Neverland Ranch Davidians

Blazing funk-fuelled debut from your new favourite band. Fronted by Tex Mosley (very probably the only man in history to play with both Pure Hell and Suzi Quatro), defiantly bass-free, two-guitar power trio NRD boast a sound that’s as unlikely a hybrid as their once heard, never forgotten name.
Stoner psych gets its groove on in an irresistible fuzz-funk firefight that calls to mind a tight-but-loose, chitlin circuit era Hendrix (Fat Back), elsewhere there’s the overdrive-pedal-to-the-metal freeway head-rush of Rat Patrol, swampabilly grunge (the powerfully wrought, George Floyd-inspired Knee On My Neck), and Cramps lurch (Aqua Velveteen). Hell, to be perfectly honest it’s tough to cherry-pick because every which way you turn there’s a dynamite tune: Liquor Store’s knowingly Marquee Moon-quoting punk flurry; Boys Don’t Cry’s sneeringly catchy barbed hook; Hen House with its ass-quaking head-on collision of Famous Flames and Stooges… File under ‘Future Classic’. ■■■■■■■■■■

Ian Fortnam - Classic Rock Magazine

Lo-fi triumph from garage proto-punk reprobates Neverland Ranch Davidians

Release Date: 20th January 2023

Label: Heavy Medication Records

Formats: CD, Vinyl, Download

Odds are, you won’t have yet come across Neverland Ranch Davidians. The band is the current vehicle of Tex Mosley, formerly of Philly Afro punk outfit Pure Hell, as well as Bad Actor and explosive LA punk ventures like Gunfight, Whores of Babylon and The Hangmen. Neverland Ranch Davidians actually first appeared as long ago as 2016 when their 5-track EP, Spirituals From the Other Side caused a few ripples and now they’re back – in all their grinding, grungy, punky glory – with a full-length eponymous debut album.

As well as Tex on guitars and vocals, Neverland Ranch Davidians feature Will Bentley – also on guitars and vocals – and drummer Max Hagen. The band describe themselves as “defiantly bassless” and also as “garage proto-punk reprobates on the fifth day of a four-day creep.” If those descriptions sound self-aggrandising, think again. On the evidence of this album, they hit the nail pretty squarely on the head.

By the way – if you’re puzzled by the band’s choice of moniker, it came about by merging the stamping grounds of a couple of 20th century icons. Neverland was, of course, the home of Michael Jackson and the Branch Davidians were a movement (some might suggest a “cult”) led by David Koresh, who died during the 1993 FBI siege of the group’s Mount Carmel Center in Waco, Texas.

The first bars of opening track At The Gospel were a real shock to my senses. A primitive drum rhythm overlayed by gritty, grungy guitars painted a wild scene – somewhere in an Australian jungle, maybe – and I was captivated. This wasn’t what I was expecting…

Built on a choppy, fuzzy guitar riff, lead single Rat Patrol is a more basic slice of no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll. Crude but enticing, it suggested to me an idea of what Creedence might have sounded like when they took a first run-through of a new song – yes – it sounds that fresh. Despite the proud, self-applied, “defiantly bassless” tag, Tex picks up a bass to add a little depth to the excellent Fat Back. Max once again excels in the engine room as Tex and Will weave interesting guitar patterns and, if you can think of any rhymes for the words “fat” and “back,” I can guarantee you that they’re used in the song’s lyrics.

Screeching guitar feedback introduces the heavy riff that underwrites the sinister Aqua Velveteen. The song’s lyrics – including snippets like “She told me she was from another planet, and, after that, well – I had to have it” add to the sinister theme of the song and really need to be heard to be believed…

If raw, uncomplicated, lo-fi punk is your thing, then you’ll find a classic example in Liquor Store, a fast, furious flowering of Ramones-like energy. It even starts with a Ramones ‘1-2-3-4’ intro. Solid Monkey Blues is slower and considerably more threatening. Two guitars jostle for space and prominence in a full-on sensory assault by three chords, a solid drumbeat and Tex’s anguished vocal.

As most readers will be aware, the great Link Wray was a major inspiration to the 60s garage rock culture and I get the feeling that he would have approved Neverland Ranch Davidians’ rocket-paced take on his tune, Butts in My Beer. Excellent and thoroughly breathless, it pulls no punches and takes no prisoners.

Despite their own self-branding, Neverland Ranch Davidians are far more than a ‘garage proto punk’ outfit, and they prove that in several of the album’s tracks – notably on Boys Don’t Cry, a poppy affair, drenched in the surf-derived harmonies that sweeten the messages that “They say boys don’t cry” and “They say girls don’t lie.” Tex almost breaks down mid-song, but the guys recover, and the harmonies come back stronger than ever.

Guest Greg ‘Smog’ Boaz (Tex and the Horseheads, Thelonious Monster and others) sits in on bass on Hen House, and immediately the sound is cleaner and heavier. The song is structured around a tight riff with some nice guitar fills that remind me of early Television, and there’s plenty of room left for Tex’s vocals. Hen House is probably the most ambitious song on the album – it’s bright and accessible, but has maybe sacrificed some of the band’s unique rawness in the process of becoming so.

Seventies-styled heavy rocker Stigmata is another of the cleaner-sounding tracks. A slow build-in blossoms into a strident riff, and Tex is on top vocal form, and, sticking with relative states of cleanliness as a way to describe musical production, the anguished Knee On My Neck is definitely one of the album’s dirtier numbers. And I love the echoes of Perry Como in the way that Tex rhymes “soda” with “Minnesota!”

This intriguing album is wrapped up in the most intriguing way imaginable – with a tight, bluesy, soulful rendition of Ray Charles’ Believe to My Soul. Tex delivers a great vocal, the backing harmonies are spot-on and the drum/guitar arrangement fits perfectly. And Tex takes a delightful liberty with the lyrics when he sings “Last night, I heard you call out when we were having sex, ‘Oh! Johnny!’ – when you know my name is Tex…”

Fresh, versatile and triumphant – give it a listen. - At The Barrier

There’s a whole lotta shaking going on down on Neverland Ranch as this three-piece explosion of the blues, Rock n Roll, Experimental Rock, Post Punk and whatever else they decide to throw into the pot.

Guitarist/singer Tex Mosley: one-time alumnus of Philly’s legendary Afro-punks Pure Hell is driving the bus at NRD There’s a healthy dose of minimalist R & B happening on ‘Fat Back’ that reminds me of Vintage Trouble when they weren’t performing ballads mixed with a shade of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. ‘Aqua Velveteen’ carries on this journey with the sparseness growing and getting more trippy. Pat Todd cited Suicide as an influence when describing the band’s sound and I hear that here its certainly not frantic like Jon Spenser but the use of feedback and the blues is all here. It’s like the morning after the night before – you can’t remember much but you sure as hell know you had a good time.


The band can also rock it up, ‘Liquor Store’ has some street-wise attitude that sounds like they’re riding the local bucking bronco with a beer in one hand and the other hitting a snare drum without a care in the world. It’s a simple time-honored formula this Rock and Roll when done right. Knocking out a rhythm and putting some words down before breaking it up with a whacked-out solo that’s trying to tame that fuzz n feedback before it’s too late.

The guys in the band are just rolling with it and kicking out the jams on ‘Solid Monkey Blues’ playing it straight no bullshit I’m sure Iggy would approve.

The band operates without a bass player and figured The Cramps didn’t need one (most of the time) and neither did the Gories so NRD gave it a miss as well.

Side two kicks off with an instrumental jig before ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ brings in layered gang vocals over some big melody and some cool lyrics to reflect the laid-back tempo that is almost horizontal. ‘Hen House’ gets a little funky and loose and has the same vibe early Lenny Kravitz once possessed when he was letting love rule. These cats have got the chops to pull this off you know, the album grows when you let it breathe and drip into your brain.

‘Stigmata’ has the feel that you’ve heard this before laying down some ’80s Keith Richard chops on that riff if he floated down a different path. ‘Knee On My Neck’ is heavy and is one of the highlights of the album that to be fair has plenty of highs. The record signs off with ‘I Believe To My Soul’ which is a brooding number with some excellent vocals and harmonising on top of a really strong arrangement that again doesn’t overcook the instruments and keeps it to a minimum or just enough to deliver the goods something Neverland Ranch Davidians do over and over again on this excellent album. If you’re looking for a pointer then I’d suggest you look no further than the Buy Here button below you won’t regret it.

Author: Dom Daley - RPM Online

I asked Tex Mosley, guitar/singer, how he came up with the band. He said that he was tired of what was happening in the rock scene, of what was going on in the Hollywood scene and needed to freshen up his approach to what he wanted to do musically. Being a Philly transplant he was inspired to turn to more groove sounds like James Chance, Teenage Jesus. The band consists of Tex Mosley, guitar/vocals, Will Bentley, guitars/backup vocals and Max Hagen, drums/backup vocals, and yes, there is no bass player. A power trio with the attack of sharks smelling blood! Tex being into a soul sound and Will getting into rhythm and blues while being rockers with a punk edge, well, out came a sound I, for one, have never heard before. Rocking Soul Grunge Psychedelia Punk mixed into some great songs with great arrangements, backing vocals, and guitar riffs tastefully exchanged between Tex and Will! A real powerhouse! And let’s talk about Max on drums! Wow! So playful with each part of every song, transitioning well into choruses, like he is singing with his drums! Pat Todd (of the Rankoutsiders) said “This music brings to my mind echoes of Hound Dog Taylor,

Stax, James Brown & The Rolling Stones with a touch of Allan Vegas art damaged punk – with actual songs ! No cookie cutter Lo Fi artifice here!”

Opening up with “The El”, superb feedback extraordinaire intro with a tribal beat sneaking in tastefully, then chunk power chords all coming together in this short instrumental opener. Almost voodoo like, and you’re the voodoo dolls taking the pin pricks! Great opener! Followed by “Fat Back”, yes! A rocking soul number that makes you want to move and shake! Tex just gives raw emotion on vocals and Will and Max’s falsetto backing vocals are just superb! And right after that came a rockabilly flavored tune called “Anna Lee”. You would think that a rockabilly tune would need some slappin’ bass line but Tex and Will trade off rhythm and licks, filling in where one might expect a bass line. The bass is not missed in this trio. They have it sussed. Then came this Incredible song “Signify Monkey”, a new song they just wrote. Yes, I felt the spirit of Arthur Lee/Love permeate the room! I was thoroughly impressed that Tex could capture that 60’s psychedelic feeling!! Very cool! A couple more songs went by each with soulful merit but then they played “Knee On My Neck”! Yeah, you know what that’s about! A grunge driven melody about the unfortunate death of George Floyd. The song itself captures the rage felt by this senseless act of brutality! A really powerful song!

More great songs coming along nicely in their set! They did an Eddie Floyd cover of Big Bird! Wooo!!! Eddie Floyd would have been a might proud of these gents who gave the song a psychedelic edge while keeping soul content! Totally dug their version! Next, Cactus Cooler, a cool song that reminded me of Spirit’s “I Got A Line On You, Baby”! The crowd soaked it in, bathing in the chorus of “Cactus Cooler, Man, Cactus Cooler, Man, Cactus Cooler, Man,”! Man, I was loving it big time!! This might be their hit single!!!!! Loved the way Tex and Will played with each other on the guitar parts on this one! They do it on all other songs but this one you really see the integral exchange of guitar emotion they hand each other. They ended their set with an, again, instrumental soul blues power grunge number, “Solid Monkey”, and it was solid.

Man O Man, you just gotta love this band! One of the best acts around! I tell you one thing, while all players are excellent, and I do mean excellent! Watching them was part of the pleasure of Neverland Ranch Davidians. I think we’ll see some wonderful things happening. They’ve really connected with Heavy Medication Records out of Berlin. Tex talked about a European tour in the works, as well as some U.S. dates!

Watch out for these boys! They’re coming to get you! - Punk Globe Magazine