ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL

Since 2008 ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL have been traveling the seventies rock, proto-doom path. "The Trouble With The Shovell" is the band's first album since 2019's "Very Uncertain Times". As with everyone in life and in the music world, the Brits were derailed by the pandemic. Now they're back with vigor and their trademark unique sound.

Guitar magic is very much the English band's heart and soul, and the rambunctious fuzz lords seem willfully unable to escape the garage rock world they are obsessed with. The nine songs that comprise this, their fifth album, essentially breathe life into the most upbeat parts of later Ozzy-era BLACK SABBATH and classic 1970's rock.

This new effort fortunately finds them reinvigorated and revitalized. It's expansive and restless. They're as colorful and vibrant as ever. So now, seven years following their last album, the band return with a fresh take on the music they've worshipped since their inception. This is a catchy, memorable and absolutely timeless album.

Steeped in the old-school world of fuzz rock and spaced-out mind-numbing madness, the songs move about with careless abandon, however, there's also a clear sense that they know what they want from their songs. There's a pulsing and throbbing kind of aura that permeates a song like "A Better Day". This spirit also runs through "Sideways Barnacle", which is completely in the vein of Ted Nugent in the best way possible. A nimble and wandering bass line cuts through the song's midpoint, dramatically marking a transition point toward the song's hard rocking and up-beat section that defines its duration. That track and "Head In A Noose" seem like better and clearer versions of everything the band was before. Although these songs are more refined and distilled to what the band does best.

"First City Seconds" closes with a triumphant hard rock march, leading toward "Blue Mountain Dust"'s slow burn, which builds toward an explosive hard-rocking climax. This delicious track benefits from Louis Comfort-Wiggett's nimble bass licks. This release is the recording debut of the ensemble's new and immensely talented drummer Glen Stebbings. His crafty movements color and guide the varied and rolling number "Slayed In Full". The track also boasts one of Louis's interesting bass runs, which leads toward a sedative procession that should satisfy WITCHCRAFT fans.

ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL's attitude is endearing and enticing. There's a cheeky and sarcastic quality, but it's more than that. There's a snot-nosed punk rock kind of mindset and appeal as well. The fuzzy blues rock magic that drives the new release is perfect for pubs. "Laughing Gravy" is a prime example of the band's high-octane proto-metal and garage rock that moves in the way conducive to those who appreciate psychedelics in their music and regarding other areas of, ahem, recreational activities.

The title of the album is unexplained, but it fits snugly with the band's fun-loving and presumably hedonistic tendencies. It's an organic album that flows and breathes with very human qualities, which all stand in stark contrast to our current era's obsession with AI. That technology unfortunately infects art, including heavy metal.

ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL has made a great album with "The Trouble With The Shovell" for those who enjoy all that resides within that niche musical realm that's championed by Lee Dorian, curator and head honcho of the long-revered Rise Above Records. "The Trouble With The Shovell" is very much an alcohol-soaked shrine to everything that's in-line with said label, that wonderful world of proto-doom, heavy garage rock, space rock and psychedelia.