Idaho Green Gems of the High Plains 2xLP
Holy shit, this is a massive album. It’s not often you come across a self-financed double LP, but IDAHO GREEN certainly wanted to make sure you knew absolutely everything about them. This slab spans twelve years and several different recording sessions, and it definitely shows—not necessarily in a bad way. It just showcases the band’s evolution and growth over the years, and it results in a record that is absolutely all over the place. It bounces between melodic garage rock with soaring guitars—akin to EXPLODING HEARTS, MARKED MEN, and RICHARD HELL—to snarling, groovy, fuzzed-out pop-rock like DINOSAUR JR. meets FIDLAR. I am especially impressed with the singer’s range, swapping between that of a melancholy Joey Ramone, and a primal, bloody scream more often associated with hardcore than flowery Brooklyn indie rock. Interlaced between every third track or so are these pretty acoustic guitar riffs that separate the chaos from itself. This really isn’t a record, it’s an audio journey. I’m pretty smitten with it. Give this bad boy a spin if you’ve got the time.