Grifter – The Simplicity of the Riff is Key
There was a moment while listening to this that I zoned out and thought I was actually in the seventies. Not the grim seventies of power cuts and the winter of discontent, oh no, the Dazed and Confused seventies where all the girls wear sexy hotpants and guys drive around in gas guzzling muscle cars. You know, the seventies that never actually happened, at least not over here anyway. Admittedly the fact that I’m wearing flares and the Mrs is in the process of packing her stuff for roller derby didn’t really help. It’s in the musical landscape of that mythical version of the nineteen seventies that Grifter roam, bitch slapping jive turkeys with their hairy chested man rock. Yes I’ve been drinking, I admit it. Be that as it may, the point is Grifter are a pretty decent Stoner band.
The Simplicity of the Riff is Key opens with The Voices, a track with a riff so big you could stick a wig on it and call it Andre. And that is essentially all you need to know about this highly enjoyable slice of riff driven rock and roll (I refuse to call this Riff Rock, that’s not even a thing. All rock has riffs!) that is quite clearly written by guys who just want to ROCK! The highlight of this EP is Pendulum (which also appears on our compilation, Black is Thee New Black) which has a hook that is reminiscent of Clutch getting their groove on. Pendulum and, for that matter all the tracks on The Simplicity of the Riff is Key sound like they would be flare flappingly good live. It probably helps that this EP has got a very ‘live’ sound to it. I would, however, like to hear what these guys sound like with a bit more production behind them. But that’s a minor gripe.
Anyway, back to this fantasy version of the seventies. While I’m here I’m going to get me some Mojos and try it on with Joan Jett, just don’t tell the wife!
by enos
