Singer, songwriter and guitarist Sam Snyder, also known as Overhand Sam because of his unorthodox way of fretting the guitar, has created an eclectic collection of songs with his band Bad Weapon. If you’re looking for the gritty rhythms of bristling garage rock and the Day-Glo palette of Brit-psych with a contemporary twist, their new album is for you.
The 37-minute palindrome titled “Fear of Death/Death of Fear” eschews the sometimes-sterile pop aesthetic and jam-band posturing of what passes for rock music these days. These songs are a sci-fi flipbook of textured instrumentation, liquid riffing and the euphoric funk of effortlessly strange psychedelic rock.
The record plays as one movement and recalls the days when listeners sought out albums that were cohesive artistic statements. Each kaleidoscopic power-pop piece flows vibrantly into the next, connected by sparkling ambiance and melancholy contrasts. The album hits hard from the spherical strains of the opening track “Spinning” through the harpsichord-heavy go-go groove of “Talking Mime.”
The conceptually cool songwriting harkens back to proto-psychedelic bands The Pretty Things and Spirit, but with a little less blues and a bit more whimsy. Every cut is a sonic smorgasbord accentuated by analog Easter eggs and vocals that move from closely conversational to too far out.
The album peaks with the disorienting rhumba of “1000 Dreams from Now” and the punk riffing of “As If I Might” that recalls guitarist Randy California’s laser licks. Sam’s bandmates, bassist Benton Sillick and drummer Dennis Mariano, are right there alongside him, racing down a wormhole together.
“Fear of Death/Death of Fear” pulses with originality. It takes the listener somewhere unexpected as it departs from musical convention and embraces the intrepid spirit of experimentation. —STEPHEN LEWIS
