Our latest album ‘Thieves And Charlatans’ on @ripplemusic got an awesome review in issue 336 of Classic Rock Magazine
Way beyond your standard stoner outing.
Boston-based Cortez won’t be rushed. They’re now on album number four since debuting in 2007, and the results are always a bit beyond expectations.
And so it is with Thieves And Charlatans. With elements of doom and stoner firmly woven into their sound, they nevertheless transcend the obvious to create an identity unique to themselves. The punchy Stove Up, No Heroes and blazing opener Gimme Danger (On My Stereo) are relatively concise in the grand scheme of the album. Elsewhere the tracks build, develop and surge to their climaxes with the labyrinthine, twisting Liminal Spaces and the suspenseful Levels, which incrementally snowballs from gloomily sinister to full-on riff tsunami, the two standouts when it comes to intelligent and progressive songwriting.
Ultimately, the album achieves the tough goal of delivering great power allied to satisfying complexity and melody, revealing fresh details with each listen. Way to go.
7/10
-Essi Berelian
