Album & EP Reviews

All Souls/Fatso Jetson – Live from Total Annihilation

Live From Total Annihilation Album Cover Art

All Souls/Fatso Jetson – Live from Total Annihilation
Ripple Music
Release date: 19/08/2022
Running time: 43:42
Review by: Alun Jones
8.5/10

Well, bloody flipping heck – this is pretty good, innit? A split album, recorded during the pandemic in L.A.’s Total Annihilation Studios, light on the production and heavy on the creative purpose. We have, for your enjoyment, a collection of songs from Alt Rockers All Souls and Desert Rock pioneers Fatso Jetson.

All Souls deliver five songs here (that’s all of Side A to the connoisseur), all of which offer a dark yet epic character. ‘Who Holds the Answer’ is a mid-tempo, infectious rocker and ‘You Can’t Win’ has a melancholy start that grows into a moody, Spaghetti Western tinged piece. The American Gothic vibe is showcased further on ‘Winds’, again utilising a sparse, melodic approach to generate a cinematic soundscape. The final two tracks, ‘Sentimental Rehash’ and ‘Timebomb’ are both faster paced and more abrasive, with robot like, post punk riffs – but both still have menace.

Side B belongs to Fatso Jetson, and their first song ‘Drifting off to Storybook Deth’ is my personal favourite of this entire recording. It welds the gloomy heaviness of the Melvins with the atmosphere of classic Soundgarden into an ominous monster of a track. ‘Monoxide Dreams’ takes a hypnotic trip off into a windswept, barren horizon. The repetitive, mesmeric ‘Dream Homes’ is a robot riff instrumental like Sabbath jamming Devo tunes, whilst ‘Long Deep Breaths’, the final track, is an exploration of dark psychedelia.      

Further proving that “Desert Rock” has more than one style, both of the bands here are adept at taking that expected template and weaving other influences and ideas into their songs. Both dark and beautiful, All Souls and Fatso Jetson’s efforts are all fascinating. “Live from Total Annihilation” is ideal music for watching the sun fade and the night creep in. 

TRACKLISTING:
01. Who Holds the Answer (All Souls)
02. You Just Can’t Win (All Souls)
03. Winds (All Souls)
04. Sentimental Rehash (All Souls)
05. Time Bomb (All Souls)
06. Drifting Off to Storybook Deth (Fatso Jetson)
07. Monoxide Dreams (Fatso Jetson)
08. Dream Homes (Fatso Jetson)
09. Long Deep Breaths (Fatso Jetson)

LINEUP:

FATSO JETSON
Mario Lalli – Vocals & Guitar
Dino Von Lalli – Guitar
Larry Lalli – Bass
Tony Tornay – Drums

ALL SOULS
Antonio Aguilar – Vocals & Guitar
Meg Castellanos – Bass & Vocals
Tony Tornay – Drums

LINKS:

FATSO JETSON

ALL SOULS

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Alun Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

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