Give Imaad Wasif a break. Yes, his voice does resemble Jeff Buckley’s, but stylistically the two are oceans apart. Buckley thrived on lush arrangements and theatricality that verged on the operatic. Wasif, by comparison, plays sparse, off-the-cuff songs about aloneness and traveling through darkness. Strange Hexes, his second solo release and first to feature Two Part Beast (Bobb Bruno and Adam Garcia) is a quest for spiritual validation that is every much as exciting as Buckley’s Grace, and equally deserving of praise.The fuzzed-out guitars wail in electric stomps that sound more like forces of nature (metaphorically) than rock instruments. It’s as though Wasif is searching for the essence of every song, crafting them carefully before saying “fuck it,” and then abandoning any ideas of perfection. He’s influenced by Townes Van Zandt and Black Sabbath; the storytelling, intimate side of the former combine beautifully with the recklessness of the latter. “Oceanic” is a lethargic song with maybe three or four rudimentary chords. Wasif sings above heavy, rattling bass and minimalist drumming in near-whispers, sounding half-dead or stoned until midway through, when the song explodes in an orgy of feedback and cries. Later, on “Cloudlines,” Wasif – formerly a guitarist for Folk Implosion and a touring guitarist for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs – resembles the late African genius Ali Farka Toure in his sing-song melodies. Garcia’s laid-back drumming is appropriate here; he and Bruno are powerful but unobtrusive. Wasif grew up in the desert, playing gigs with Kyuss and involving himself fully in the “desert rock” scene in southern California. Strange Hexes sounds like music created for or by the desert, though without the excesses of the genre. It is an economical album, full of sunshine and meditations on life and death.
– M.S.
Imaad Wasif: www.imaadwasif.com