Pistola ‘Hold for Bliss’ Review
Here’s an old review I just ran across. It’s for one of my favorite bands, Pistola. Enjoy…
Pistola, Hold for Bliss
Goddamn. Pistola will kick your fucking ass. It’s that simple. Believe it. Know it…Trust me.
A beautiful display of raw passion. A tornado of frenetic, chaotic energy from start to finish. You will not hear a more intense, sincere, display of unrelenting drama…maybe ever – or until you see them live.
Propelled by intricate drumming and volcanic bass throbbings that hammer a violent threat – a tribal warning preparing you for the oncoming assault: guitars that build, heave, crash and slice like waves of grenades and glass. And the voice – that voice! A gutteral howl with the power of hell – a thunderstorm being sucked through the devil’s megaphone and amplified right into your psyche like a fist to your third eye.
Imagine sitting up in the sleeper of an old beat-up semi-truck on a cross-country trip in the middle of the night on a long, lonely road to nowhere with PJ Harvey at the wheel and Perry Farrell and Johnette Napalitano riding shotgun having a loud, drunken, dark, sexually-charged intellectual conversation about childhood trauma that quickly turns into crazy argument over why nobody thought to stop for more cigarettes, while Jesus Lizard & K’s Choice play really loudly in the trailer with a unrelenting vengeance, pushing the converstaion to a it’s screaming peak until PJ says, ‘fuck it!’ and drives the whole rig right off a cliff. That’s kinda what Pistola feels like. A viscously-sweet, daring assault on your dark emotions.
Beautiful. Intense. Pure.
Patricia Gradin is the epitome of a raw, passionate singer. Bar none. Rock, country, folk, opera? Fuck you – this beatiful voice covers it all with the kind of power you only wish your rock diva’s/falsetto operatic metal-heads had. Uncomprimised. Focused. Honest. She’s coming at you with all the force of a fist-fight and the rage of a revolution.
By the grace of all things good, she’s accompanied by a band of incredible musicians that understand and complement her so perfectly that you’d think that maybe something got right with music again…and it has. With George Podolak working magic on the guitars, Alan Dooley pummelling the bass and Randy Satarsky beating the fuck out of the drums, this band absolutely proves that bold, uncomprommising music with integrity and intensity still exists.
Seamlessly-produced by Pistola and Joel Hamilton (Unsane, Frank Black, Ani DiFranco), you’ll find yourself jonesin’ for more ‘Bliss’ right away. At first, the overwhelming power knocks you down and then while you’re staggering to your feet the lyrics start kicking in. Again, knocking you flat on your ass. The lyrics come at you slow, but after repeated listenings you’re fairly well convinced that this chick ain’t fucking around and you really want to hear what she has to say. A voice that mounts and grows and explodes. From Tori Amos whispers to a Grand Ole Opry twangs, she’s all over the place while fitting the song perfectcly at all times. Again, nothing but beautiful, graceful energy.
The recent singles ‘Drive’ and ’3 AM’ have been hitting the radio lately. If you haven’t heard these incredible songs, then call your local radio station and demand them now.
Make no mistake Pistola is gonna shoot your soul so full of holes, you may never recover.
For more information on the band, sample songs and upcoming shows visit: www.pistola.us
