Edhochuli: self-titiled
Released: available now!, or on cassette (no way! On cassette! Get out yer boom box!
For fans of: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Electric Wizard
Catch them live: 7/19 at I Got Brains! Fest, Blacksbrug, VA
7/20 at 222 Ormsby, Pittsburgh PA
7/23 (local release show) at The Mr. Roboto Project, Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh rockers Edhochuli have been around a while, but this was my first encounter with them. Let me just say that I have been seriously missing out. I came across this record at the recommendation of a friend who basically said “Dude, if you are a music magazine and you are based in Pittsburgh and you’re not covering this band, you should just quit right now”. Where I come from, those are fighting words, so I put Edhochuli’s new record in my earholes immediately.
Edhochuli is for everyone who has ever sat in their basement and tried to learn “Stairway to Heaven”. The mustachioed four piece stands apart, first and foremost, for their sheer talent at playing instruments. Anyone can hang out in a garage with their friends and say they’re a band, but the dueling, complex rythyms on this album are the mark of a mature band that cares about their craft and see themselves as musicians first and rock stars second.
Opening track “Totally Caveman” is eight-plus minutes of rocking jams that feature more tempo changes and builds than most bands manage on their whole albums. Showing off their range, “Pizza Party at the Castle (we totally won)” begins with a beautiful, lilting guitar and suddenly, two minutes in, throws down the rock hammer to accommodate shouted vocals. Every track on the album is skillfully mixed to give just the right amount of everything, with no speedy guitar lick overpowering any meandering bass line.
As much as I enjoyed this album, I believe more than anything in voting with dollars, so I did. Even when indie bands put their stuff out for free on Bandcamp, it's plus a million karma points to pay for it if you like it. The vinyl form is available now, in person at any upcoming show, or through their website, for those of you who aren’t local. With upcoming shows in Chicago and St. Louis you just may get to catch them after all. I can’t wait to check Edhochuli out live this week, and I do hope you’ll join me, friends.
