{"id":84479,"date":"2019-06-24T12:00:23","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T11:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=84479"},"modified":"2023-04-07T14:26:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T13:26:45","slug":"review-bokassa-crimson-riders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-bokassa-crimson-riders\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Bokassa &#8211; Crimson Riders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/AFD40F8F-5AD8-407D-84AD-BD805B2AAA38-300x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" title=\"\">Much of the discourse surrounding <b>Bokassa<\/b> has only made it evident how little of a consensus there is about them. That\u2019s only been amplified by their current European stadium tour with Metallica, with reactions ranging from them being christened as one of the future stars of heavy music, to a confusing mix of punk and stoner-rock that really struggles to land.<\/p>\n<p>Right now though, it\u2019s easy to see faults with both sides. <i>\u2019Crimson Riders\u2019<\/i> doesn\u2019t quite reach the level of mastery that some are quick to brand <b>Bokassa<\/b> with, but it definitely feels like a refinement of what previously did feel a bit messier and looser. They\u2019re arguably at their best on a track like <i>\u2019Vultures\u2019<\/i>, dropping into mid-paced grooves with a greater focus on the hard rock hook, but the ragged, bug-eyed energy of <i>\u2019Mouthbreathers Inc.\u2019<\/i> and <i>\u2019Blunt Force Karma\u2019<\/i> do actually mesh rather well with the more guttural guitar tone.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Bokassa - Captain Cold One (Official Video)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LrQ-xtZOzR4?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Granted, it sometimes feels as though <b>Bokassa<\/b> are playing up their rawness and ruggedness for aesthetics over function. With a vocal delivery that frequently trips over itself and gets lost in an already dense mix, the criticisms of some messiness aren\u2019t totally unfounded here. That said, this definitely feels like a step in the right direction overall; it\u2019s generally tighter and more focused, and even when new elements are thrown in like the odd saxophone line here and there, it builds upon what\u2019s already there rather than just slapping another layer on top with no subtlety or modulation.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s why writing off <b>Bokassa<\/b> now feels like a rather blinkered way of going about things. They\u2019re clearly still growing as a band, and <i>\u2019Crimson Riders\u2019<\/i> is perhaps among the most solid example of that yet. It\u2019s moving into a clearer direction that feels like more than just parts slotted together, and if <b>Bokassa<\/b> can keep it up, those &#8220;future of heavy music&#8221; statements mightn\u2019t be too far off.<\/p>\n<p>3.5\/5<\/p>\n<p><i>&#8216;Crimson Riders&#8217;<\/i> by <b>Bokassa<\/b> is out now on <b>MVKA Limited<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Bokassa<\/b> links: <a href=\"&lt;a\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/BokassaBand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Bokassaband\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bokassaband\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/bokassaband.bandcamp.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Words by Luke Nuttall (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nuttall_luke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@nuttall_luke<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;This is definitely a step in the right direction overall; it\u2019s tighter and more focused&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":84481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[5879,17217,17222,15029,17223],"class_list":["post-84479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-reviews","tag-bokassa","tag-crimson-riders","tag-luke-nuttall","tag-mvka-limited"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review: Bokassa - Crimson Riders - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;This is definitely a step in the right direction overall; it\u2019s tighter and more focused&quot;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: Bokassa - Crimson Riders - Already Heard Staging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&quot;This is definitely a step in the right direction overall; 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