Glam-Garage, Guitar-Driven

Purple, they say, is the color of kings. So it makes sense that when Kyle Thomas, also known as King Tuff, was recording his new record, Black Moon Spell, he kept thinking of the color purple. The songs sounded purple, he said. There is a certain accuracy to his statement, as the songs on the follow-up to his hugely successful self-titled record, recall that of the late sixties and early seventies rock royalty.

Nearly every song has a catchy guitar riff to hold it in place. From the title track opener to the closing song, “Eddie’s Song,” Tuff’s guitar dominates the album and drives every song. The guitar on this album has more grit than the last. It sounds dirtier and less polished– as if he is purposely misplacing his fingers on the fret board, recalling the great punk rock guitar heroes.

His voice is similarly affected. It is high-pitched, nasally and at times, an imitation of psychedelic and glam rock. These things seem as though they might not go together, but they do. The effeminacy of his voice is a nice balance to the testosterone-fueled guitar. Something about the strange combination is reminiscent of the glam rock songs of T-Rex and Tuff’s contemporary and fellow effects-laden singer/guitar hero, Kurt Vile. Tuff’s is clearly aware of these comparisons and makes fun of himself in “Demon from Hell,” where he says that he “was once a normal kid / Till the devil came down and flipped [his] lid / He gave [him] a switchblade and he gave [him] a muse / Then he vomited acid all over [his] shoes.” These are some of the album’s best lyrics, but most of the time, the lyrics falter.

When he sings about the overarching theme of magic and takes it seriously, the lyrics become clichéd and contrived. For example, on “Magic Mirror,” he sings, “Starry Night / I’m a black cat / Starry Night / I’m a bad bat.” However, he does redeem himself lyrically when he is talking about women, specifically in “Headbanger.” His lyrics state that he and this girl “have a true connection / [He] knew when [he] saw her record collection / You had Sabbath and Priest and Number of the Beast / It was heavy metal perfection.” The song brims with so much joy about finding the one; it is by far the best song on the record.

His lyrics can be trite at times, but the real weak point of the album is variety. There is barely any. Every song features the electric guitar and effects-laden vocals. Every song works on its own, but with fourteen songs the album begins to drag. When he does attempt variety, it does work most of the time. As is the case on “Radiation,” where he tries to use electronics, but fails. What does work when it comes to variety is acoustic guitar. It gives the listener a break from ever-present electric guitar, as on “I like you Ugly”—a brilliant little ditty about liking a girl any way she comes—and “Staircase of Diamonds” that recalls early Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd.

Although this record does not reach the heights of its predecessor, Tuff does a fine job of making rock ‘n’ roll relevant again. He’s not the king just yet, but maybe, he is the prince draped in purple. For now, he might have to fight another guitar hero for that title.