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Who are Hazy Skies? Well, besides your typical clam-baked basement full of black light posters, Hazy Skies are a blues based rock band from Memphis, TN. The band’s style is very similar to bands such as The Black Keys, The Heavy Eyes, The Dirty Streets, or even a little bit of Radio Moscow. Heavy psych, psychedelic blues are two sub genres that would fit these guys well. Illusion was released just over a month ago and have been blasting through these speakers almost non stop. - Soda Shop
HAZY SKIES is a psychedelic soul-rock band based out of Memphis, TN. The band is currently comprised of Terry Bartlett (vocals, guitar), Alex Deshazo (bass), and Daniel Branan (drums). Their debut album ‘Illusion’ was released in November 2012, and features nine solid tracks of accessibly heavy, yet peacefully blues-influenced jam rock.
‘Illusion’ is a severely interesting record. Taking a reviewer’s perspective, it’s one of those totally dig-able jam records, but an equally perplexing one because you’re just not quite sure how to frame a reference for kindred readers and listeners. Is it a soulfully vocal blues rock record? A muddy fuzzy psych rock record? Or, as in songs like “Anubis” might indicate, does it harken a heaving slab of sludgy noise rock and blown bass amps? I think the answer is that it’s a little bit of all of it.
‘Illusion’ no doubt carries a quality of a unique listening experience. And the blues rock influences smoke right out of the gate. “Wake Up, Keep Dreamin” sounds like a Stevie Ray meets Jimi jam out. “Swans” rumbles on more like a buzzed-out “Barracuda” on codeine. And “Glass houses” blows the blues right out of the bridge barn.
“Lunar” gives us a saucy guiterlude. “Anubis” could be the “ballad” on the album. But good gawd, the slabs of distortion are insane on this one (some gnarly guit-fiddling here, too). “Withered Lotus” follows in a similar ballad-like fashion. But the heaving distortion again makes me wonder what the TRUCKFIGHTERS might sound like if they went blues rock.
“Storms” picks up the pace and reminds me of something on ‘Shadows on the Sun’ era ZEN GUERILLA. Great tune. “Red Fang” is another gnarly “Swans” like jam with more heaving riffs of rhythm. And “Mountains and Mole hills” ends the record rattling the walls in a soulful Hendrixian haze.
I’m not sure this is a soul or psych rock record though. Part of me feels like HAZY SKIES is blazing a trail for a new genre of something I still can’t find the right words to take a shot at. A modern day BLUE CHEER? Would be tough to draw comparisons to a band like that. But I don’t know. Maybe. Amidst all of the heavy fuzz and near doom-like distortion, Terry’s vocals remain as mellow as a cool Memphis breeze. This is perhaps part of the perplexity I’m finding in concisely describing this record. Because it’s heavy as hell, in a gnarly 70s blues/fuzz rock type of vibe, and yet still rather calmly accessible as those soul influences send.
RIYL: DIRTY STREETS, ZEN GUERILLA, THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX, DEEP PURPLE, BLUE CHEER, WOLFMOTHER, Hendrix, SRV, blues rock, muddy fuzz, heavy distortion, Memphis soul
- Rockthought.com
HAZY SKIES is a psychedelic soul-rock band based out of Memphis, TN. The band is currently comprised of Terry Bartlett (vocals, guitar), Alex Deshazo (bass), and Daniel Branan (drums). Their debut album ‘Illusion’ was released in November 2012, and features nine solid tracks of accessibly heavy, yet peacefully blues-influenced jam rock.
‘Illusion’ is a severely interesting record. Taking a reviewer’s perspective, it’s one of those totally dig-able jam records, but an equally perplexing one because you’re just not quite sure how to frame a reference for kindred readers and listeners. Is it a soulfully vocal blues rock record? A muddy fuzzy psych rock record? Or, as in songs like “Anubis” might indicate, does it harken a heaving slab of sludgy noise rock and blown bass amps? I think the answer is that it’s a little bit of all of it.
‘Illusion’ no doubt carries a quality of a unique listening experience. And the blues rock influences smoke right out of the gate. “Wake Up, Keep Dreamin” sounds like a Stevie Ray meets Jimi jam out. “Swans” rumbles on more like a buzzed-out “Barracuda” on codeine. And “Glass houses” blows the blues right out of the bridge barn.
“Lunar” gives us a saucy guiterlude. “Anubis” could be the “ballad” on the album. But good gawd, the slabs of distortion are insane on this one (some gnarly guit-fiddling here, too). “Withered Lotus” follows in a similar ballad-like fashion. But the heaving distortion again makes me wonder what the TRUCKFIGHTERS might sound like if they went blues rock.
“Storms” picks up the pace and reminds me of something on ‘Shadows on the Sun’ era ZEN GUERILLA. Great tune. “Red Fang” is another gnarly “Swans” like jam with more heaving riffs of rhythm. And “Mountains and Mole hills” ends the record rattling the walls in a soulful Hendrixian haze.
I’m not sure this is a soul or psych rock record though. Part of me feels like HAZY SKIES is blazing a trail for a new genre of something I still can’t find the right words to take a shot at. A modern day BLUE CHEER? Would be tough to draw comparisons to a band like that. But I don’t know. Maybe. Amidst all of the heavy fuzz and near doom-like distortion, Terry’s vocals remain as mellow as a cool Memphis breeze. This is perhaps part of the perplexity I’m finding in concisely describing this record. Because it’s heavy as hell, in a gnarly 70s blues/fuzz rock type of vibe, and yet still rather calmly accessible as those soul influences send.
RIYL: DIRTY STREETS, ZEN GUERILLA, THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX, DEEP PURPLE, BLUE CHEER, WOLFMOTHER, Hendrix, SRV, blues rock, muddy fuzz, heavy distortion, Memphis soul
- Rockthought.com
Discography
Illusion- November 9,2012
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Bio
In the greens of Mississippi, not to far south of the grit and soul of Memphis TN, Hazy Skies began as friends getting together and jamming in the summer of 2010. The idea started out as a blend of the Psychedelic Rock of Jimi Hendrix and Early Funkadelic with the Soul of mo-town and Stax. As time marched on, the idea stayed true to its roots and began to evolve and encompass modern day sounds of acts such as The White Stripes, Queens of the Stone age, and Graveyard. Now the present goal of Hazy Skies is to bring you their Dark and soulful sounds of earth and space to move your feet or maybe even wake up something thats been sleepin deep inside your mind.
Hazy Skies is currently playing locally in the Mid-South area surronding Memphis and small regional tours. Be on the look at because we'll be seein you real soon.
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