Llama Llodge – Lock Doubt
Llama Llodge – Lock Doubt – EP Review
Well now…looky what we have here!
Llama Llodge you say. I can get behind that. Seems like it’s fun to say.
Llama Llodge Llama Llodge Llama Llodge. Yep! I was right.
You might remember these two dudes from such films as Charles And Evan’s Most Excellent Adventures, Two For The Money, Twin Peaks, and most recently as the duo behind the madness in The Key Of Green. I promise you, at least 25% of that statement is true…and that 75% of my memory’s recall is warped.
Anyhow! Here we are. Fresh pair of underpants, and a brand-new name for another band out there in the independent music scene – aka just another Friday y’all…keep it moving…nothing to see here. There is plenty to listen to though! That I can confirm. Even if it’s just three songs on an EP so far, these two guys certainly know how to pack’em full of entertainment and make it feel like a complete six pack.
First up, is “Mona” – which…I believe is about a dog? “Eat, sleep, sniff myself” could potentially apply to any of us I suppose…but it feels like “Mona” is more likely to be about a wonderful four legged furry friend. In any event, they’re rockin’ with a badass sound on this opening track of the three on Llama Llodge’s Lock Doubt EP. Evan and Charles have switched up their process and their methods for making music as they leave behind their work in The Key Of Green and adopt their new moniker. Word on the street is that they used to handle their respective parts separately…now they’re both hands on their parts together, right there in the room to make the magic happen. And I dig that! At least, from the sounds of things, I’m digging that! There are all kinds of circumstances in modern-day music making that would have bands not always being in the same place to make a record, whether it’s merely location, schedule conflicts, or smaller things like a worldwide pandemic…there can be many reasons as to what keeps folks from getting together. That being said…I mean…as most of you know, it’s hard to beat the feeling and energy of being right there together, locked in the moment and kicking all the ass, right? You get that instant gratification and feeling like you simultaneously just achieved something significant and conquered the living shit out of it…and I’d argue that you hear that triumphant feeling in the roaring heartbeat of “Mona” right off the drop. It’s fun, ferocious, and yet it’s also got some charm & sweetness in its DNA too…it’s one of those loveable mixed breeds I reckon. And if it’s really not about a dog, then I have veered massively off course in a way that I couldn’t possibly come back from at this point. Great pace to this tune…BIG drums…killer guitars from Evan…seamless transitions throughout the length of “Mona” altogether. Love the lead vocals from Sir Charles, and I really love the fact that we get to hear Evan in the backup vocals too. Those are the kind of decisions you get to make when everybody is in the same place…you try out new things and find stuff that really works in your favor. Overall, “Mona” is powerfully cohesive when it comes right down to it, and you can definitely hear that in my opinion. The whole song has this melting pot hybrid vibe to it that’s fueled by the grit of Classic Rock, the fierce attitude of Punk, and then like…the chew-toy that is our modern-day approach to music.
“Rock Bottom & Roll” is also really well assembled and executed too. There’s much less of a canine-theme to this tune…to the point where I don’t even feel like I detect one at all, but make no mistake, this is music made by TWO DOGS YOU’LL RESPECT! I like the herky jerky feeling that “Rock Bottom & Roll” has as the verse kicks in…almost like a car with square wheels, yet somehow still a pleasant ride where your ass won’t end up feeling too sore. Where it feels like Llama Llodge has made their most significant update in the way they make music now, as opposed to what they were doing in The Key Of Green, is that the hooks are arguably a lot more accessible. Not in a forced or fake way either – it’s still music that is clearly very much made on their own terms without any audible compromise…but those crucial spots where you wanna hear something universally connect in the melody or structure – that’s there now. The Key Of Green felt more like an artistic experiment that was designed to test the limits of what could and couldn’t be…whereas Llama Llodge feels like they came shot out of the cannon ready to rock and entertain. Their creativity and penchant for weirdness that’ll make you smile is still very much intact, I assure you…listen to the spot between ninety-seconds and two-minutes in and you’ll know what I mean. The back & forth vocals in that call & answer style between Charles and Evan is what makes a track seriously fun to listen to…it’s unpredictable, alive, and real…the kind of inclusion you almost wish was in every tune you hear, but know that it’s more special because it’s not. “Rock Bottom & Roll” does a great job of going from a backwoods Primus-esque beginning to its more universal vibes as it shifts gears. That first real hit of melody in the hook of “today is the worst day baby” is brilliant, and makes every bit of the impact it should. All-in-all, it’s a tightly executed tune that’s fully designed to entertain.
Do they get everything right in this first time out as Llama Llodge? Honestly, on a technical level, yes, they do. Will we hear even more enticing material from them as they carry on from here with their new methods of music-making? Surely. Both things can definitely be true. I’m not hearing any issues though – and that’s impressive. Though admittedly, they both know a shit ton more about the art & craft of it all than a schlub like myself ever will…so if there was something off, they’d know long before the music ever got to my playlists over here & they’d have already fixed it. A track like “Onward” is probably the most like what I’ve heard in what these two can do in the past, while still also showing the effort to do things differently in Llama Llodge by recalling certain parts and having more defined hooks that the average everyday listeners out there can hang onto and whatnot. Stellar guitar tones in this cut…which is pretty much a staple aspect of Evan’s sound, but it’s always an aspect your ears are certain to appreciate. Charles has sung this record really lights-out and put real energy & punch into his vocals…all that’s been great too. There’s no shortage of personality in the music these two have made together over the years, and that remains to be the case here in the ol’ Llama Llodge. Focused writing here at the end…”Onward” is still a deadly little ditty to add to this EP, even if I’m probably a bit more partial to the two cuts that come before it. I have never known who the heck does the drums or how they get done in their music…if it’s programming, it’s freakin’ spectacular…if it’s live, then good lord I suppose it’d have to be regarded as even better. I’m all about the ending of this track…that spot around the 2:45 mark where the instrumentation reveals its most intense energy, and how Llama Llodge will drift into some of their most brilliant melody right after – “Onward” has got a combination of two extremes in the finale that makes for a seriously satisfying ending to this debut EP. To tell ya the absolute truth, it really doesn’t matter to me what they wanna call themselves as a band…I’m just glad they continue to keep making music together, because they’ve got a genuinely great chemistry shared between them, and authenticity in the way they create songs that’ll always have them standing out from the rest of what’s on your playlists for all the right reasons.
Find out more about Llama Llodge one day…maybe…at: https://www.google.com
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