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Released on March 25, 2016 via Small Stone Records
La Chinga have things sorted. Yes, they clearly have a very well-thumbed edition of the Big Book of Rock Cliches on the floor of their tour van and they are obviously happy to pump out hedonistic, good-time Led Zep and AC/DC worship, in the burnt orange, mustard and brown tones of the mid-seventies. And anyone who heard their self-titled debut won’t be surprised on Freewheelin’ by anything other than the appearance of a mandolin or two – until the last song at least – but the self-confessed tequila-guzzling, chicken-wing-munching band are so good at what they do, then why should they try anything different?
If you are not a fan of hard rock with familiar themes such as alcoholic excess and the undying need to keep moving, as well as the oft-repeated name checks for the devil, someone’s momma and a witch, then stop reading now. But for the rest of us: sit down, there is much to enjoy. And the most enjoyable bit comes at the end, with the expansive 10-minute epic ‘Dawn of Man’ – more on which later. But things start a hell of a lot less ambitiously with the driving opener, ‘Gone Gypsy’, which has enough freshness and originality to avoid being labelled a Zep pastiche, but retains the free-and-easy hallmarks of the proto-metal giants.
Or the next three songs, ‘Mother of All Snakeheads’, ‘White Witchy Black Magic’ and ‘Stoned Grease White Lightnin’, which sound exactly as you’d expect from the titles. The latter in particular has some impressive soloing from guitarist Ben Yardley, while the witch tune stands out because of Jay Solyom’s Bonham-like drum work.
‘Faded Angel’, with Yardley on vocals, slows things down a little – welcome after the sweat-soaked opening four tracks – and veers dangerously close to power-ballad territory, but would sound great at the end of a buddy movie, to accompany a scene where the hero drives off into the sunset. ‘Mountain Momma’, on the other hand is where the mandolin makes an appearance. And the devil, for that matter. It is reminiscent of Led Zep’s quieter moments – and the chorus is a particularly tenacious earworm. I found myself singing it hours after hearing it. ‘War Cry’ begins with a jarring quasi-disco beat and as such it sticks out – as my dad would put it – like dog’s balls. Thankfully the band revert back to type with ‘K.I.W.’ and ‘Right On’.
Then ‘Dawn of Man’ looms into view. And man, is it a song to reckon with. It builds slowly, with a satisfyingly simple riff which demands you nod your head, then heads off into echoey psychedelia and moody doom – making the rest of the album sound a little lightweight. If La Chinga had the wherewithal to make an entire album with the sort of ambition that went into this song, they’d have a monster classic on their hands. As things stand, however, they still have things sorted – they are very good at what they do.
