Turtle Island – Windigo (2023)
Meeting through mutual friends in the small town of Coldwater, Ohio (that’s in the USA to be exact), Adam Stall (vocals and guitar), Obie (bass) and Matt Hunter (drums) combined their natural music talent as Turtle Island. While the lads have only one single to their name (the song we’re going to review here), Turtle Island is winning hearts on an international scale. With their energetic stage performance, they garner followers at live shows like the Dayton Music Festival, and their captivating music draws audiences from the USA to Europe. Come with us as we delve into Turtle Island’s debut song ‘Windigo’.
Recorded in Stall’s home studio, Dragon Sun Productions, Turtle Island drags listeners back to the 70s and 80s with their rock-inspired debut single. Inspired by Led Zeppelin, Obie’s steady bass melds with Stall’s scorching guitar creating a comfortable bed of classic rock. The powerful crescendo into an infectious guitar solo brings a heaviness of old-school rock but with a light-hearted joviality in its rock-influenced rush. Hunter’s crashing drums match the bold guitars but still, somehow, retain prominence forcing people to pay attention to each instrument before enjoying it in a harmonious whole.
The classic rock style is definitely prominent but, for me at least, flecks of other styles creep in as the melody flows. An indie-rock tone flair with the haziness of grunge captured in the instruments. One aspect that is most intriguing in ‘Windigo’ is Stall’s vocals adding a blast of Britpop to the melting pot. People will have their hands pumping to classic rock but so many other surprises make ‘Windigo’ an exciting rollercoaster.
The melody is a thing of beauty with its upbeat foot-stomping sound; however, there is something far more profound to ‘Windigo’. Turtle Island explains:
“’Windigo’ is an observation of the spirit found in many Native American cultures. The Windigo is a spirit of obsession and narcissism to the absolute extremes, including harm to others and cannibalism. Our tune explores the general theme of the spirit and an attempt to recognise and fight off these evil thoughts that everyone has, minus perhaps the cannibalism part…”
Find out more about Turtle Island on their official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustsainablecurator
Discover more rock tunes on The Other Side Reviews Rock playlist:
