ninehertz

Weedpecker have been a European stoner rock staple for a long time now – their demo came out in 2012 – at the forefront of the fertile Polish scene and steadily increasing in prominence, growing into their sound with every release.

V, their latest album out on Heavy Psych Sounds, exhibits this growth and comfort in their own sound that comes with years of existence, a confidence to expand and explore. It is a bold, ambitious album, pushing further into the progressive and psychedelic expanses of stoner rock.

There are comparisons to be made with Elder, directly so on a couple of tracks, particularly the latter-day Omens era of that band, but never too close a comparison to become uncomfortable. It is in their control and progressive nature, and they really shine on tracks like Ash.

They’re not afraid to delve deeply into their lighter side either, a couple of tracks (such as In the Dark We Shine) completely airy and floaty, going from psych through grunge into something almost loungey – as a minimum ethereal. I’m not particularly keen, but it’s clearly a band being themselves and taking their music in their own direction so it’s hard to be frustrated in these moments.

Beyond that, there are kaleidoscopic colours, wind instrumentation and bright-sky positive vibes, even occasional wild solos thrown in, a band clearly mastering their light-touch psychedelia and stoner rock. There’s a radiance to V, album-long, that you can’t help but admire even when the most tripped-out forays into the clouds lead it astray. Weedpecker have crafted some seriously accomplished progressive heavy psych here.