Needful Things
Self-Released, 2022
9/10
A supergroup that features the bassist Eric Wilson (Sublime), drummer Wade Youman (Unwritten Law), vocalist/guitarist Daniel Lonner (Late Night Episode) and guitarist/vocalist Eric Sherman (Late Night Episode), as Spray Allen the seminal players make a big impression with a double disc on this debut.
The album opens with the shimmering psyche-pop of “Left For Dead”, where bouts of louder hard rock are present amid the beauty, and “World Ends Everyone Dies” arrives not long after with contributions from Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) on the adventurous alt-rock angled climate.
Further on, “Dirt” is fueled by acoustic guitar and is quite poetic in its warm delivery, while “Into The Sun” is pleasantly thick and enters grungy areas of throwback rock. “Crazy Brain”, one of the album’s best, then jangles a bit with some gritty punk rock nods which might remind you of Unwritten Law’s best days.
Residing near the end, “The Innocent” buzzes with some spacey sounds while still being firmly rooted in the more abrasive sides of rock, and “Thank You (Skit)” exits with processed talking amid a sci-fi background that’s quite unexpected.
The band take help from Gabrial McNair (No Doubt) on keyboards and horn arrangements, and this only adds to the diversity that includes power-pop, desert rock, traces of dub and, of course, the raw yet melodic rock that the members are known for from their previous bands.
Travels well with: Too Much Joy- Mistakes Were Made; Pluralone- I Don’t Feel Well