King Tuff (real name: Kyle Thomas) doesn’t hide behind any autobiographical ambiguities on Black Moon Spell. In fact, he’s pretty forward about who he is and what he wants to do. In “Madness,” he declares his raison d’être in traditional Alice Cooper fashion: “King Tuff is my name/I got madness in my brain/Pleased to meet ya/I’m gonna eat ya/because I’m batshit insane!” Nor does he hide where he comes from; echoing Springsteenian mantras, Tuff declares in “Black Holes in Stereo”: “I learned more working at the record store than I ever did in high school.”
So, it’s no surprise that Black Moon Spell sounds like the product of man fluent in Cooper’s Love It To Death and T. Rex’s dirty glam rock hooks. Grimy guitars sound off their occasionally off-kilter riffs and spacious bends, while Thomas builds his comic-book worlds where aliens drop off 45s (“Black Holes in Stereo”) and romance is summed up in chewing gum and tattoos (“Beautiful Thing”). The backing band hammers out 60s pop rhythms glittered up with 70s glam, turning the spotlight over to Thomas and his frontman and lead-guitar antics.
That isn’t to say Black Moon Spell is all ball-trippin’ garage punk (more than once does Thomas delve into psychedelic acid wash blackouts). Towards the back half of Black Moon Spell, Thomas trades in the psych-tinged shredding for acoustic guitars and moments of tenderness; “Eyes of the Muse” takes on 60s pop rock with a penchant for Edgar Winter’s “Free Ride,” while guitars gently tap dance around the power ballad “Staircase of Diamonds.”
Black Moon Spell executes garage punk’s standards to a T; that might be the only flaw in the record. Black Moon Spell does nothing to really personalize the genre, nor does Thomas really seem to have much in mind beyond a 40-minute blast of garage rock a la mode. It’s kind of like ordering “the usual” at your favorite late night diner—you’ll enjoy every moment you spend with it, but it’s just another steak and potato dinner. You’ve had it before, and you’ll probably have it again.
But, hey, it’s your usual for a reason. There’s no denying Black Moon Spell is one of the tastier options on that greasy garage rock menu.
Rating: B
