Friday, January 27, 2012

Soul Manifest - (2011) White Season




Soul Manifest is one of those rare French newcomers that pops up one or two times a year, released on the Swedish label Night Tripper records (in Gothenburg I believe). At first I thought; not heavy enough, but after a few listenings I changed my mind. Ok, it’s not as heavy as stoner rock but it is still a damn fine psyche/hard rock monster which definitely is a grower! (of mushrooms perhaps;-))


Soul Manifest mixes acid/alternative rock, pre-historic hard rock and blues, and they do it so well and so accurate that you want to nibble trip after trip and just float away into the atmosphere. “The manifest” is fronted by a female singer who knows how to stroke the microphone in the right way, wild and sexy, dark and melancholic. Her voice reminds me of the girlies in Jefferson Airplane, The Shocking Blue, Coven and to the contemporary Danish Fuzz Manta. The music can also be connected with that time frame (the 60’s).
The debut album ‘White season’ begins with ‘Dead man’ that starts fairly modest which fortunately rapidly grows and explodes into a real highlight! You get a huge portion of the late 60’s/early 70’s mixed with a modern heavier sound. On the title track ‘White season pt.1’ you get tangled in a web of occultism and gloomy guitars, along with a damn fine chorus sung by the mature and sexy voice i earlier mentioned. The fourth act ‘Devil’s meeting’ is an excellent Hammond orgy with bluesy acid dripping guitars which might as well have been written in the summer of ’69. ‘Devil’s meeting’ is absolutely one of the outstanding tracks and also a “living” proof that Soul Manifest deserves a place among the greatest in the genre. Does it feel this good to meet the devil I might marry the son of a bitch!


Track no. 6 ‘All but my dreams can be erased by the rain’ is more like an superheated rock’n roll machine whose opening riff reminds PRETTY much of a Sisters of Mercy tune. Stolen or not, the song is well played and nicely arranged with piano parts and raging guitar solos, and suits well with the others on the album. The final “track” ‘Who’s the rock’n rolla’ ends this journey and is more an outro with a voice saying; who’s the rock’n rolla. I have preferred a more proper ending to album, more like a 10-minute long psyche orgy of swaggering guitars and trippy deep dives, and not just a voice saying those words!


Except for the hilarious ending ‘White season’ is both entertaining and well produced and flirts with everything related to psychedelics, straight forward rock’n roll and classic hard rock. If you’re into old band like Jefferson Airplane, Shocking Blue, Grand Funk Railroad and to new bands like Fuzz Manta, Baby Woodrose and Rise & Shine you will dig this one too. Don’t miss these French psyche-baguettes...they are well worth the bite!


~Tobias Beament





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