track offering, Lock Den. These dudes come out of the gate at a full sprint on “Cellophane” and you couldn’t possibly miss the potent energy immediately on display. Impressive to say the very least, or a seriously scorching barnburner to say the most, “Cellophane” has this duo sounding fired up AF and ferocious as all get out. Intricate musicianship, yes, but bloody good to listen to as well, you know what I mean? It’s not that noodlin’ out for noodlin’s sake kinda shit…and I think that was the clincher for me when it came to “Cellophane” – it’s all played with such noticeable purpose that you can’t help but appreciate the pure sound of passion and dedication to the moment…that’s what you’re hearing here…focus…100%. So hell yeah, I’m more than happy with the way that Lock Den begins – that opening riff is already worth the price of admission on its own, and every time I hear it I’m fuckin’ incensed y’all…each time I looped around the start of this EP, the start of “Cellophane” basically ensured I’d be listening to it all over again. So you can imagine how my last month or so has gone, given that I’ve had this record for about that long. The music is insanely good, the structure is actually insane, the vocals are among the best I’ve heard from this duo in any of their incarnations, and the execution here is straight up second to none. When they hit the hardest spots of “Cellophane,” Llama Llodge will happily rock your fuckin’ socks off, and somehow, even after all the kickassery that has taken place, they still save some extra fireworks for the finale of their opener. It’s the kind of song that immediately has you wondering how the other two on the EP could possibly compete. Will they? Could they? Stay tuned dear readers, dear friends…
Ahhh fuck it, I’ll just answer that question straight off the top – and the answer is…no! Look…I know what you’re thinking…the guy writing this review is a total fucking dick, and you’re certainly not wrong – BUT…hear me out…”Cellophane” is just one of those killer tunes that seems to come along once in a lifetime, and the rest of the tracks on Lock Den aren’t all that far behind it. So it’s not like we’re talkin’ about a clear cut victory here y’all…a track like “Peach Cobbler” will definitely give “Cellophane” a run for its money with many of ya, and for a good many reasons. Again, the opening for example – that’s completely enticing. Evan’s kickin’ ass with the ol’ guitar as this track begins…the bass in this track is outstanding too…drums sound great…vocals from Charles are solid once again – and fuck, what’s not to love about a track centered around “Peach Cobbler” as the main hook? The waters DO get murky here though…like…I’m a one dessert dude, if I even have any at all. Charles starts rappin’ about apple pie and huckleberries and all that other stuff, and it’s like, focus dude – we’re talkin’ about “Peach Cobbler” here – don’t go getting fucking sidetracked. We came here, en masse, as gobblers of the cobbler – so give us that. For real though – it’s a quality tune and don’t get my words twisted to suggest anything otherwise to ya – I freakin’ LOVE the way they’ve used the backing vocals in this track, and I’d tell ya that the way they play the finale of this track is right on par with the way they blasted their way to the end of the first tune on this EP. Like all-things-Llama Llodge though, “Peach Cobbler” has got about five song’s worth of ideas in the mix here, yet they play on such a unified front that you can tell they’re truly prepared when it comes time to push record. And fuck yeah, I respect that! When you think of the countless ways that a track with the kind of multi-faceted sound & ideas that “Peach Cobbler” contains, and how many places things COULD have gone sideways for them, you have to appreciate the fact that they don’t. The chemistry that Evan and Charles generate together is genuinely special…it’s the kind of sound that simply can’t be faked and the kind of performances that can’t be phoned in. The writing itself is way too ambitious to try and sluff their way through – we’d all know if they did, cause it would make a song like this sound terrible. The fact that it doesn’t is a testament to the dedication they apply to making music, and even more-so, it’s full proof that these two dudes were meant to find their way, together. Awww! For real though y’all…listen to the bass in this track…sounds like freakin’ FLEA kickin’ ass here – and that instrumental breakdown around the 2:50 mark? C’mon! Amazing! “Peach Cobbler” deserves an open mouth chef’s kiss.
“Gizmo” is more along the lines of what we know from this crew and how they like to create. Spiralling and sprawling music, random-ass theme and choice of subject…annnnnnnnd go! I believe, if I’m not mistaken, that it’s actually “Gizmo” you’re seeing on the cover…if I recall correctly. I don’t often, so don’t go feeling like you can quote me on that, but it tracks when you listen to the lyricism. Loved hearing Charles hit that first “Gizmo” in this song – that’s probably my favorite highlight of’em all when it comes to this final tune, though again, to be fair to Llama Llodge, there are many others. Evan gets all kinds of creative with his guitar work on this one…not that he doesn’t always, the dude’s a goddamn virtuoso when it comes right down to it, and one of the best axe-men out there this side of Paul Bunyan. You’ll get what I mean when you hear it…”Gizmo” moves in a different way and leans harder towards its accents of psych-rock at points, while also still managing to rampage into their penchant for Progressive structures with reckless highly controlled abandon. What I think people will seriously dig about listening to Llama Llodge is how little you’ll really notice that Progressive element, even though it’s still arguably their music’s most dominant trait…the reality is, they’re doing it in a different way that’s kaleidoscopic and everyone that hears their music is bound to pick up on something that uniquely appeals to them, you know what I mean? It’s like we could all have a conversation about the music of Llama Llodge and end up wondering if we’re all really even talking about the same damn band – and how cool is that!?! I think the biggest thing you can glean from a track like “Gizmo” in being a long-time fan of what these two dudes create is how much you can hear them tightening the screws of their own mechanics – they were always great, but they had even more greatness within them, and you can hear that continuing to grow in the fierce way they’re playing the songs on this EP. Gotta say…I dig what these guys do, yessir. Lock Den is another step in the right direction for this duo, and a giant leap for Llama kind.
Find out more about Llama Llodge at their official page at Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/llamallodge
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