The direct punk-blues of the French one-man-band Chicken Diamond never gets old, and Diamond’s fifth long player Skeleton Coast is just as fresh and violent as the other four LP’s. That’s right, there are still absolutely no compromises or concessions made.
“12AX7” is hyper-tempo Ramones-meets-the-Kinks punk while “Deep Black Hole” bridges John Lee Hooker boogie blues with AC/DC. Diamond’s penchant for coming up with thick, monstrous riffs is on full display for “Under The Ground,” and his shredded throat puts the demon into “Hyperion.”
Meanwhile, “Outsider” (video above) brings to mind the psychedelic-soaked frayed edges of the early Black Keys.
A lot of musicians are paying homage to the late David Bowie these days, and Diamond picked one perfect for his style; he performs “Cracked Actor” without needing to alter the basic, raunch-rock approach that Bowie took on the original from Aladdin Sane. “Down On The Street” and “GG Land” share the same, balls-out backbeat.
You get the idea, Chicken’s not here to play pretty little ballads. It’s big, badassed blues-rock with a street thug mindset and this ginormous ruckus is hand-made all from Diamond himself, save for the storm tube start of “Hyperion.”
Skeleton Coast is coming at you officially on February 26, 2018. Order it from here (in Euros) or here (in dollars).
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