Brant Bjork – ‘Brant Bjork’ (Heavy Psyche Sounds)

By Jim Rowland

Since desert rock legend Brant Bjork hooked up with the Heavy Psyche Sounds label, it’s been hard to keep up with all the releases coming out, with many albums from his illustrious back catalogue getting the re-issue treatment along with new albums such as 2018’s excellent ‘Mankind Woman’. Indeed, April will also see re-issues of ‘Gods & Goddesses’ and ‘Punk Rock Guilt’, both fine albums from the BB canon. This self-titled new album, Brant Bjork’s 13^th studio album, moves away from the collaborative format of the past that has seen him work with Bubba DuPree, The Low Desert Punk Bank, or The Bros.

This one is a true solo album where, perhaps inspired by last year’s ‘Jalamanta’ re-issue, Bjork handles all the instrumentation and vocals himself and unlike ‘Local Angel’ and ‘Tres Dias’, it’s a full on electric album too, with the exception of the mellow acoustic workout of the closing track ‘Been So Long’.

From the opening 20 seconds of the cool, laid back and grooving riff of opener ‘Jungle In the Sound’, this is reassuringly Brant Bjork with that signature sound intact and all the hallmarks of classic BB present and correct, which pretty much sums up the whole album. ‘Mary (You’re Such A Lady)’ and the excellent ‘Cleaning Out The Ashtray’ follow in similar ultra-cool, groove laden riffing fashion, whilst ‘Jesus Was A Bluesman’ and the psyche-infused ‘Duke Of Dynamite’ rely on strong vocal melodies. ‘Shitkickin’ Now’ turns up the tempo with a Hendrix-esque bluesy shuffle and ‘Stardust & Diamond Eyes’ provides a real album highlight with the funk to the fore, utilising some irresistible James Brown inspired funky drum patterns.

‘Brant Bjork’ doesn’t particularly break any new ground, but manages to encapsulate everything that fans know and love from the man. Simply put, if you like Brant Bjork, you’re gonna love this one.

‘Brant Bjork’ is released on 10 April. You can get your copy HERE.

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