Tweak Bird – Tweak Bird

Were you to slam a handful of Big Business and two cups of Death From Above into a hefty, sticky dough of Black Sabbath, the cake that eventually emerges will probably resemble Tweak Bird. With a production – and guitar tone in particular – that takes absolutely no prisoners, by fourteen seconds into opener The Future the duo have well and truly got you pinned to the wall.

It’s really no surprise, upon further investigation, to find Deaf Nephews (aka Melvins’ Dale Crover and recent BB addition Toshi Kasai) behind the desk for this recording. The riffs are generally pretty straightforward but well judged and previous labels such as jazz-metal seem somewhat further removed given the directness of most on show. Brothers Caleb and Ashton have certainly played up the Ozzy vibe on vocals since their mini-album debut Reservations in 2008 but this is consistent and indeed a solid progression from those boisterous beginnings. [Chris Cusack]