Review Summary: Clearly the mixed sound of dirty blues and classic rock. The EP was independently recorded and produced which gives it this great grittiness and raw sound.
Albatross is a new band out of Ontario, Canada. The lineup consists of Eric Vezeau (vocals/bass), Johnny Linklater (vocals/guitar), and Ryan Lagace (drums/production). They just released their first EP/album ever called Happenstance. It is clearly the mixed sound of dirty blues and classic rock. The EP was independently recorded and produced which gives it this great grittiness and raw sound.
The second the album starts off Albatross wastes no time in hitting you as hard as they can with “Evil Woman”. It quickly shows us the grittiness of their guitars, and the rawness of Eric’s vocals. The intro is quite interesting; without a drum count in or a short pause it sounds as if it kicks in mid riff, the intro is catchy as hell though. "Evil Woman" is easily a track that should get the band some attention and easily the lead single off of the album. It quickly shows off the blues guitar talent of Johnny. What I enjoyed the most about the guitar playing in the song is the fact that he didn’t lay the guitar parts on too thick and overcrowd the song with solo’s even though it would have been quite easy to do so. The solo however that he nails down just after the two minute and thirty second mark to finish off the song before the acoustic sounds kicked in definitely nails the song down to a strong finish.
Up next is a song titled “The Seaside”. Mellower compared to “Evil Woman” so you would think at the beginning of the song, but look out does it ever pack a hidden punch later on. The guitars damn near do all the singing that is needed, especially after the opening verse. I could easily see this bridge being extended to a couple of minutes during a live performance of the song. Eric still hits his raw gritty vocals but does get lost behind the guitars and drums in a few spots. When it goes into what I would say a 100% transformation Look Out, they totally caught me by surprise when I listened to it for the first time. It quickly goes from a blues number into a full on rock tune without notice. Johnny leads the way into the second half of the track by turning up the volume a little on his guitar and nails another tremendous solo to finish off "The Seaside".
“Smoke & Mirrors” an acoustic blues jam type of song finishes off the album with a live version of “Evil Woman”. The first time through I instantly picked up a few influences especially in the acoustic guitar playing. Then later on you can hear a few lyrics that have been used in a few popular songs. The recording of the vocals was nicely done, the echoing wide open sound of the vocals was a nice touch to the song. It is not a full on acoustic track; they kick it up quite a few notches at about the half way mark., It almost goes into a d tuning sound. Fantastic tune.
Overall I think "Happenstance" is an excellent first effort. I see a band that has great potential. Don't hesitate to pick this one up if you're a fan of classic rock, blues, hard rock, and rock in general.
Highlights: Evil Woman, Smoke & Mirrors
