Spiritual Beggars
Earth Blues

THE REVIEW

Strange reality that of the Spiritual Beggars. Stoner rock in Swedish land. If we listen to the most uncompromising critics, it's not even stoner rock anymore after "Return To Zero" in 2010. Apparently, that album, with its shift to a more easy-going hard rock, rubbed many the wrong way. Too much distance from the initial Kyuss-like stoner of the debut CD and "Another Way To Shine." In fact, RTZ was not exactly enthusiastically received by the so-called loyalists, those who have appreciated Amott and company since their debut. The new "Earth Blues" follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, further dividing the Swedish band's followers.

The twelve tracks on the new album perhaps clarify forever the "new course" taken by the band from Halmstad. Stoner only makes a rare appearance, while a less rough and more straightforward rock in its construction takes over. The two minutes of the opener "Wise As A Serpent" are testimony to this. SB almost appear to draw inspiration from the early Queens Of The Stone Age, having now "betrayed" Kyuss. It's hard to say if this is good or bad, but "Earth Blues" certainly has, compared to the previous work, a fuller, more "thought-out" sound. There is a sonic foundation to this latest effort that manages to distance it from the emptiness of "Return To Zero" to make it a more focused album, much closer to the essence of the Spiritual Beggars.

The guitar of Michael Amott continues to be the giant of the scene, but Per Wiberg and his keyboards prove to be important, and the interlude of "Sweet Magic Pain", which follows a powerful heavy sound akin to fellow Swedes Grand Magus, is one of the most appreciable aspects of the CD. Even the previous "Turn The Tide", despite the simplicity of riffs and vocal lines, fully accomplishes its task. One of the few "killer songs" produced by the SB in recent years. The union of melody and abrasive rock in "One Man's Curse" is another clear example of how times have changed, but how compositional skills still manage to prevail.

The latest creation from the Swedish quintet can be labeled as another work that elicits grunts, timid applause, and equally timid signs of disapproval. "Earth Blues" has the virtue of not bogging down with the presence of fillers (one could mention "Freedom Song" and "Legends Collapse" as two other noteworthy tracks), but nonetheless the difference, especially from a stylistic perspective, with an album like "Another Way To Shine" is evidently clear.

Bands that try to vary their offerings over time should be admired, and the "conceptual" change they try to bring to their existence should be understood. This latter aspect is not entirely clear for the Spiritual Beggars, who are trying to change, but probably lack those solutions capable of bringing them towards the "leap in quality".

1. "Wise As A Serpent" (2:35)
2. "Turn The Tide" (3:26)
3. "Sweet Magic Pain" (4:43)
4. "Hello Sorrow" (4:29)
5. "One Man's Curse" (4:34)
6. "Dreamer" (5:09)
7. "Too Old To Die Young" (6:16)
8. "Kingmaker" (3:54)
9. "Road To Madness" (3:06)
10. "Dead End Town" (2:32)
11. "Freedom Song" (3:37)
12. "Legends Collapse" (5:50)