REVIEW: JOHN GARCIA [SELF-TITLED]

★★★★

REVIEW:

JOHN GARCIA

SELF-TITLED

NAPALM RECORDS

BY ERIK SUGG

John Garcia is one of those musicians whose name should probably be heard much more often.  He’s certainly no stranger to lovers of heavy music, but outside the desert rock realm where John reigns supreme, you’d be hard pressed to find everyday rock and rollers who mention his name with any regularity. He’s got a hell of an impressive resume and has made many great records while collaborating with a vast array of musicians. But if all John Garcia had ever done was sing on one lone Kyuss record, he’d still be worthy of all his praise. That’s because his singing is that good. He’s a once in a generation sort of talent whose voice can make a mediocre band great, but all of John’s bands have been far from mediocre.



Kyuss caught on during a time when the flamboyant flash of hair metal had long since been decimated by the Pacific Northwestern roar of bands like Nirvana and the Melvins. Folks who were into heavier music got their ears used to the honey-gargling screams of singers like Kurt Cobain, or the nasally whine of alt-rockers like Billy Corgan. With the exception of a few celebrated vocalists like Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell and Glenn Danzig, it seemed the classic rock singing style that had evolved from the ‘70s was going to the wayside. The age of irony was coming fast, and that style was too serious for the college rock crowd. Even metalheads were beginning to pass over the soulful in favor of the guttural. And then the circus came to town. Kyuss hit the scene and managed to blow minds with their fuzzed out, low-end rumble, but the fiery, Gillan-esque howl of John Garcia propelled the band’s power deep into the stratosphere. Their influence on heavy music cannot be overstated. Grunge was no longer the go-to sound for hard rockers. All of the sudden everyone, everywhere wanted vintage gear, detuned guitars, and a singer that sounded like John Garcia.

NEW MUSIC VIDEO FROM EX-KYUSS FRONTMAN JOHN GARCIA

JOHN GARCIA is set to release his solo album John Garcia on August 4th in the UK & August 5th USA/CAN on Napalm Records!  JOHN recently completed work on the first video from the album for the song "My Mind".  Today the video is receving its exclusive premiere courtesy of Noisey, VICE Magazine's music channel.  Check out the video below.

With VISTA CHINO, GARCIA makes music very close to his KYUSS roots, but on his self-titled solo album he also ventures out with some experiments and convinces all along the line. This record is full of first-class, catchy rock numbers that commute equally between Classic Rock and concise Stoner elements.

 Once you've made contact and started ingesting the tracks 'My Mind' or '5000 Miles', you will see this album is spreading like an infection to the body and one is happy to be involved in the short and crisp 'Saddleback' or  'Confusion', which is strongly rooted in Blues. 'Her Bullets Energy' is the next ultra-bouncer on the record, with the legendary Robby Krieger (THE DOORS) on the guitar. JOHN GARCIAhas delivered a multi-faceted and extremely intense solo album that will stir up more dust than a sandstorm in the California desert. Danko Jones, Tom Brayton, Mark Diamond and also GARCIA's old cohort of KYUSS Nick Oliveri show up as guest musicians to round out this solo masterpiece.