Velvet Elvis - No Rules In the Wasteland (Cae-sur-a, 2012)

Velvet Elvis – No Rules In the Wasteland
Cae-sur-a 2012

Velvet Elvis is a Rochester, NY based group consisting of guitar, bass, vocals and drums. This tape was recorded in 2011. Side A is a 15 minute long track, the title track. Things start off pretty heavy and sludgy on the guitars, but the pace in the riffs and the drums is pretty middle of the road. The recording is of a rather lo-fi quality, adding to the sludge. The guitars lighten up their sound a little as the lyrics/vocals enter. The music is quite structured in a rock mentality, i.e. chorus-verse-chorus-verse, etc. It isn’t really metal, because it isn’t that intimidating, but it definitely has the sludge and grit. I would call it sludgy psych rock. The next part of the piece goes into some really slow, heavy, stoner rock jams. The lo-fidelity, distortion, and grit coupled with the super slow pace of the song are all significant, contributing factors to making this kind of music really powerful. The riffing is quite simple technically, but with such weight and grandeur, it’s much better staying simple. The rock song structures fade out and the guitars enter some feedback-y, phased out guitar noise wash ending the piece.

"Pretty Girls In Lace" starts off wailing on the guitar, riding a bluesy, swinging, rock beat. Similar stoner rock song structure with really distorted guitars. "Stop and Think" doesn’t stray too far away stylistically from the rest of the tape. The only thing really noticeably different is that at times it is slightly more rhythmic and upbeat than the other songs. "Where’s Your Marlboro Man Now?" begins with some found sound/spoken word of a man talking about the Marlboro Man over some droning, feedback-y guitar wash (no drums), creating quite an eerie aesthetic. It’s the shortest song on the tape.



Cassette for purchase: http://www.cae-sur-a.com/ve-no-rules/