When Gomer Pyle released Idiot Savants back in 2008, the
Dutch rockers managed to mix Stoner Rock and Grunge with the Euro sounding
Psych and create an album that is still used as a reference point because it is
that good. For anyone new to this style of music, the track Drawback, from the
album Idiot Savants, has to be on that mixtape
Move on to 2020 and they’re back with Before I Die I. A
collection of nine songs which I quote are “A life’s musical snapshot by Gomer
Pyle. This is no way meant to be more than “just” a collection of musical
stories, evolved out of a combined span of life experiences of four friends who
journey together on a vessel called “music”. Not a concept. But yes indeed
LIFE, love, pain, poetry, friendship and deception”. Over the next 63 minutes
you can really hear and feel what they have gone through and you won’t be
disappointed
Remember The Days feels laid back, sun drenched and out
there in a place that the band know all too well. Like driving the highway into
the unknown, everything starts slowly and moves at a pace that has looking
towards the horizon as the vocals drift in and out with that trippy feeling I
would associate with the band. The bass line and drums take you there until
everything kicks in and opens up those vocal melodies over warm fuzzy guitars.
I’m only five minutes into the record and the love of what Gomer Pyle does has
already comes flooding back. Any band that starts a record with a ten minute
plus epic is alright by me, and this shines through as the song strums along
and takes you on a journey that concludes with some kick ass guitar work that
walks off into the sunshine.
The Buzzer has a more straightforward grunge rock feel to it
that plays out like a story with the vocals and vocal harmonies playing a really
strong part. As a song it stomp’s along a constant upbeat rate and is uniquely
Gomer Pyle.
At nearly twelve minutes long, Slide Kings is an absolute magical
journey. Starting slowly, quiet and space like, the warm psychedelic trip
begins to take shape as Mark Brouwer’s vocals mesmerizingly pick you up as the
journey continues. The guitar and bass sound rich and fuzzy with a slight edge
that translates so well on record. With a real feeling of emotion in the lyrics
about their loss and how they are sang and harmonized, you the listener, are
taken up towards the clouds and beyond for several more minutes. As Slide Kings
has its end in sight, the driving rhythm really moves and you cannot help but
nod your head to riffs that define what I would call stoner rock. Played live,
this will surely be one of those “hairs stand up on the back of your neck”
moments.
The rock kicks in with Scum Trade and its more abrasive
feel, switching between harsher vocals and rock melodies, making me think of
Mastodon trading places with something that could be tagged as radio rock?
Nicky McGee has the swirl of two driving guitar lines that
push against each other before joining forces and rockin’ out. As the chorus
about Nicky McGee kicks in and tells you what they did, there’s a real sense of
something like what a 90’s Melvins did in the world of Grunge, and the vocals
are huge.
You can really feel the heart felt emotion in We Are One.
The vocals sit strong as a real centerpiece over stripped back guitars and a
lot more keyboard work with the repetition of the line We Are One taking you to
some darker and slower lines that move to almost a chant like state.
Laeviculus floats along like a journey above the clouds and
on towards the sunset. Warm, light and deeply emotive, before rocking out at
the end with a huge solo.
Your Demon rocks like a bunch of musicians that grew up on
DC hardcore that turned into a love of post hardcore. It jangles, it rocks, it
harmonises, all with an emotion that buries deep into your musical mind.
Cyclus closes the record magically. The sadness, loss and
grief of losing their colleague Bidi Van Drongelen has played a part in the
writing of the album, but Cyclus is the track that closes the chapter in their
lives in a way they must be so proud of. The piano starts the song and
compliments the building up of the next 5 minutes, from the solitary voice to
the uplifting positive feel of every single instrument and voice joining in
harmony to its crescendo.
Before I die I stands up against anything Gomer Pyle have
written in the past. If they had reformed in a blaze of glory, I would have to
quote the line “you would think the band have never left”. The more I listen
the more I want to wax lyrical about the record and how good each track is and
how they all interlink into a musical journey. Let’s hope they find their way
to the shores of the UK to play live, sooner rather than later. Really well
packaged by The Lab Records and Threechord Records.
