Find What You Love

• Artist: Maidavale
• Title: Tales of the Wicked West
• Released: 2016
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Psychedelic Rock
• Beverage of Choice: Absolut Martini

These four Swedish girls rock with a vengeance, modern Valkyries armed with guitar, bass, drums and microphones, channeling all the rock gods of old (Hendrix, Zep, Sabbath take a bow). Proving that heavy ain’t only for the boys, Maidavale stuff 70’s psych-rock sensibility into every chord change and solo, delighting this old headbanger with each new riff.

Starting out hot, the album opener “(If You Want the Smoke) Be the Fire” features Sofia Ström (guitar) delivering Jimi-style licks and is as tight a rock song as you’d ever want. At the midway point she throws down a prolonged riff solo that isn’t flashy but so right, so mindful and connected it’s as if she grew up on stage with those bygone greats.

Another stand-out track is “Standby Swing” with it’s Sabbathesque bass groove and great whoo-hoo backing vocals. More excellent axe work and sounding like they’ve been playing together forever, Maidavale are the real deal. “Find What you Love and Let It Kill You” ends the vinyl album (there is an additional instrumental track on Spotify/streaming called “Heaven and Earth”) and spotlights more outstanding soloing from Sofia with the rest of the band right there providing a solid percussive foundation and soaring vocals – big energy, big sound, big payoff.

Buy the vinyl, support rock music!