WCCT

I don't normally read band bios prior to listening to an album.  I do this because I don't want any preconceived notions about a band or their music before I have a chance to formulate that all-important first impression.  So sometimes I'm a little surprised when I read something in a bio that doesn't jive with what I'm hearing.  You know, like when a bio points out that there are zero guitars or keyboards used on an album that is heavy as hell. 

Now I was aware that New London's Bedroom Rehab Corporation were a two piece outfit focusing on drums and bass.  I knew that bassist extraordinaire Adam Wujtewicz was a master of the multi-pedal distortion that could manipulate sound in unique ways.  What I was not prepared for was to hear a full album that is equal parts ambient stoner rock and battering ram styled noise rock and there not be one single damn guitar on the record.  I don't think it can be understated that what Wutjewicz and drummer Meghan Killimade have done is to create an album as heavy and pummeling as a full on five-piece band with just the two of them and lots of distortion.  

Red Over Red is, as the band puts it, "a paranormal seafaring concept record".  It's funny though what images certain styles of music can conjure up for the listener.  Maybe it's because a lot of their sound reminds me of all the great stoner rock bands of the 90's who came lumbering out of the deserts of Southern California - Kyuss, Nebula and Fu Manchu for example - but when I listen to this record I'm seeing dark, starry desert nights where the only living creatures are the ones who can survive in a veritable apocalyptic wasteland.  The ocean and the desert have a lot in common.  They are both powerful, harsh and inhospitable, yet equally filled with beauty and mystery.  That's a pretty apt description for Bedroom Rehab Corporation as well.  Fans of bands such as Clutch, Melvins, Old Man Gloom and the aforementioned stoner rock outfits will find a lot to love on this record.