Crobot returns with a groovy trip in Welcome To Fat City.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwDRVa_Pj5A

https://vimeo.com/183865583

Text Review:

You can love and enjoy all the newer sub-genres of rock but you have to appreciate a band who sounds like they came from a past generation with just their basic rock instruments and still sound refreshingly new and creative.  Through talent and persistence, a band can prove how the basic rock formula still works and a band can stand out by proving themselves the old fashioned way without any gimmick.  Crobot is a band just like that.  Two years ago the band burst onto the scene with their album Something Supernatural.  After airplay from two singles and winning a lot of new fans on national tours, this band from Pennsylvania proved you can do a lot with your instruments and burning down the stage.  Now in 2016 they are on the path to do the same with Welcome To Fat City.

There has been a trend in the rock scene for many years where a band is built around one or two elements.  Whether it’s a brash vocalist, lyric style, guitar solos, etc., it feels like many bands are only highlighting one or two parts and the rest of the band is just there for the ride.  A drummer or bassist who are present to provide a rhythm and that’s it.  With a band like Crobot, you definitely get the feeling that everyone is pulling their weight and has something to show.  When asked about what bands influenced Crobot’s style, front man Brandon Yeagley said it ranges in Queens of the Stone Age, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden and Clutch.  When you hear the band’s music and especially when you see them live, you understand how so many of those names were able to form the base of Crobot’s style.  Welcome To Fat City, led off with its title track, it’s the perfect showpiece for the album AND band.  It’s the guitar pedal heavy funky stoner rock that comes at you in every direction.  For a song to be based on a Hunter S Thompson’s gonzo journalism movement AND still get a vibe like that is a testament to a band’s creativity.

I’ve spoken about how distortion and pedal effects have to be used carefully or else it sounds terrible, well this song is a great example of how good it can sound when used correctly.  Yeagley’s vocals move and get loud at all the right moments and it’s easy to follow along with while the guitar has these fantastic wild moments.  It goes back to what I was saying about Crobot using all the elements they have.  In a song like the title track, you can hear the drums and bass all contributing in a different variety while the guitar becomes unhinged for a solo that is brought back to the chorus.  The closing minute of the song is what sells everything as it builds with the rhythm and makes your head nod.  That present vibe of all cylinders moving and hazy pedal effects is consistent throughout most of this album.  The first half of Welcome To Fat City has a strong concert feeling and the energy from the opening track is carried seamlessly through songs like Easy Money and Not For Sale.  It’s lively and is the type of rock that you can’t sit still while listening to.

I love Not For Sale as an instant pickup song.  The opening bass and drums turn everything up a notch, and hearing “My Soul Is Not For Sale” is a great line to shout with and the bass keeps getting more prominent as the song goes on.  Other songs on the album like Temple In The Sky and Blood On the Snow also share those qualities.  The album does drop the speed slightly in the second half and the tone feels lower and straight out of a 70’s rock club.  They aren’t bad by any means but I think it’s the more energetic concert style that Crobot stands out with, and the first half of the album is what shows that best.  That being said, the second half still is no slouch and definitely worth listening to.

There are a lot of gimmicks and copycats in today’s rock scene so when a band comes out that is playing a true rock and roll style and doing it VERY well with nothing to hide or copy, that band deserves some attention.  Crobot’s making a career out of rock the right way by writing great music and blowing minds one concert at a time.  Overall, Welcome To Fat City is a great follow up to Something Supernatural and proves Crobot are capable of bringing down the house.  If you are looking for an album to blast with or your friends or to play along with while staring at a lava lamp, then Welcome To Fat City will be right up your alley.

8/10