Album Review: Stöner - totally...
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
There are certain bands and artists that really grab people’s attention when they are set to release new material. And for me, two of those artists are Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri, as it is usually a sign that the music will be of the highest quality. I’ve been a massive fan since I first heard Kyuss, and have seen them both in various guises over the years, watching Bjork in a tiny club in the arches of Oxford Rd train station in Manchester, Oliveri with QOTSA and Mondo Generator, and it culminated in the spectacular Kyuss Lives performance in Wolverhampton in April 2011.
So when I discovered that they were back together and had formed Stöner, I listened to the eagerly anticipated 'Stöner Rule', which turned out to be an absolutely belting album, and an instant stoner rock classic. And now they have swiftly followed that up with the release of “Totally…” on Heavy Psych Sounds.
I can tell you right now, this is another one that is filled with instant classics that will melt your face off. With Ryan Gut on drums, they form the tightest of bands, that comes with years of playing with each other in various bands, and the results are big, groovy, sunbaked riffs that can cruise low and slow but then floor it and run all the red lights. As a genre, stoner rock doesn’t get much better than this, as the forefathers of the movement are in mighty fine form.
The colourful joy ride begins with the anthemic 'Party March' which has such a fuzzy guitar sound running through it, that you start to feel all warm inside and the smile appears on your face. They are already in the groove, the magnetism between the three is instantly there, and sets the tone for the what is yet to come. It is quickly followed by 'A Million Beers' and I suspect that they’ve shared this amount over the years, the bass riff in this is just sublime, and the song moves along at a cracking pace, pure rock n roll from artists at the top of their game.
And then they turn the notches down a few dials with the superb 'Strawberry Creek (Dirty Feet)' it’s a deep slice of powerful, raw stoner desert rock, and you find yourself dreaming of driving across the Mojave desert, with the sun setting in the distance, and then turning the radio up full blast as 'Space Dude & The Burn' punches its way through the airwaves, this is just dripping with amazing riffs but it alters pace, slowing down, letting the music guide you through an epic eight minute pysch rock jam.
The happy chilled out vibes are continued with 'Stöner Theme', which encapsulates all that is brilliant with this band. A trio of musical talents, showcasing what they do best, and they are all clearly loving what they are doing, and it shows, as the songs produced come across as them having fun, and that’s what music should be all about. And then my favourite song on the record 'Turn it Around' is beckoned forward to enrich our lives. So simple, laid back, with a straight forward drumbeat, the rhythm just perfect with clean vocals, and the fuzzy guitars just proving that you don’t need to complicate things to make an amazing sounding song.
The album ends with 'Driving Miss Lazy' and 'Great American Sage' proving once again that Stöner possess an abundance of punk rock rawness and passion for real rock and roll swagger, full of classic hard rock, heavy blues and desert rock.
And with that it ends, eight songs that are as good as anything you’ll hear for a long time. Buy it, embrace it, and most importantly, enjoy it.
