October 3
Artone/The Players Club Records
Words by Ali Williams
Living Colour’s Vernon Reid is about to release his much-awaited new solo album, Hoodoo Telemetry. Known for his epic guitar riffs as a Grammy Award-winning member of the band Living Colour, Reid takes us on a journey of sounds with this new solo album.
However, calling it a “solo album” is like calling a supernova “a light bulb.” Reid describes it as “a piece of my all-over-the-place mind,” and that’s no understatement. The result is less “album” in the conventional sense and more a multimedia broadcast of idiosyncratic signals, aural talismans, spectral distortions, and occasional freakouts. Notable is the track The Haunting, with a softer approach to metal riffs with that smooth soul sound, which makes for a nice intro into the rest of the album.
My personal favourite, Bronx Paradox, gives up that old school hip hop vibe, complete with vinyl scratch and a horns section. Reid’s vocals are showcased here, delivering that low octave smoother than satin. If you listen to Hoodoo Telemetry expecting an album of 14 aggressive, crushing riff monsters, you’ll be frustrated. If you accept it as a pilgrimage into the mind of a master guitarist pushing boundaries, then it’s a feast. This is a guitarist’s incantation, an odyssey through tone, spirit, memory, and rebellion. There are moments that will torch your ears, moments that will puzzle, and moments that will break your heart.
In the end, Reid reminds us: virtuosity doesn’t mean safe. In a world where heavy music sometimes recycles familiar tropes, Hoodoo Telemetry is a signal—sometimes garbled, often cryptic, always alive.
All up, I give it 4 out of 5 mic drops and highly recommend i,t especially if old school hip hop soul funk and guitar shreds and riffs are your thing, then this album will serve you your favourites on a silver platter, followed by a procession of a complete marching band just because.
