Skullcap is a trio that plays dark folk rock with a heavy emotion and room for the players to solo and improvise. Lightly distorted blues rock fuzz guitar meets a vibrant, expressive folk lead cello, with a drummer who plays with a jazz subtlety. Snakes of Albuquerque is the band's debut album

The dramatic orchestral post-rock of the opener, "Pine Trees of Tennessee" features a repeating riff from the guitar while the cello dances in cascading melodic circles that form into a truly touching and powerful solo in the piece's latter half. This piece truly makes an impression with its intensity, though it doesn't turn out that most of the album has the same sense of urgency.

The second track, "Rt. 40" establishes the fundamental style of the recording, a guitar sound like ZZ Top or Robin Trower with chugging, straight-ahead grooves, but with more space to the music, spacing out for minutes on atmospheric licks. "Journey to the Sunset" and "Desert Turtles" continue in a similar vein, with more sun-scorched groove rock.

"Bear Out There" has a haunted, complex chord progression like later Radiohead, which becomes a vehicle for Janel's lavishly poignant melodic lines. On the title tune "Snakes of Albuquerque", unison between the cello and guitar on low octave chords have a doom metal effect. Later in the tune, there is a cello solo with heavy feedback, delay effects and string noise. This is a charming piece of death rock.

Janel Leppin shows the versatility of the cello, between tracks like the lounge jazz of "Orange Sky", when she assumes the role of the bass for the track, and the bowed folk leads found on the rest of the recording. Guitarist Anthony Pirog also changes for this track, dropping his rock tone for smooth fusion melodicism like we might expect from Holdsworth or Metheny. This is an absolutely beautiful song, and one of the best on the album.

The 1:33 closer "Ambrosia Burger" is absurd, dissonant free jazz, and here it's almost as if the musicians have revealed their true identity, as it's been clear the whole time they have musical chops far beyond what is needed for basic blues rock and folk fiddle.

Snakes of Albuquerque is a cosy, tasteful, replayable recording. In this trio, each player establishes a strong identity without a weak link. The lead playing is poignantly, cuttingly expressive, whether it's Pirog's ripping solo licks on "Just Passin' Thru" or Leppin's pained lead on "Bear Out There". The band is intense and charged with feeling when needed, and otherwise settled into a laid-back lounge rhythm. The whole album is comfortable and fluent, taking you through a variety of influences and styles, from rock to folk to jazz, without a jarring moment. The live energy of the album lets me know they'd put in a great performance, as it's clearly been recorded with everyone in the same room, playing off each other.