Ever wonder what it would have sounded like if Robin Trower, Black Sabbath, and Jimmy Smith all jammed together? Well, probably you haven't, but if you did, it would certainly sound something like Tia Carrera. Their third CD, untitled, is a collection of seven stoner rock instrumental jams, featuring molten Hendrix/Trower styled psychedelic guitar solos, juicy Leslie Organ riffs, and sludge ridden rhythms. While the band proclaims that they have departed from their previous releases, which have contained 20 minute long jams, and concentrated more on song based efforts, there's still plenty of jamming to be heard on this one. Monolithic jaunts like "Valentine's Blues" and "Countdown, Liftoff" do sound focused, as the band locks into a groove, seemingly with a purpose in mind, but of course rip into plenty of smoldering forays into worlds unknown, led by the awesome guitar work of Jason Morales, who really has the Hendrix/Trower/Marino style down pat. The two songs that organ player Ezra Reynolds appears on, "Eastside Jive" and "End Transmission", are wild psychedlic, metallic fusion pieces, something I'd love to hear more of, and feature plenty of organ & guitar freakouts. The latter has some terrific wah-wah soloing from Morales that will send chills up and down your spine. On "At Altitude", it almost sounds like a Black Sabbath jam session, with Erik Conn doing a great Bill Ward impression during the many solo spots.
For some, this latest from Tia Carrera might drone on a little too much, and the endless jams might be a tad meandering, but for many others, one listen to the opening ripper "Tones, Levels & THC" will be enough to hook you in for good. Call it what you will; acid-jam, stoner rock, psychedelic blues metal...whatever. Chalk it up as heavy stuff that you can certainly "spark one up to" and get in the groove.
Track Listing
1. Tone, Levels and THC
2. Eastside Jive
3. Carrera!
4. Valentine's Blues
5. Countdown, Liftoff
6. At Altitude
7. End Transmission
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