ninehertz

A round up of nine recent releases in bitesize review form...

It’s been a month full of stoner rock revivalism for me, a heap of releases reinforcing the realisation the genre is well and truly on its way back. And what better way to prove as much than two Desert named bands from countries with no deserts…

First up, from the Netherlands we have Desert Colossus, bringing us their Apparatus album. It kicks off raucously, with chunky riffs, Ozzy-styled vocals (that bring in reminders of the Rise Above band sHeavy) and a satisfying heaviness on Hermit. From there, the vocals change slightly, but the power-driven stoner rock does not, comparisons to Deville arise, general desert rock goodness and the odd splash of cool fuzzy garage rock.

Down in Italy, there’s the similarly named Desert Collider, with Generation Ship: Endless Drift Through Infinity released on the all time great label Small Stone Records – reason to sit down and listen alone. This is European stoner rock of the prime Dozer and Greenleaf Swedish school, something of Truckfighters in the mix as well. It is coated in fuzz and the extra long penultimate track is pure, good-times stoner rock as we all remember and love.

Portugal has less of a heritage when it comes to this music, but Hazing Lungs, from Porto, throw themselves wholeheartedly into the aesthetic on The Great Mycelial Expansion. Every aspect is an ode to hallucinogens, in the artwork, lyrics, titles – and of course the music of stoner, doom and sludge is best placed to bolster that further. They move across these sister genres, with nods to Bongzilla in its groove and Electric Wizard here and there, generating a thick, hulking, swinging sludge mood at its best.

Over in Germany, Karla Kvlt bring something different to the sound. Thunderhunter has an eerie, dreamy doomgaze to it, gorgeous in its high points through its minimalist approach, with vocals that shine and instruments that bristle in held back restraint. There’s some noise-rock in here when it does gather momentum, vocals that occasionally remind me favourably of Kylesa’s Laura Pleasants and a general etherealness which is beguiling. There are Vangelis-like space synths and passages of heavy doom and post-metal the longer the album plays out, not always working but constantly intriguing.

Back on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain’s Mientras las abejas duermen released MLAD via Kozmik Artifactz. This is an astral melting pot of chilled stoner rock and psych, with space rock exploration weaved through its fabric. There’s some garage rock within too, instrumental interludes and the occasional drop down into doomier fare. It may miss a standout moment or track to truly stay with you, but their experimentation between their sounds is interesting and brings promise.

Stoner and doom has no boundaries, a global force now so we move away from Europe across to Indonesia for a split between Midnightsun and Maoon. The releasing label, Robuma Records, have a bandcamp banner stating “Al Cisneros is my cult leader” so you immediately know we’re with friends. Hymns From: The Edge of Dusk brings these two new names (to me at least), both forces of doom and sludge. The former combines cosmic glaxy noises, doom riffs, sludge vocals and stoner melodicness promisingly, whilst the latter are much chunkier, with varied vocals (from ghostly to harsh), and a healthy fuzzed doom tone.

Following all of those, many of which will be new to you, lets bring in one old time favourite, masters of the scene, Witchcraft. It has been interesting to see their development over the years, and I know many have loved their recent output, but being honest, I haven’t clicked with them since The Alchemist, the last of an all-time greatest trio of albums any band can offer. I still listen in in hope, and A Sinner’s Child, out on Heavy Psych Sounds thankfully brings some. It is stripped back somewhat – the power in Magnus Pelander’s voice well suited for the approach and still proves a beautiful soothing elixir here. It has elements of folk and melancholic blues in the (sometimes acoustic) medium which is lovely to hear.

And to end, lets finally move away from the stoner/doom axis for a couple of releases from back home. Disgraceland are a three-piece from Exeter, two-thirds of whom featured in the old ninehertz favourites Grifter. Penguins Can Fly is a rollicking five-track punk EP, which feels joyous when in full flow, punk and garage rock overflowing with energy, a rock n roll spirit with the occasional stoner edge heard. It could serve as a party soundtrack, unsurprisingly given their history; a short but heaped bag of fun.

We end in Birmingham, with Io, a band we reviewed way back in 2013. They return with Orbit of Ruin, out on Riotsmith next week. This has a real beat to it, post-hardcore with flashes of anger behind the vocals and the driving choruses. It delivers a distant reminder to long-gone but never forgotten heroes Hawk Eyes early on. They bring in mathy post-rock and hardcore, strange change ups between the frenetic, dark heavier moments and the jauntier end of their sound which is illuminating and brings intrigue throughout the whole album.