THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL - Optimystic
Pictured: Shannon Larkin, Brian Carpenter, Tony Rombola + Shane Hall - THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL
Photo by: Jaimée Alethea Hall
The Smooth Sound of THE APOCALYPSE
Written by: Jimmy Wah - Sense Music Media
When was the last time you heard new music that was really different and really unique while somehow being strangely nostalgic? Like one of those dreams where you’re in a place that you know you’ve never been but it somehow feels really familiar. If you’re anything like me, THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL might feel like that to you too. Featuring half of the members of GODSMACK with Shannon Larkin on drums and Tony Rombola on guitar, it has the immediate stamp of quality. After touring the country with bassist Brian Carpenter from Jacksonville rock band BLACKFOOT for nearly a decade as THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVUE; they released two records on the back of throw downs at biker bars, blues haunts and deep-rooted venues across the US. In 2019 the trio gained lifelong friend and vocalist Shane Hall to start a new chapter… or maybe they started a whole new story.
Sweeping synths, ominous organs and epic electric guitars shredding in dissonant minor tones might not sound like blues at first. As you may have gathered, THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL isn’t just radio-friendly jazz; and as you listen beyond the first track Waltz of the Antichrist from their 2020 self-titled album, you soon realise that you’re on a journey that’s something more than just the blues. As the album progresses, classic beats accompanying blues scales walking up and down the fret-board become a feature to support saxophone and raw sounding acoustics in the same style, but it’s very different from anything I’ve ever heard before. The musical phrasing is often slowed down to an exaggerated pace that is reminiscent of doom-metal yet somehow maintains a psychedelic rock feel. The drawn out vocals of Shane Hall are so deep it’s like being lulled into an evocative trance by Christopher Lee as the musical journey twists and turns and the heart on his sleeve becomes palpable. Then it lands on this next track, Optymistic.
The Review
In stark contrast to much of the rest of the album, this song opens with up-beat rhythms set in motion by stylistic drums and simmering saxophone reminiscent of smooth-jazz that you would find on the soundtrack of a 1950s hard-boiled crime fiction film. It doesn’t take long for Shane’s peeled back vocals to float above the groove before leading the listener through the streets of life. Questioning the importance of our perceptions, we are thrust forward into an integrity-crushing voyage that feels more like a cruise made easy to ride by the buttery optimism of the music. The music itself seems to carry the listener forward as the melody overtakes the rhythm to carry the empowering vocals as the beat switches between trying to keep up and dropping to half-time grooves making it an easy roller-coaster to never want to leave. Left with the lingering hope of the opportunity for change, this song has the ability to strike the nerves beneath the surface of everyone’s superficiality and use that leverage to cradle them toward a promising sense of redemption.
The lyric video definitely casts Optimystic into the realm of psychedelic rock. The video itself reminds me of a mixture between SOUNDGARDEN’s Black Hole Sun, MR. BUNGLE’s Retrovertigo and something from MONTY PYTHON’s Flying Circus. The comically styled cut outs and text are similar to the ‘Pop Art’ movement made famous by artists like Andy Warhol in the 1950s, tying in with the ‘Film Noir’ era that I mentioned before. The satirical optimism is played out through a montage of domesticated western archetypes on a black desert to contrast the sweet innocence of pastel pink. Tattooed with symbols that bring into focus what lies beneath, these figures are overseen by skeletons, demons and somber images of the band themselves. The sarcastic horror mixed with the upbeat jazz and optimistic lyrics make one question whether the singer actually believes what he is saying, perhaps indicative of what the song’s really about. Is there any hope for humanity?
The Verdict
Optimystic is an awesome example of THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL’s ability to traverse more than just musical genres. If you like to kick back with drink in hand and get lost in the moment, this song’s for you. Take a deep dive into the philosophical underpinnings woven into our social fabric and get transported to the other side of what we might become.