Mario Lalli & The Rubber Snake Charmers

2024-03-29 08:00:55

Although they are currently presenting their first album recorded live, the story goes from Mario Lalli & The Rubber Snake Charmers significantly further back. Back in 2010, Lalli (Fatso Jetson, formerly Yawning Man) founded the collective focused on psychedelic live performances, which has since mutated into the revolving door of the who’s who of desert rock. The current line-up around Brant Bjork (Kyuss), Ryan Güt (STONER) and desert poet Sean Wheeler recorded a complete first album live during the recent Australian tour. „Folklore From The Desert Cities“ is dedicated to stories from the Mojave Desert.

Four long songs intertwine in a gripping way, live from the raw live sound and seem organic, spontaneous, and at the same time incredibly focused. The opening “Creosote Breeze” dances through leaden heaviness and cosmic lightness. Wheeler’s wordy meditations shine with precise, gripping observations. A stoically acting rhythm section around Lalli’s precise grooves ensure a dancing foundation. Astonishing heaviness in the middle, almost constant persistence in meditative volatility, plus a barely perceptible transition into the next song – that’s incredibly fun.

Every single song – eight and a half to eleven minutes long – exudes incredible fascination and creates unique sound worlds. The brisk energy of “Swamp Cooler Reality” meets the detached howl of the poet, who, at the end of the quasi-title song “Other Desert Cities”, quotes the old folk song “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”, popularized by Nirvana, among others. The fact that it is preceded by an initially oppressive and sharp-edged desert psych jam number that is later stripped back and expressly bows to bandleader Lalli fits into the picture. In the final “The Devil Waits For Me” the band completely goes out of their way. Wheeler sings, screams and spits, the distortion increases and strives for a loud, chaotic finale. The applause that followed was highly deserved.

Some albums have qualities that words can’t begin to do justice to. “Folklore From The Desert Cities” is exactly that. Of course, the psych elements, the rich musical heritage – some of the musicians have known each other for over three decades – and the blind understanding on stage can be described in detail. And yet you ultimately have to experience these four long tracks for yourself. Groove, feeling, heaviness, a pleasantly unusual and crazy frontman, sudden intoxication and a welcome knack for absolute madness accompany this magnificent snapshot, which is without question one of the absolute desert highlights of the last few years. If that’s not a reason to want to see Lalli and the band live…

Rating: 9/10

Available from: March 29, 2024
Available via: Heavy Psych Sounds Records (Cargo Records)

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