Steel Trees (Tom, Von, and Dog) are quite possibly the best unsigned band around, and are without doubt the best unsigned band I have heard on record. Their debut EP ‘Gunk’ came out on 30th April, so I wanted to review them quickly, while they still fall into the ‘unsigned’ category... Apologies from the start if I sound like a friend doing them a favour, or a wannabe nerd trying to jump on their increasingly powerful bandwagon so that I can one day point at them up on stage and say ‘I know them from that time before they got signed…’ I am neither. I just think they are awesome, and I think that you should know.
The lurching, heaving beat that drives ‘Awesome Welles’ has a head-banging, soul-soothing quality that only a Kyuss/Melvins lovechild could produce, while the frenzied breakdown towards the end of the track suggests that said lovechild suffers from a severe case of ADD (a strong dose of stoner rock is clearly the family doctor’s chosen prescription). Von’s bass drips with dastardly intent; calling to arms and laying the groundwork for the aural onslaught to come. Tom’s ‘Won’t you evers’ have a raw honesty that show a vocalist putting his natural style to use in the right places, setting up Dog’s ‘fills and beats from hell’ perfectly. Drummer ‘Dog’ (as the name suggests) is an absolute beast behind the kit, his tasteful rolls and triplet fills showing off enough musical chops to impress drum purists without letting up on the tom-heavy Grohl/Crover sound.
Tom’s acid-drenched solo compliments Dog’s relentless bashing on ‘Follow the Crowd’, while the choral chant of ‘You follow the crowd, you follow the crowd, you follow the crowd, you follow…’ gives the song a real fist-pumping quality (by the time the guitar solo comes around you feel about ready to march WITH the crowd to this song, preferably straight into a ruck with a load of Topshop-loving indie kids). Von’s brutal, nightmarish screams would leave plenty of heavily-tattooed bikers quaking in their boots. Nuff said.
Title track ‘Gunk’ nods to a healthy upbringing based around the creative genius of heavier psych/acid rock bands such as Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath, with the repetition of ‘well sooner or later we’re gonna die’ and ‘I’m totally trippin’ out’ hinting at the kind of experimental (and at times dangerous) themes that such bands explored through their music.
‘Meat ‘n’ Cherry Pie’ sets a darker mood, with classic bluesy lyrics about the devil and inner demons. The verse and chorus grooves push and pull like a tug-of-war between two mythical creatures, while the loud/quiet, fast/slow element and the schizophrenic guitar solo bring to mind the age-old horror tale of a lonely individual descending into madness. Listen to this one with the lights on…
The unmistakable groove element of ‘She’s a Fortress’ shouts QOTSA and RATM, shining a light on the entrance to a slightly less haunted house of possible future material. This seems to stand out as the band’s most ambitious track, though it retains the energy and ballsy attitude of the other songs mentioned here. Von’s bass stomps around behind Tom’s solo like a big brother backing his younger sibling in his first fight, while Dog’s drums sound like an arsenal of weapons that he sets off in ways you might not normally expect.
At a shade over the two minutes mark, ‘Sucker Punch’ is a shot of pure Grunge adrenaline built on a foundation of solid bass and pounding drums, with vocals that switch from reserved melancholy to raw angst with the change of a chord. There’s still a clever breakdown ¾ of the way through though, building to a truly demonic harmony between Tom and Von, and a pedal-to-the-metal conclusion that could turn the bowels of Satan himself.
The main thread that ties together the Trees’ sound is the driving scale of the riffs and beats, which will intimidate any other three piece out there. The fact that they sound so vast and yet so tight seems key to their own brand of sludge-groove rock. Imagine a Mark Arm of King Kong proportions who can out-scream a T-Rex and loves Cream and Jesus Lizard in equal measure...you get the picture.
‘Gunk’ seems a suitably dirty/heavy/exciting name for the band’s debut EP. Their grooves will get inside your head and stick, oozing about with ‘where the f*&k’s this going next?’ before catching you a good one right between the eyes. ‘Gunk’ would be best swallowed in a smoky room full of questionable characters, with one ear bleeding from the power of a mammoth stack system, and the other tangled in the sweaty armpit hair of a balding Tad Doyle…Get Gunk.
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