I have known guitarist Jeff Aug for quite some time, but as an acoustic musician, which isn’t exactly what he is doing with his new trio! Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised with this blues based progressive instrumental rock outfit though, given that he has quite an eclectic background. As well as the eight acoustic albums (which gained him two Guinness World Records, and a #1 on the iTunes Acoustic Music Charts in the U.S.), he has also recorded three albums with his rock band Sorry About Your Daughter, one album with his punk band Banana Peel Buzz, three albums and a DVD with Anne Clark, as well as guest appearances with Atari teenage Riot.
Here he has been joined by Florian Walters (bass) and Kurty Münch(drums), and over a two-day period last July they recorded these eleven numbers live in the studio, no overdubs or punch-ins. In some ways they remind me of Trapeze, at others Taste, with an overblown rich guitar sound, and the rhythm section just trying to hold it together while Jeff goes nuts. Sure, there are progressive influences here and there as well, but mostly this is about good solid Seventies instrumental rock, with the emphasis on ROCK. My only complaint is with the production on just one of the songs, “Dopamatic”, where the cymbals are too high in the mix for my liking, but that is the only time it appears and the rest of the tie the guitar is front and centre, just where it should be. Jeff describes the music as “all instrumental and reaches from rockin' 70's riffs played with punk rock ferocity to creeping metal grooves. Intense Simian Instrumental Rock from the nasty pits of the Hellabrunn Zoo.”. So, there you have it, it is a load of fun, and certainly made me smile. The album has also been made available on Bandcamp so why not give it a try?
