Having already established himself as a modern-day bluesman,
T.K. Webb
formed
the Visions
in 2007 to explore material that was louder, fuzzier, and more muscular than his solo material.
The Visions
prove to be a competent hard rock band on
Ancestor
, filling the album's 11 tracks with bluesy riffage that owes as much to
Joe Perry
as
J. Mascis
.
"Dreen Done Death"
alternates between spotless guitar flourishes and thudding power chords, while
"Isle of Grizzly White"
is a quick 90-second nugget of psychedelic space-metal. The bulk of
, however, falls slightly short of drumming up the same appeal as
Webb
's previous albums. With their ramshackle textures and emphasis on the acoustic guitar,
KCK
and
Phantom Parade
channeled the Delta blues with spooky conviction, allowing
to emerge as one as one of the few authentic-sounding bluesmen of the 21st century. But
explores a genre that's considerably more congested than
's Mississippi meanderings -- specifically, blues-based hard rock with an emphasis on the '70s -- and the musicians neither inject these songs with new life nor tackle their familiarities with the same energy as the genre's pioneers.
does flaunt some powerful moments, from the aforementioned highlights to the instances where
Brian Hale
trade off guitar solos like a skuzzier version of
the Drive-By Truckers
. Viewed as a debut album, this is a promising effort from a highly credentialed band. Compared to
's past albums, however,
doesn't quite produce the same engaging nostalgia as his solo outings. ~ Andrew Leahey