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“Sustaining a bygone genre presents obvious challenges with regard to originality. How does an artist keep from beating the musical dead horse? Wedge‘s Killing Tongue overcomes this challenge through a wide variety of approaches to riff structure, effects, and melodic content. Indeed, Killing Tongue evokes my favorite moments from the psychedelic/progressive movement in the 1960s/70s while simultaneously providing an original take on the former scene. Wedge is a three-piece ‘fuzzNroll’ group (as indicated on their Facebook page) from Berlin. They started in 2014 with their debut album Wedge on the label Heavy Psych Sounds. The band boasts an active touring schedule throughout Europe and is particularly noted for their energetic live performance. Even in the absence of the live experience, however, one can feel their energy through their recordings. True to 60s form, the analog tape sound at the beginning of the first track “Nuthin'” sets the vintage vibe for the rest of the record. “Nuthin'” is among the most compact, concise psych-progressive tracks in my playlists; in less than three minutes, it provides a slow intro, catchy riff, multiple verses, post-chorus material, organ-laden solo section in a modulated key, and augmented final chorus. As I mentioned above, this track evokes the live experience and would make a great opener to a show with its ability to draw interest early without dragging on. Up next is “Lucid,” wherein guitarist/singer Kyrik Drewinski takes the listener on a journey through a lucid dream (drug-induced, I assume, by the words “smokin’, jokin’, hangin’ around”). While consistent with the uptempo feel of “Nuthin,'” the slow section provides an effective contrast and transition to modulated solo sections. Lucid dreams are an apt topic for psych-rock and Wedge effectively conveys this topic musically. The opening/main riff cycle ends with the scale degree flat-two, disorienting the tonality otherwise established by the pentatonic structure of the riff. Also, the falling progression III-II-bII-i evokes “falling” asleep. The tonal center (E, what else?) is obscured further by the modulation to G for the solo section, continuing the disorientation that might occur in such a “Lucid” dream. Make no mistake, Killing Tongue is not merely aggressively fast trips and solos. I consider the progression i (minor) to IV (major) as essential for evoking the static, spatial feel of down-tempo classic psychedelic/progressive rock songs (think Pink Floyd‘s “Breathe”). With this progression as a foundation, the track “Quarter to Dawn” enhances the space with phased vocals, incorporation of a sitar, and lyrical themes oriented around time. This track is effectively placed toward the middle of the album and serves as an effective palette cleanser before the return to the driving tracks that ensue. For me, Killing Tongue is deliberate in its intention to contribute to the extant psychedelic ‘fuzzNroll’ literature and accomplishes this intention successfully. The only aspect of the album that was a bit too transparent to my ears was the lyrical development. At times, I found myself correctly projecting the text prior to actually hearing it; this being said, and as I argued above, the lyrics are supported musically throughout the album and contribute effectively to the psychedelic rock experience. Now to try to see their live show…“ - Review by Patrick Sallings at It Djents () 1. Nuthin' 00:00 2. Lucid 02:37 3. Tired Eyes 06:41 4. Quarter to Dawn 14:17 5. High Head Woman 17:14 6. Killing Tongue 20:40 7. Alibi 25:30 8. Who Am I ? 29:29 9. Push Air 34:35 Buy it: Wedge is: Kiryk Drewinski: mostly lead vocals & guitars Holger “The Holg“ Grosser: mostly drums & backing vocals David Götz: mostly bass guitar & organ If you are a band member or are involved with this record and don't want people to see/hear this, please contact me via comments or Google message and I'll remove it. There's no need for flags. I do not own any copyright nor have anything to do with the band or their label. Just spreading their music/job.
