La Chinga
Beyond the Sky
(Small Stone Records)
4/5
Beyond The Sky, the third album from Vancouver rockers La Chinga, is a masterpiece full of life, freedom, and, most importantly, good pure rock.
“Nothin’ that I Can’t Do” is an ideal way to kick off this incredible album. The guitar work is on par with Slash’s, and the vocals are up there with Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge and Slash’s band, and sound strikingly similar, with heated, working-class growls that hiss into the pleasure centre of the brain.
It’s not all high-octane rock, though: La Chinga isn’t afraid to slow things down for a few bars, only to then thump listeners over the head with amazing, full-bodied, and powerful riffs.
The album struggles to maintain life partway through, but somehow it never dies, proving that this band is capable of expanding well past the Vancouver music scene.
Parts of some songs, such as “Keep on Rollin’,” go on longer than they need to, but the flexibility of the vocals and guitars is this band’s heart and blood and makes for a fresh and worthwhile sound that is scarce in rock music today.