Album Review: Alpha Male Tea Party – Health

By Prog Sphere on May 5, 2017

Liverpool’s instrumental rock trio Alpha Male Tea Party returns with their third album Health on June 23 via Big Scary Monsters Recordings. A follow-up to 2014’s critically acclaimed Droids, Health ups the game and offers instrumental rock with passion, what’s something that most instrumental bands forget about nowadays.

Alpha Male Tea Party knows when to hit hard and when to slows down; Health is full of polarising dynamic that reaches out to the both ends of extreme. Starting with the opening “Have You Ever Seen Milk?,” Tom Peters, Ben Griffiths and Greg Chapman embark on a journey full of unpredictable moments. The lush intro of the opening tune almost lulls you in, but that’s not for so long. The trio eventually shoots a series of heavy riffs accompanied by almost deafening rhythm section.

“Bellerina” hits you right between the eyes right off the bat; it flirts with math-rock threatening to become an absolute hodgepodge, but still remaining within the commonsense. On “The Museum of Walking,” Alpha Male Tea Party brings forward King Crimson-turned-Tool rock vibe, while “Nobody Had the Heart to Tell Him He Was on Fire” references quite a few diverse styles such as post-punk, classic rock, post-rock, psychedelia, etc.

Writing guitar parts for an instrumental album requires an imaginative sense and creative juices to flow in unison, and guitarist Tom Peters answers that challenge here like a champ. Whether he builds atmospheric wall of sound by striking chords, or just riffs hard, Peters is at the top of the game here. One of the examples of is clearly “Powerful and Professional.” “Carpet Diem” and “Some Soldiers” feel as technical exercises; songs that could give a headache to Animals as Leaders.

Whether these guys throw the most complex arrangements or a plain set of heavy riffing to your face, the music on Health has a certain flow to it, making for a pleasant listening experience rather than being just a random song generator.

Health is out on June 23; pre-order it here.

Tracklist:

01. Have You Ever Seen Milk?
02. Ballerina
03. The Museum of Walking
04. Nobody Had The Heart To Tell Him He Was On Fire
05. Don’t You Know Who I think I Am?
06. Powerful and Professional
07. Carpet Diem
08. Some Soldiers
09. I Still Live At Home
10. No More

Line-up:

* Tom Peters – guitar
* Ben Griffiths – bass
* Greg Chapman – drums

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