For those who thought that
Brant Bjork
may have used up all his cards with the 2005 double-disc set
Saved by Magic
, his follow-up set, 2007's single-disc
Somera Sol
, shows that there is never a shortage of '70s deja vu tunes for the man with the goatee and seemingly endless curls of hair. Once again, an album of groovy yet laid-back ditties comparable to the likes of
Jimi Hendrix
and
El Chicano
is offered up, and fans will notice the inclusion of
"Ultimate Kickback,"
a track that
Bjork
has been playing live for several years but never got around to documenting in a studio until now. And like many artists who look to the '70s for inspiration,
focuses on jam-heavy material at times, but unlike the others, it's not indulgent or meandering (to his credit), a case in point being the track
"Oblivion."
If artists such as
Lenny Kravitz
the Black Crowes
are at the top of the class for re-creating vintage '70s rock sounds, then
is certainly not far behind -- as evidenced by
. ~ Greg Prato