Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich may be best known as a purveyor of doom, but as ‘Heavy Kingdom’ evidences, Conny Ochs has a knack for bringing out another side of his musical character, one which also emerged on the recent tribute to Townes van Zandt. Yes, Wino proves extremely adept when he turns his hand to battered-soul Americana, and ‘Freedom Conspiracy’ exploits that to the max.
It’s by no means a criticism to suggest that ‘Freedom Conspiracy’ is a buskable album; its stripped-back arrangements, built around simple acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies, give it an immediacy and an accessibility, an honesty and a sincerity that means the songs stand alone and work on their own merits. There’s no trickery, just good old-fashioned songwriting and musicianship.
It’s all about the heart and the soul: ‘Sound of Blue’ is reminiscent of Nirvana’s ‘unplugged’ version of The Meat Puppets’ ‘Lake of Fire’ and finds the duo combine melodic harmony with true grit.
That said, while it may be an acoustic album – save for the odd bit of tube crunch to thicken out the sound and enhance the dynamic – ‘Freedom Conspiracy’ is also very much a rock album. ‘Foundation Chaos’ has a gritty, low-down feel and a swaggering psychedelic rock hue about it, and ‘Invisible Bullets’ is an out and out grunge rock beast, with some crunchy minor-key riffing and a proper lead break to boot. Elsewhere, the harrowing narrative of ‘Crystal Madonna’ follows classic country tropes. There’s some bleak western winds blowing through ‘Shards’ and it all amounts to a cracking set of songs.
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You can’t fake it: these guys have lived it and channel it into their music. The songs on ‘Freedom Conspiracy’ are finely honed for maximum impact, but in their execution, they’re delivered straight and from the heart.
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