THE WARLOCKS

Released in 2000, this eponymous EP represents the debut of Californian space rock band The Warlocks. Some of the six tracks on the EP were subsequently included on the band's first full album "Rise and fall", while all appear on the recent expanded version of that album, so the EP will now be of interest mainly to fans of the band.

The music of The Warlocks is founded in the psychedelic sounds of late 60's/early70's bands such as Hawkwind. The four lead guitars and twin drums included in the octet certainly guarantee a powerful sound, but perversely they also signal a limitation in the overall sound.

Highlights here include the Velvet Underground tribute "Song for Nico", a delightfully understated retro ballad and "Cocaine blues", a song which could have been lifted straight from a 1960's flower power festival. The version of "Song for Nico" here is slightly longer than that which appeared later of the first album. The most interesting track is the quasi-eponymous "Jam of the warlocks", a more refined guitar jam which runs to over 12 minutes.

Among the other tracks, "Jam of the zombies" is a basic lead guitar bash with little subtlety, while "Caveman rock" is a primitive blues rock number with distorted vocals which segues into the similarity styled "Angry demons".

In all, an interesting prequel to the band's first album. The entire EP can now be found on an expanded re-release of that album entitled "Rise and fall, EP and rarities".