When a band labels themselves “Nautical Rock n’ Roll†– I take note. When a band illustrates their cover art with a illustrated tableau of deep sea characters – pirates on sharks, Davy Jones, a ghost mermaid – my curiosity levels rise.Â
Rusty Shipp’s debut, Mortal Ghost, hits on both of those entry points and resulted in a spin through their debut. Overall, the album is a collection of big, chuggy, riff rock with a bit of a throwback vibe to late 90′s post-grunge rock bands. Surprisingly, the band succeeds the most when it veers off course. The stripped down, exploding approach of “Hotel Bibleâ€, the ambient tons of “The Lighthouse†and the searing take on “Helter Skelter†are the most intriguing to my ears. Their soaring vocals and wall of guitar approach on the rest of the record is effective at setting a mood but those particular tracks show a band with more diversity than they initially let on.
You can watch the lyric video for “Tip of my Tongue†over on Youtube or dive into their full album over on Bandcamp.