Sydney based outfit Bone Graft have just released their debut album Caveman Brain Jam; an eleven-track garage spectacular oozing with 1960s surf vibes and good old fashioned rock and roll.
Crackling vocals, punchy rhythms, raucous guitars and soaring harmonica sounds work to tie this album together, forming a groove masterpiece that is sure to put Bone Graft on the map.
Bone Graft will transport you into their psychedelic creation, one that thoughtfully tips its hat to the classics while simultaneously showcasing a range of contemporary influences.
Apart from the occasional screeching of “one, two, three, four,” opening track The Odd is an instrumental number that immediately introduces you to Bone Graft’s signature surf-rock sound, reminiscent of what we all know and love about the 1960s and 70s music scene. It becomes quickly apparent that there is some considerable instrumental skills among this talented five-piece and there is no mucking around when it comes to showcasing it.
Bone Graft is the second track that has a chaotically surfy rock and roll sound. In this track, we soon discover the powerful and distinctively gritty vocals which carry throughout the rest of the record, adding to the frenzied sound of the band. After just one listen, it is so easy to imagine the type of crowd this band would attract, painting them as a group with the potential for some incredible live performances.
Old Drunk Man adopts a slower pace and really demonstrates the group’s old school influences and their ability to create music that really consumes you through its whole duration.
Shut Your Mouth is a real surfy groove and if it wasn’t for the gravelly vocals of frontman Mike, you could almost imagine this song being made back in the 1960s. The lo-fi sound of this track and many others in Caveman Brain Jam makes for perfect imperfections that you simply have to wrap your ears around.
Bone Graft let their inspiration lie in a number of places, but their obsession with surf culture, history and cult movies are definitely big influences of the group’s unique sound. Combining this obsession with the past with modern garage rock sensibilities is the perfect recipe for some pretty impressive tuneage and Lost and Found is another track which proves this, really showcasing how distinctive Mike’s vocals really are.
Each track on this album, although all carrying similar surf-rock vibes, hold their own unique characteristics, whether that be a turbulent screech, a pulsating beat or catchy riff, which makes each track irresistible. Drinks Come True and Hold It Tight makes you feel as though you listening to the group jam in their garage and you’re right there amongst it. Mirrors is a track which at the start really invites you to move, declaring itself as a true mosh monster. After a minute the song then takes a turn, and the shifting paces really have an effect.
Feel It All is another standout out track, showcasing Bone Graft’s ability to make you want to dance through punchy percussion, but really its the closing track The Cult which takes the cake, with an out of the world surf sound, perhaps the perfect soundtrack to the mischief of Charles Manson.
Caveman Brain Jam is a real journey that you should take from start to finish and is sure to leave you feeling all kinds of things when the album ends. Be sure to get on the Bone Graft board and ride the wave with them because it’s sure gonna be a doozy.
Listen to the new album above.
