Browsing Tag

stoner rock

Cali’s sardonic sons El Greasy delivered industrialised synth rock debauchery in their debut, Bad Night for Leather

Posted on 3 November 2023

The Oakland, California melodramatic prodigies, El Greasy, greased up synth-rock to a debauched degree in their debut single and music video, Bad Night for Leather.

After feeling the synergy over Zoom during the lockdowns, the duo laid down seven soon-to-be seminal singles with engineer Ben Hirschfield at Nu-Tone Studios; Bad Night for Leather is the first dripping of their sardonically industrialised sound which obliterated the alt-rock mould.

So much more than the sum of their stoner rock influences, El Greasy’s big, brash, and bold energy lent itself effortlessly well to the narrative weaved through the superlative track which unfurls snarls towards protagonists who believe that superficial modifications will have untold benefits on the pitifulness of their unself-aware existence.

It is easy to see El Greasy riffing their way into the blackened hearts of everyone who takes their alt-rock with adrenalized shots of big-beat electronica and heavy doses of lyrical intellectualism, which elucidates phenomena that your average song crafter wouldn’t dare to work into their concepts. They’re a razor-sharp cut above the rest with their ability to put your speakers to the test while stretching your imagination with their tensile wit.

El Greasy said

“Bad Night for Leather portrays the experience of loneliness and self-acceptance during a night out in the big city. Inspired by a night of heavy drinking in Berlin, the protagonist retells the story of the night he was kicked out of a bar and stumbled by a pawn shop with a cool leather jacket in the window. By wearing the jacket, he thinks he’ll get into any bar or nightclub but is soundly rejected again and again by surreally large bouncers and the terrorizing “eye” of CCTV cameras.

The character laments that “I let myself get to me” and accepts that it was a “Bad Night for Leather.” The main idea is a character doing something over the top to gain the approval of others when there is no guarantee of this occurring.”

–

If you can’t get enough of Bad Night for Leather, you won’t have long to wait for the drop of their antithesis of a Christmas single, Jesus Fucking Christ, which is set to rain blasphemy onto the airwaves in December 2023.

The single and official music video for Bad Night for Leather will drop on November 3^rd; stream it on YouTube.

Head to El Greasy’s official website, Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with future releases and antics.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Master Splinter – A Caustic Version: Mike Patton Spawned a Stoner-Rock Monster

Posted on 2 November 2023

If the Alice in Chains discography hit a little bit harder and attacked their song crafting with an infectious sense of facetiousness, their grungy tracks would roll with the same vitriolically zany punches as Master Splinter’s latest single, A Caustic Version, which also runs in the same Machiavellian vein as some of Mike Patton’s most maniacally unhinged tracks.

With the vocals taking on swathes of different guises to amplify the unpredictability of the hard rock hit, your speakers will be smoking the wildfire ignited by the Portland, Oregon-based outfit’s determination not to take themselves too seriously.

If you’re sick of the brooding narcissists who proliferate rock and metal scenes across the globe and want a taste of eccentrically elemental stoner rock ingenuity, sink your teeth into A Caustic Version

A Caustic Version was officially released on October 17^th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sabres bare their teeth in their sophomore release ‘Tell Me Where It Hurts’

Posted on 29 August 2022

Here to prove that pigeonholes are for the banal is the Portsmouth alternative duo, Sabres, with their genre-evading sophomore single, Tell Me Where It Hurts.

The titularly compassionate, sonically scuzzed up single comprises just the drums and bass guitar. But the unholy rhythm section is far more than the sum of its dualistic parts, thanks to the heady synergy that grungily grinds through the collaborative chemistry between Sam Cutbush and Dominic Taylor.

Given the times that we are living in, there has been a discernible lack of aural angst, but Sabres are tackling our collective new crises, fears and perversions head-on with their unapologetic reflections on anger.

Sabres may be fresh from its late 2021 inception but in their respective earlier careers, they have supported the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen, British Sea Power, New Candys, Phobophobes and Melt-Banana. This is far from the first time that Dominic Taylor has left me transfixed by his monstrous percussive energy; I was lucky enough to witness the launch of his former band, Burning House’s debut album, Anthropocene. I’m stoked to hear him on top form once again.

Tell Me Where It Hurts is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Photo credit @oldskoolpaul

Cinematic Stoner Rock Meets Folk in Mal Hombre’s Latest Single, ‘When It Rains’

Posted on 4 June 2021

Any fans of Mazzy Star will want to tune into Mal Hombre’s latest single, When It Rains, featuring vocals from Coco SaFir. The soft blues slides and bends in the intro give way to a creeping soundscape that will allow you to imagine what the soundtrack would sound like if Tarantino and Lynch Co-Produced a film.

Coco SaFir’s vocals perfectly complement Mal Hombre’s fragile yet resoundingly cinematic instrumental style as it flows through a myriad of stylistic twists and turns. With the soft saxophones as the track gears up for a psychedelic outro, you won’t need to smoke to get high with this 70s-inspired stoner rock track that also introduces elements of folk, jazz and synthpop.

When It Rains is one of those tragically rare singles that compels you to crank up the volume until you can’t quite tell if you’re absorbing the single or it is absorbing you. It’s quite literally a breathtaking single that we couldn’t speak more highly of.

You can check out Mal Hombre via his website or Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Is It Safeway or Woolworths? Only The Gaffs really know.

Posted on 21 December 2020

It would be oh too easy to dismiss The Gaffs’ ‘Is It Safeway Or Woolworths?’ as one more in a long line of dreaded ‘novelty singles’, but that would totally disservice the superbly crafted chorus hook, exquisite guitar work, and the obvious quality of the song-writing and musicianship here. Insanely catchy and sing-along, beneath the gonzo lyrics is a solid indie-pop song, reminiscent in place of the Kings Of Leon’s ‘Sex On Fire’ or, just maybe, Sultans Of Ping FC’s ‘Where’s Me Jumper?’.

The Gaffs cite themselves as ‘some of the greatest thinkers of their time and are willing to ask the big questions around consciousness, existentialism and the difference between Safeway and Woolworths’. While that may be pushing it, they’re certainly a quality indie-pop band, and ‘Is It Safeway Or Woolworths’ is definitely a quality pop tune.

Check out the video for ‘Is It Safeway Or Woolworths’ on YouTube, and follow The Gaffs on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Sun Lite has dropped their Psychedelically Entrancing Cold Wave single “M.O.T.H.E.R.”

Posted on 3 October 2020

Belgian solo artist Sun Lite is here with their mesmeric era and genre-blending single “M.O.T.H.E.R.” Hit play and prepare to fall down the entrancing rabbit hole which was dug out with elements of Blues, 60’s Psych, Funk and EDM.

It transcends stunning. It’s an aural exhibition of harrow orchestrated with nothing more than a laptop, a keyboard, an acoustic guitar and Sun Lite’s intensely phantasmal vocals which are sure to be a hit with any fans of The Chameleons and Peter Murphy.

With hints of tribalism, your rhythmic pulses will be efficaciously arrested by the soundscape which leaves plenty of room for mind-warping experimentalism.

In short, M.O.T.H.E.R. is an obsession-worthy track for any staunch fans of psychedelia. Unlike so many Psychedelically-inspired artists, it’s more than just an ode to the past. The darkness which crawls through the single will stay with you for long after the psychedelic cold wave single has faded to a close.

You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MædMerc – Voices: Student Stoner Rock at its Finest

Posted on 15 November 2017

MædMerc is the outstandingly stunning brain child of two students that joined forces while studying at the University of California, Los Angeles; Zain Malik & Uddhav Mehra. MædMerc isn’t the first project they’ve combined their talents with. Their former band Animal Spirits saw the enigmatic duo shoot to fame, although their latest track Voices has the delectable notes of humble beginnings. Their screeching guitar solos show that there’s a long way to go for this band, however there’s an exponential amount of style, talent and potential behind the soundwaves that Zain and Uddhav are putting out.

The acoustic guitar sets a plateau of dulcet sounds which are wrapped around some questionable yet inventive synthetic effects. Together the two musicians create the perfect stoner blues rock sound track that’s sure to send you under with the dubbed over voices that strangely compliment the vocal diversity of the main vocalist who has everything that you’d expect from a rock outfit singer. What sets the band apart for me is their ability to really express their emotion through the track, in a short 4 minute track, the music tells you all you need to know about the band, it’s enough for you to be eager for them to bring out more!

If you like MædMerc make sure you follow them on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/maedmerc/

Living Shape Releases Hard Hitting Rock Track “Nirwana”

Posted on 8 October 2017

Living Shape is an alternative rock band from Zurich, Switzerland.

Their sound is hard-hitting, no-frills and no-compromise alternative rock. The tone of the band is really captivating and interesting.

If I could describe it by making comparisons, I would say that their recent single, “Nirwana”, almost sounds like Jim Morrison fronting The Foo Fighters, jamming with members of Metallica.

The track is a great example of the band’s eclectic influences. The guitar tones of the group tip the hat at the early metal sound of the 70s, learning lessons from bands such as Metallica or Judas Priest. The vocals are present, really cutting through the mix perfectly. On the other hand, the drums are dense and thick, echoing the best early stoner rock and grunge. In spite of the band’s rocking attitude, there is also a lot of melody in this track, making it appealing to a broad pool of listeners.

The band recently even took to Youtube to release a brand new music video for their single, which showcases the band jamming in various locations in an abandoned old mansion!