The Oil Barons, a talented four-piece from Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, have long been lauded for their volatile brew of high-octane rock ‘n’ roll. They’re a band who have built a reputation for the unpredictable and wilfully chaotic live shows, and with their latest album, ‘Grandiose’, they’ve managed to bottle that energy into a truly unique and captivating experience.
From the opening moments of ‘The Surrender’, it’s clear the new record is something more than your average album. Paired with the hallucinogenic cover art, it’s an ensnaring adventure that kicks off perfectly with a swirling, organ-driven instrumental. The rhythm section of Andrew Huber and Jake Hart lays down a hypnotic groove, while Lou Aquiler and Matt Harting weave in ethereal guitar and organ lines.
What follows is an unpredictable trek through the mythical western frontier. The Oil Barons’ self-described “Psych Doom Western Adventure” is a perfect summary of the record’s sound. Tracks like ‘Wizard’ lean heavily into the doom-laden psych, while ‘Goddamn Horror Show’ is a scuzzy, foot-on-the-monitor hard rock blast. But the band’s songwriting prowess truly shines in moments like ‘Vivienne’, a gorgeous, mournful ballad laced with bluesy interludes, and ‘Gloria’, a soulful, scorching track that evokes the spirit of The Grateful Dead, only pushed to more lysergic extremes.
The band’s ability to shift from sprawling epics to punchy, concise cuts is what makes ‘Grandiose’ so compelling. The title track, which closes the album, is a prime example of this shapeshifting nature, ebbing and flowing between the delicate and the domineering, like a roots-infused take on early Pink Floyd. And then there’s the magnificent take on ‘John Brown’s Body’, which sounds like The Doors time-travelled back a century to write marching songs for the Union army.
‘Grandiose’ is a rarity in today’s musical landscape. It’s an album without any filler, where every note feels intentional. The Oil Barons have crafted a record that is as vast and unpredictable as the western landscape they mythologise. This is an album that demands to be played loudly and repeatedly, a testament to a band that isn't riding off into the sunset but rather setting it on fire.
For more from The Oil Barons, be sure to check them out today on Instagram, Facebook, X, and of course, Bandcamp.
