Followers of Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin will be familiar with the contributions Charles Mootheart has made to a number of their records, not least on the two Fuzz albums with Segall, as well as on tour.

As CFM Mootheart has stepped out on his own with debut solo album Dichotomy Desaturated, a definite grower if ever there was one. Fans of the aforementioned big guns will have a preconceived notion of what to expect from the ten songs herein and in the main you'll get what you expect.

Which isn't to say that this is Segall-/Cronin-lite. Mooseheart's vocals, for one thing, sound very much like his own, rather than anyone he may be influenced by in any way. For another thing his guitar playing is rather more challenging than on those records in which he's participated to back up others.  

Opening track 'Dichotomy' begins things slowly but from 'Pinch The Dream' onwards we're in a world of whammy bar use, pastoral passages, solid riffing and serious rocking out which deserves the full use of the volume on whatever device you're playing the thing on.

Repeated listens deliver new favourite elements. I'll admit to initially being underwhelmed by my first listen but, you go away, let a couple of days pass and then come back to it and things change for the better. Even groovy sixth track 'Voyeurs' can be seen in a new light (think of a less doomy, slow Black Sabbath number).

Mootheart has a great legacy already as a sidekick and band member & he can now deservedly add to that with Dichotomy Desaturated as a performer in his own right. As CFM he's successfully distilled his influences and collaborations into a body of work wholly his own and as exciting as the best debut albums should be.

Dichotomy Desaturated is available from amazon & iTunes.

Safe to say that if Alice had been Meatbodies' debut album (reviewed back in 2014 here) the level of anticipation here for giving it a listen would have been nowhere near as high as it was.

Apparently it's a concept album. Nowt wrong with that. Where I've found myself struggling is with the band's loss of pace.

Meatbodies has an equally slow opening track/instrumental but thereafter it has you by the throat and never lets up. Alice, in a contrary fashion, never really gets itself worked up to anything more than mid-paced.

It's pleasant enough for all that but nothing that's going to make you sit up and pay attention. Opening track 'The Burning Fields' is doom metal slow riffage followed by a bit of drum machine & then some tribal drumming. Repeated listens don't reveal any further depths to it.

From 'Kings' onwards it's as if Ty Segall had decided to channel Rush on one of his albums, rather than Marc Bolan as per usual. Whilst acknowledgement of his influence was minimal on Meatbodies on Alice it's centre stage.

Unfortunately if it was a Segall album it would be viewed as one he'd phoned in. The title track ends up being too long but with songs such as 'Creature Feature', 'Haunted History' and 'Touchless' there is perfectly listenable material on offer here. It just lacks the punch and early promise of three years ago, with only 'Scavenger' coming close to replicating that (whilst also calling Frank Zappa to mind).

Live the songs may take on lives if their own & they'll certainly serve to give the band a break from the energetic playing required to bring forth their earlier output. Newcomers should though swiftly check out album number one to experience the band at their best.

Alice is available from amazon & iTunes.