Smoke Signals, the second album from Rochester power trio the Ginger Faye Bakers, is a sinful and ridiculously enjoyable slab of instant classic rock that’s ideal for late night reckless driving, going camping with a case of Genny Cream and [redacted], and cutting school to get wasted. It’s also a perfect example of the amazing music floating around the increasingly local-centric internet in the post music industry 21st Century.
Driven by a death metal guitar sound that swings between the heaviest Queens of the Stone Age and the glorious Black Sabbath riffage of Tony Iommi, and wild vocals reminiscent of Black Mountain’s Stephen McBean, Smoke Signals is like so many releases from our neighbors on the 90 East — heavy on tunes and riffs, and irresistible. The Baker boys (Nathan, Timothy, and Billy) take it even further however, taking illicit joy in their pleasantly dangerous heavy duty abandon.
There’s a real rush to be felt listening to the Ginger Faye Bakers bend together multiple decades of rock seamlessly into an immediate present: the heavy proto metal of the early 70’s, the feel good hedonism and blatant pop sensibilities of 80’s rock, and skull crushing Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age scale. It all comes at you simultaneously on Smoke Signals. With the mainstream serving up repetitious pap via an increasingly anachronistic record industry barely holding onto existence that’s largely given up on A&R, this is the stuff you don’t generally hear anymore, and it’s glorious hearing it from the Ginger Faye Bakers.
With the dog days of summer upon us and the inevitable march towards fall under way, Smoke Signals is an essential WNY album for lazily kicking ass and living it up. You can stream and buy it here.