Year Long Disaster, a three piece American rock band, are creating a small stir with their bass heavy, groovy vibey sound and, having seen them as support to Viking Skull, I thought I’d check them out on their own headlining tour. Gigs at The Cathouse club in Glasgow usually include a wild and wonderful selection of local support acts and this one was no exception. Gamble Gamble and Dreaver, a three piece prog band were a bit too Primus for my tastes but could really play their instruments to the extent that the bassist and drummer swapped places and still sounded good. Next up were The Shutter who delivered long instrumental proggy pieces with a touch of Big Country and jangly indie guitar thrown in for good measure. As I said weird..... 

After all that weirdness it was time for Year Long Disaster to hit the stage, launching into “Sapphire” from their debut album. The sound was good and suitably bass heavy, something that was definitely necessary as it's the distorted bassy vibe emanating from Rich Mullins side of the stage that defines Year Long Disaster's sound. Perhaps however it was too loud for the venue though and the disappointingly small crowd stayed more at the back of the hall rather than the front. Ignoring the size of the crowd the band ploughed through a set of songs with barely no let up, throwing all the rock star shapes and determined to leave the impression that they’re a big band no matter how many people were watching. Regular drummer Brad Hargreaves was unable to make the tour but his replacement Nathan Limbaugh from Rich Mullins old band Karma To Burn was the perfect replacement and the rhythms never missed a step all night. On top of the thundering groove his band mates were laying down singer and guitarist Daniel Davies gives the band their melody and their edge. Whether he was playing choppy rhythm or searing lead breaks his guitar crashed against the wall of bass while over the top of that his strong, raw, impassioned vocals demanded attention.  

To older rock fans like this reviewer Year Long Disaster sound like a classic 70s power trio, Budgie or Mountain perhaps, and the vocals are occasionally Plant-esque in feel but given the guys in the band are in their 20s and 30s they probably see themselves more as using Helmet and Soundgarden influences to do their own thing. Either way their vibe wasn’t shown at it's best in Glasgow given the setting but they were still very powerful. A band to watch.

Ian Sutherland