Metal Underground.com

Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children Of The Knight, the UK groove rock trio, continues to be a lighthearted version of Stubb - the band that two of the members are from. Whereas guitarist/vocalist Peter Holland and drummer Christopher West stick to darker and more fuzzed-out fare with Stubb, they experiment much more with retro rock and grooves when composing with Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children Of The Knight.

On the band's new album, "Going Home," Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children Of The Knight picks up where their previous album, "Movin' On," left off. The album is an assorted barrage of hooks and melodies from all sorts of rocking influences. "Going Home," unlike its predecessor, seems to follow a theme. The tracks read like a day of libation, from the title track down to the outro "Home." It's one anthem after another about a day at the pub, and doing it all over again. The title cut, although a bit long for an upbeat song, is reminiscent of Jane's Addiction in the vocal pitch and the rolling, carefree melody.

While Holland has a high vocal range on that track, it changes up frequently, and he takes it down a few notches in many of the others. There is also good vocal harmonizing on songs like "Change Your Mind," which employs a more monolithic riff-centric sound. The album benefits from a good measure of variety in the songs, which are thankfully anything but clones of each other.

Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children Of The Knight takes a down-home southern approach on "Hillbilly Moonshine," a song that gets into some serious space jamming toward the end and makes you think of "Stranglehold." They go the acoustic route on "I Want Another Drink," a piece which shifts into high gear with driving riffs and gruff vocals that laments the alcohol-induced battle scars. There is even a hint of a horn section toward the tail end, a nod to arranger Tony Reed's ever-present mellotron abilities.

What I like the best about Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children Of The Knight's songs on "Going Home" is how the bulk of the tunes build into nice jams halfway through their durations. There are hazy keyboards that take you into a time warp on "Go Outside," fueling a nice ending. The lyrics are rather simplistic on that one, but they give way to plenty of rhythm. Similarly, "Ain't Gonna End Well" has good bluesy accents that remind one of Foghat. Those 70's acid moments and echoing, punctuated guitars turn a rocker such as "Up the Stakes" into an enjoyable excursion. Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children Of The Knight are truly in their element with extended rockers like these and "Pour Me Another One," where that mojo develops into full gear.

On "Going Home," Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children Of The Knight is experimenting with several styles. The seed was planted with "Movin' On," and the band takes off running with it this time. There are light-hearted rockers, several styles of retro coming into play and undeniable elements of Stubb, but the band is truly in its niche when it jams out an unbridled tune.