Athens heavy rock and rollers Diesel Cindy released their debut album, Spill the Dirt, last week through Sound Effect Records. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere and don’t yet miss the summer, it might do the trick. Comprised of eight tracks running an unassuming 33-minutes, the record breaks into four tracks across two sides and is a smooth amalgam of desert-imported tones offered with a careening groove born out of garage rock, vocal melody over top in opener “Sons of Nothing” from guitarist Lee hinting toward Queens of the Stone Age but without much of the caricature that many Homme-style vocals end up portraying and a loosened swing and push that in “Angels” comes with a Mediterranean-folk-ish stretch filtered through scorching lead guitar — also a heaping dose of noise; two guitars between Lee and Red, while Gabriel R. holds down bass and Fivos Flat pounds away behind on drums — and a burst of a chorus near its culmination. What one learns early in Spill the Dirt is that Diesel Cindy are able to affect a change of mood in the span of three minutes without losing the listener.

It’s not the last time that message is delivered. “Seeds” opens up a bit in its verse and is casually psychedelic in the bridge with the martial undertones of space rock in the vocal cadence but a mellower crux overall at least for the most part. At 5:41, it is the longest piece on Spill the Dirt, but not by much and the ‘extra’ time compared to cuts like “Sons of Nothing” or “Angels” before it isn’t some shoehorned-in jam or radical departure from the established structure. It gets raucous enough by its finish to justify the shouts, but its more methodical tempo makes the subsequent side A capper “Bazooka Witch” feel that much more like a ’60s boogie biker party right up to its finish in psych drone and feedback. By then, both momentum and songwriting are on their side, so there’s really no stopping them as “No Truth No End” picks up at the outset of side B with a verse held back an extra measure or two and declarations of truth and lies set against more burner lead work and a subtly insistent backing strum.

Generally when one thinks of ‘headphone records’ it’s something expansive in breadth or minute in its sonic detailing. A lot of really trippy prog, etc. Diesel Cindy don’t necessarily fit with what I would usually say works well listening that way, but it does. The character in the drums and bass comes through as a backdrop for the guitars, the vocals malleable in their position in the mix, the tension in “Chieftains” at once like Talking Heads and synth-affected cosmic post-punk on its steady, rhythmically centered foundation. Tied with “Sons of Nothing” for the shortest track at 3:20, “Spill the Dirt” is the most resonant hook on the record sharing its title, as well as the full reveal of the Stooges influence that’s been a driving factor all along. It’s also something of the finale, since “The Walk” pivots to piano and turns heavy into creepy malevolent blues to round out, but fair enough for the last-minute switcheroo toward the unexpected. I don’t know that you’d say it fits, but it’s not supposed to.

And hell’s bells, I’m not about to hold a band laying claim to atmospheric territory on their first album against them, since in addition to being a kind of cool vibe in itself in a Velvet Underground-y kind of way, who knows to what it might lead. So mark it a win all around, but in terms of representing the record, the title-track appears below in a new video following up on the release date. I’m happy to be able to premiere it and I very much hope you enjoy. PR wire info follows, as you’d expect.

Have fun:

Diesel Cindy, “Spill the Dirt” video premiere

Diesel Cindy is a band of friends from Athens Greece. Them people share a common passion for a wide spectrum of fuzz sounds blended with a dry bass and old school drum sound. This sound, together with the distinctive voice of a tall angry shadow, deliver melodies inspired from favorite garage bands, mostly from the 60’s till the 90’s in a contemporary form of expression, revealing stories from the past, and whispering true tales from the present and future.

The friends, being members of other bands in the past such as One Man Drop, Vibratore Bizarro, Delightful, The Same River, Headquake, have been part of the Athenian underground scene in Greece for many years and have toured around the country several times. However, this time, they share a common project all together. The result is Diesel Cindy’s debut LP titled “Spill the Dirt”.

about the album:

recorded at AUX ‘studio’ Athens / Greece
produced by Diesel Cindy – Yiotis Paraskevaidis – Kimonas Vlachakis
engineered by Kimonas Vlachakis & Yotis Paraskevaidis
mastering at ‘Vu Productions Mastering Studio’ Piraeus / Greece by Nasos Nomikos
graphic design, coordination, photography by Peg Leg Green
front cover illustration by Dekel Hevroni

track list :
side A
1. Sons of nothing
2. Angels
3. Seeds
4. Bazooka Witch
side B
1. No truth no end
2. Chieftains
3. Spill the dirt
4. The walk

DIESEL CINDY
Members:
Lee – vocals, guitar
Red – guitar
Gabriel R – bass
Fivos Flat – drums, percussions

Diesel Cindy, Spill the Dirt (2023)

Diesel Cindy on Facebook

Diesel Cindy on Instagram

Diesel Cindy on Bandcamp

Sound Effect Records on Facebook

Sound Effect Records on Bandcamp

Sound Effect Records website

Tags: Athens, Diesel Cindy, Diesel Cindy Spill the Dirt, Greece, Sound Effect Records, Spill the Dirt

This entry was posted on Friday, November 24th, 2023 at 6:34 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.