Black Borrachero: Black Borrachero EP (14th June 2019)

WORDS: Ray Mondo

Black Borrachero describe themselves as an alt-grunge trio hailing partly from Glasgow and Milton Keynes. Having been on the local Glasgow music scene since 2016 (with each member coming from their own wide ranges of previous musical projects), the band have been hard at work putting their formidable skills as musicians to use by self-producing their very own self-titled EP - their first release and hopefully the first of many more to come.

Having played in an eclectic mix of venues across the city, including King Tut's Summer Nights in 2017, the band can also proudly hold claim to perhaps their greatest achievement so far (other than this EP release of course) - their support slot for Irish grunge-rockers Fangclub back in 2018. With all this to boot, the band show no signs of stopping and have only the heaviest of the heavy to unleash like a tidal wave to the local scene, leaving an already-building following of fans in their wake.

The EP boldly starts with an unbelievably sludgy rocker that will take you right back to the golden age of 90s alt-rock - 'Smoking Room' features the band's undeniably distinctive grimey guitar tones and bright shimmering notes that will be sure to melt faces during the band's intense live performances. Delightfully dark melodies and in-your-face riffs pull you right into the action and will no doubt be sure to get heads banging all around when this getting played - you’ll know the words in no time with the amount of times this one will be on repeat for.

Following right off the back of this track, 'Ego Maniac' slides seamlessly into the picture. Upon listening to this one again, I personally can't help but feel this song will become known for being a true showcase of the band's highlights and strengths. It features even more of guitarist Nick Fisher's mind-bogglingly huge-as-hell sounding riffs, all coming together with an impressively thick and full drum sound that could move mountains, courtesy of drummer Chris Goldie. Bassist Scott Reid's smooth bass lines give that extra punch and somehow making an already big sound even bigger as well.

Up next is 'Savannah', a song that should deservingly be a feel-good hit of the summer. Sludgy riffs give way to a more hard rock-inspired crunch, with all the bite and attitude that makes these songs stand out more than anything else on the local new-grunge scene. Imagine a guitar line coming down onto you with the ferociousness and immediacy of a building collapsing with perhaps some of the most well-placed harmonics out there. Think along the lines of somewhere between Nevermind-era Nirvana (especially the poppier ones like 'Drain You') with the undeniable massive sonic presence and abrasiveness of Superheaven's Jar album.

The EP wraps up with some good old-fashioned Black Sabbath-esque etherealness in the form of 'In Your Face Space Coyote' . Having developed since Fisher's self-produced Bandcamp demo made its appearance around the time of the band making their live debut, 'Space Coyote' now features the full group owning it while rocking out. More swirling and trippy excellence gives way to what could perhaps be described as the sound of the greatest and heaviest Soundgarden riff they never wrote (again, think somewhere between 'Black Rain' and 'Rusty Cage'), dripping with infinite amounts of darkness. With this last track ending on a more than triumphant note, you can only wonder what the future holds for Black Borrachero. Whatever happens, it will only be in the band’s favour with music as strong and tight sounding as these tunes. If you ever get the chance to check these guys out live, there’ll be no regrets to be had in the slightest.

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