Birds of Nazca (Album 2020)

Birds of Nazca

Doom’n’Roll / Stoner / Fuzz Rock

The world is full of phenomenal places, either by nature or developed by influences. Landmarks witnessing the past ages. A French formation took on one of those signs as their band name, crafting Doom’n’Roll.

Hailing from Nantes, a city in France appearing in songs like Calais as well, Birds of Nazca borrowed from the Nazca Lines in Peru, which include several birds. As the two-piece like Royal Blood or Bold Sun, they shared the stage with likes of Witchfinder at e.g. the West Stoner Sessions.

This earthy background comes down in their earthy sound. They do it to have fun and recorded the self-titled debut live without metronome at Blue Anvil Sound. An approach not too many choose. Done on a level like this, there doesn’t seem to be anything better. On the cover, like in Lucky Luke, a vulture awaits the earth to quake and the dust to rise.

“A Fly In The Helmet” comes in like the motorcycle-driving Rock from Sonic Taboo, while in the video we see Gamera fighting and the band faded in. The videos done for the next two singles work similar. In “Cracuta” we see drone shots of the Nazca Lines while we drift with the Stoner music, and in “Cactus” a live session and the title-giving plant. The shirts worn reveal influences like the Black Rainbows and QOTSA. Other grandparents could be Stoned Jesus and The Devil & The Almighty Blues.

Cool rhythms and the warm sound can give goose bumps and let one imagine a great time live at an Roadtrip to Outta Space. The local perception drifts and shifts, as the music seems far way and suddenly is in your face, creeping in like in a Vertigo shot. Spacy effects, jamming and tinkering, droning and thundering perfuse the head. Water in a dry valley that let flowers burst through cracks to the surface. Live-giving in contrast to the happenings in Hasankeyf.

Sacral voices in “Symposium” are the only needed in this instrumental, before the “Vulture Gryfus” makes think of Rival Sons and even more heavy “Murder One” or “Reminded”. The closing for an inspiring and varied first chapter.