Trippy Wicked And The Cosmic Children Of The Knight may certainly be one of the strangest names that I've ever heard for a band, but their mix of stoner rock, blues, doom Metal and straight-ahead rock ensures that this album has something on offer for almost everyone.

The title track, 'Going Home', is a slow doomy number for example, but with its fantastic tonal guitar sound it's never plodding – especially when it climaxes with an almost orchestral overture. 'I Want Another Drink' shows off the bluesy side of the band in the intro, before this fades into another great doom track – replete with more solidly heavy chords, which sometimes end on the verge of the guitars feeding back. Whether this was intentional or not, I'm not entirely sure but it does clearly demonstrate how hard the band is working.



Lyrically, though, it is fundamentally a downbeat track (with the oft-repeated line of "I'm in Hell, come and get me" leaving the listener in no doubt) but the mood is lifted slightly when the bluesy intro returns mid-way though, making this a firm favourite of mine after a few good listens.

Of course, the albums not all doom and gloom. There are a number of tracks that could certainly be classed as rock songs. 'Up The Stakes' sounds like a cross between Black Sabbath and Cathedral, with slightly obscured vocals from Pete Holland whilst Chris West puts in a solid performance on the drums, keeping a clean steady beat whilst Holland also produces a fantastic guitar solo in between his solid riffing.

The sound continues with 'Change Of Mind', being solidly placed between the rock and doom genres. As is common with many of the tracks presented here, Holland delivers another fine vocal with a somewhat dreamy tinge to them whilst bass player Dickie King also shows off his skills with a short bass solo midway through.

'Ain't Gonna End Well' is a fast paced track which, despite clocking in at around a relatively short two minutes, has a simple sound and catchy chorus - which is reminiscent of bands like The Strokes. Although the track is short here, I'm sure the band would have no problem extending this during a live gig and the song still wouldn't lose any of its immediacy.

'Pour Me Another One' lightens the mood still further with its bouncy rhythm guitar sound and clear vocals. Certainly this is one of the most accessible tracks on the album which shouldn't have any issues getting played on rock radio stations. With perhaps a slight nod to Soundgarden or Nirvana it features a nice (if quirky) guitar solo from Holland and the track is over and done in less than three and a half minutes.

The album's final track, 'Home', is the only track that seems out of place here. Running in at just under sixty seconds, it seems to be a guitar or keyboard sound which could be an intro to a song from a forthcoming single/album that hasn't got any further yet, or just an avant-garde throwaway piece – we can only guess, but it closes an otherwise great album from the band.

Available on Standard CD or Vinyl from here: http://superhotrecords.bigcartel.com/

Tracklist:
Going Home
Up The Stakes
Go Outside
Ain't Gonna End Well
I Want Another Drink
Hillbilly Moonshine
Pour Me Another One
Change Your Mind
Home

Band Members:
Pete 'Trippy' Holland – Guitar, Vocals
Dickie 'Wicked' King – Bass
Chris West – Drums

Online:
http://www.trippywicked.com/

31.5.12