The cover of Dion Lunadon‘s new album, Systems Edge, shows him holding a chain above a guitar. My guess is that he was just about to flog that guitar within an inch of its life with it, because that kind of (yes, Stooges-influenced) raw power is all over the record.
Opening track “Secrets” has him already pounding out raggedy, roaring chords with it, and on “Nikki” it sounds like the bellows of a robotic lion. The thick bass notes punch up the rock even more. It’s a song about a fling that ends in tragedy for at least one person involved, and maybe pleasure for another. “Diamond Sea” has a groovy surf-rock line that runs through it.
“I Walk Away” is, somehow, heavier and darker than everything before it, and Lunadon’s vocals are like a werewolf belting out a tune during transformation. “Rocks On” reminds me of “Mongoloid-era” Devo tracks where you have all kinds of fuzz and some sort of something that feels like it can erupt into full-blown chaos at any moment.
The bass and drums on “Shockwave” hit you like the song’s namesake. “Grind Me Down” has a New York Dolls feel to it with its swagger and garage rock guitars. After the brief instrumental of “Straight Down the Middle,” we get the great dis track, “I Don’t Mind,” in which Lunadon writes off an ex-lover / friend because they only bring him bad luck and headaches. The album closes with the near-doom heavy-psych of “Room with No View,” which sounds like Lunadon is playing his guitar with a lit sparkler he got at a dusty roadside fireworks stand.
For me, the coolest thing about Systems Edge is that Lunadon made a pure rock record. It’s heavy garage rock, to be certain, but it’s nice to hear a rock record that embraces and flaunts the power of distorted, fuzzed, dangerous rock. We don’t have enough rock records that feel at least a bit threatening. Thankfully, Lunadon is here to snarl and growl and shake up the room.
Keep your mind open.
[You’ll have me on edge until you subscribe.]
[Thanks to Dion!]