Review: Blasting Rod ‘Mojave Green’
If it happened that you never heard of Blasting Rod, or if you read about them but never bothered to check them out, the time is now. I came across this phenomenal psych experimental fuzz-noise power trio from Nagoya, the capital of Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, during one of my visits on Bandcamp. It was 2022 and they had just released their second album Of Wild Hazel (my Desert Island Disc album), a record whose sound vibrations made me feel like the earth was moving under my feet.
At this point, I was very intrigued and started to investigate who was the bright mind behind the divine ingenuity that was able to produce dizzying magnetic shocks of an astronomical musical force. Guitarist/singer Sven Shah was the main manipulator, the driving force of these explosive stunning guitar noises. Sven started producing music in early 2000 through heavy psych jamming experimentations with local musicians which culminated with the perfect balanced trio baptized by the name of Blasting Rod, a name he already used as a solo project releasing early recordings with the collaborations of various Nagoya musicians.
The moniker most probably has to do with the way Sven uses his guitar, just like a magician’s wand to cast off all the bad spirits that surround their late-night jam sessions. Looking at his productions, you can’t help but think that each record has its own musical affinities close to the ‘60s psych rock sound of The Thirteen Floor Elevator, Blue Cheer and the bluesy feel of Sky ‘Sunlight’ Saxon’s The Seeds, all guided by the strength of heaven and the burning fire of hell.
It also needs to be mentioned that Sven’s improvised way of laying down his music, sided with his partners in crime, Yoshihiro Yasui (bass, guitar and percussion) and Chihiro(drums and percussion), can well be considered as the otherworldly brother of Acid Mothers Temple’s Kawabata Makoto and the spiritual essence of noise minimalist Keiji Haino.
dizzying magnetic shocks of an astronomical musical force…
Blasting Rod‘s music is a daily diet of heavy and organically fermenting fuzzy trashy sound that sometimes leads itself towards paths interspersed with jazzy touches and caressing acid ballads without dispersing or abandoning in obvious repetitions to fill up the gaps. Their sound is perfectly dosed, almost born by the mind of a premeditated killer; at times poignant, cathartic, cosmic and most of all, full of good vibrations, which we could also refer to as superb and majestic.
Their new five-track album Mojave Green, the third of Sven‘s awesome catalogue, is released via their own Low&Slow.Disk imprint. When Sven sent me the album, I couldn’t stop myself from listening to it over and over again. Already from the first song YEA 24M (Cosmic Bash) you are hit by a frenetic blues stoner rock ‘n’ roll song intertwined with ‘60s veins, close to the sound of Bristolians The Heads, except that Blasting Rod‘s style is far more combative than the one of Simon Price’s band.
With Yao Tsu (Infinity Landing), the longest and most experimental noise track of the entire album, they let themselves navigate towards shores of improvised stratospheric space music taking the listeners into a mountainous long voyage of heavy and breathtaking dark sonic landscapes. The title track, Mojave Green, is fuzz-thrashy and headbanging mixed with desert stoner riffs where bass, guitar, and drums exude violence and peaceful emotions.
Bowl Of Shala doesn’t distance from the wizardly musical theories dictated by Sven Shah but delves with a more satiated blues rock melody. The closing song Grandon The Stone Cutter (OG ver.) is touched by a Blasting Rod that, with its magic touches, has generated a shining light from start to finish releasing imperturbable noise, harmonious and reverberating energetic sound. Sven‘s music alchemy is soulful and endless and can only find its place in the spirit of eternal jokers of psych acid rock. So true.
Label: Low&Slow.Disk
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Domenico ‘Mimmo’ Caccamo
