La Chinga – Primal Forces 2023

Vancouver’s La Chinga have been around for over a decade, releasing three previous albums with this being their first since Beyond The Sky in 2018 and things kick off in fine, full throttle fashion with the ballsy opener “Light It Up” which had more than a hint of Danko Jones about it and lifted my expectations higher.

The screeching, potential biker anthem “Ride The Dragon” follows in similar hard rocking style before an abrupt change of style for the very ’70s classic rock inspired “Bolt of Lightning” that features the first of many solos that have me thinking it was a different band!

The defiant “Backs To The Wall” restored my faith a little as it has a sleazy sinister atmosphere with appropriate vocals, but then “Witch’s Heart” – with its Ritchie Blackmore inspired theme – and “The Call” – another chugging Deep Purple styled track are both well executed but just left me cold and rather disinterested. “Stars Fall From The Sky” is a mid-tempo , stoner affected track that again seemed longer than it actually is to me. “Electric Eliminator” follows the stoner theme to the letter — although the vocals have a slight Wednesday 13 effect that perked me up a little before the psychedelic jam of “Rings Oo Power” and the similar “Motor Boogie” – which doesn’t actually do much in the way of boogie-ing either — making it almost a complete misnomer to these ears.

The production is pretty crystal clear and the band themselves are efficiently on point, with the vocals alternated between guitarist Ben Hadley and bassist / founding member Carl Spacker suit the styles that they attach themselves to, and there’s no doubting that Yardley wields a mean guitar and shreds some nifty solos throughout as well, all of which are supported by the solid skin work and backing vocals of Jay Solyon.

The change of styles after the blistering opening two tracks and then morphing into a stoner infused, jam band — which really isn’t my thing at all and therefore left me personally very disappointed — is of course purely a matter of taste. If you can imagine Deep Purple tinged with a Soundgarden vibe, then you will have some idea of what you’re getting. It would be fairly difficult to argue with the press release quote that La Chinga are “A power trio with Psychedelic powers from Vancouver” and loud and proud too, I’m sure.

Track List:
o1. Light It Up
o2. Ride The Dragon
o3. Bolt of Lightning
o4. Backs To The Wall
o5. Witch’s Heart
o6. The Call
o7. Stars Fall From The Sky
o8. Electric Eliminator
o9. Rings of Power
10. Motor Boogie

Band Members:
Carl Spackler – vocals, bass
Ben Yardley – guitars, vocals, moog synth
Jay Solyon – drums, backing vocals