Sir Hedgehog
Sir Hedgehog
Abstract Sounds
First thing I’m thinking by the title and rather grotesque cartoonery surrounding this self-titled breakthrough is the rebirth of Iron Monkey. Six years since starting out with their self-released EP The Legend Of, the mighty Hedgehog come straight for the soul on this stone-washed Seventies stained sun spot of a record that briefly bows to, then yields from, the likeliest of Sabbath sources – splitting the stray facial hair or two for a more demanding stab at Stoner, Doom and Soundgarden. While tunes like “Otherside” and “Magic Garden” veer off into veritable jam sessions of power scales and drumming, “Mountain Of Attention” saunters off the less obscure path with Zeppelin-esque subtleties surrounding a wrap around chorus befitting of the greatest ‘77 arena-ranked sing-alongs.
No lyrics are enclosed, in spite of what sexually suggestive (or might we say sarcastically excessive) titles such as “Monster,” “Gimme The Bone” or “Bitchlord” might reveal (that’s not counting “The Cleavage And The Clamp”). Sir Hedgehog indeed come away more “stuff” than side-effectual “fluff,” evidently content to go bottoms up on the Boddington’s and bong loads well after the final bell’s been rung. The tunes are well aimed and tight, employing no less and occasionally more than the typically “Classic” Rock bursts of yesterday’s strobe-struck enthusiasts that could pack a house and play with fire in their fingers and here. No less dominant a role goes to singer Jonas Fairley who maneuvers through Hard Rock’s developmental stages as swiftly as scaling a range of octaves, quick changing from Plant to Wagner to Cornell from one jam to another, stopping for breath only on the monstrous “twelve” minute instrumental closer that’s worth sticking around for till the end. In fact if the impending Trouble comeback album sounds anything like this, people will go ape shit and hog wild!
Sir Hedgehog: http://www.lunasoundrecording.com/bands/sir\_hedgehog/
