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Fuzz Manta, Opus II: Lady Sings the Fuzzy Blues

Posted in Reviews on November 30th, 2011 by JJ Koczan

Reduced by one guitar, the now-foursome Fuzz Manta made their return earlier in 2011 with the sophomore outing, Opus II, on CD and vinyl through Gateway Music. I wasn’t a huge fan of their 2009 Smokerings debut, finding it mostly generic but for the standout vocals of soulful frontwoman Lene Kjaer Hvillum, but with Opus II, the Copenhagen natives bring more elements of classic rock and blues to complement their natural-sounding fuzz, and the results are surprisingly impressive across the eight songs. Hvillum is still in the lead role and provides the album its several high points, but being down a guitar has forced Fuzz Manta to be more creative stylistically, and the added organ work of Jesper Bo Hansen melds gorgeously with the band’s sound. Hansen appears on three tracks – the early “Man with No Face” and side B’s closing duo “Corrosion” and “Let Me Walk” – adding rich melody alongside the vintage-style distortion of Frederik Jensen’s guitar and letting bassist Morten Clod-Svensson and drummer/recording engineer Pelle Moltke have room to flesh out the grooves in the rhythm section – which they don’t seem to have much trouble doing anyway, even on the songs without organ. As the album gets moving with opener “Motumann,” the shifts in their aesthetic are almost immediately apparent.

The groove is primary. The guitars and bass insistent. The drums forceful. The vocals perfectly cadenced. Fuzz Manta, from the very first minute of Opus II, sound like a more confident, more stylistically nuanced and more individual band than they did on Smokerings. “Motumann” strikes early with one of the record’s catchiest choruses, and offers a subdued break in its middle that foreshadows some of Opus II’s bluesier material. They cut the tempo behind Jensen’s solo and nod toward doom without ever really getting there or losing their rock sensibility, and through it all and the final chorus return, Clod-Svensson and Moltke sound like they could go anywhere with ease. That proves fortunate as “Man with No Face” begins with tempo and riff cadence similar to Deep Purple’s “Strange Kind of Woman” – Hansen’s organ only furthering the comparison as it works in Jon Lord-esque tandem with Jensen’s guitar. The bridge layers in acoustic guitar among the electric and organ, bass and drums, as Hvillum reiterates and reinterprets the chorus with jazzy flow. It’s not surprising when the rush returns and the song returns to its verse/chorus pattern, but the solo section and final chorus satisfy anyway in a way they might not have on Smokerings, and as if to confirm the growth of Fuzz Manta’s songwriting, the mostly acoustic “Quiet Monday” balances a breathy Stevie Nicks delivery from Hvillum over folksy Led Zeppelin picking and percussion. While the turn in approach might seem abrupt and maybe cutting short the momentum the first two tracks have built up, in the context of heavy ‘70s traditionalism, it makes more sense and sets up the riffier side A finale, “Lithia’s Box” to seem that much heavier with its layered rhythm and solo guitars, which gradually give way to Opus II’s first showing of the jam, where Clod-Svensson’s running bass makes me most regret the fadeout that cuts the song at 8:39.

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Fuzz Manta Get in Deep

Posted in Reviews on May 14th, 2009 by JJ Koczan

Do you think that's supposed to be Hvillum on the cover? I can't decide. Probably right? That would make sense. It's pretty much her show.If you know stoner rock, if you’ve been around the genre for a while, then you know there are bands from all around the world who use the sound as a launch pad for highly unique and creative endeavors, and there are bands who, quite simply, don’t. But even most of those acts have something individual about them, whether it’s their subject matter, a specific songwriting quirk, or even an exceptional player who stands out from the unit, making the whole band noteworthy in the process.

In the case of Danish distortion-junkies Fuzz Manta, it’s the latter, and the exceptional player is frontwoman Lene Kj?r Hvillum, whose soulful vocal delivery helps lift her band’s full-length debut, Smokerings (Bad Deal Records) out of the trap in which genericism might otherwise wholly ensnare it. Even with her going punch for punch, note for note with the lead guitar on “Night Fright,” however, there is little else on the album to catch experienced listeners off guard.

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