The 2016 sophomore studio long-player from the bluesy Aussie psych-rockers, Hairy Mountain delivers another muscular blast of lovingly retooled classic rock that bristles with electric, down-under eccentricity. Similar in tone to the
Sword,
Thin Lizzy,
Cream,
Electric Wizard, and
Blue Öyster Cult-loving
High Country that, like
Datura4's debut, arrived the year prior, Hairy Mountain ultimately transcends its reliance on genre tropes by delivering those familiar melodic turns and road trip-ready backbeats with supreme gusto. Stand-out cuts include the lush "Fools Gold Rush," the swaggering, modern-day boogie rock anthem "Confide in Me," the propulsive, four-on-the-floor barnburner "Mary Caroll Park," and the nostalgia-laden closer "Broken Path," the latter of which skillfully threads the needle between
Grand Funk's "I'm Your Captain" and
Jane's Addiction's "Jane Says." ~ James Christopher Monger