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Album Review: Lowrider - Ode To Lo [Deluxe Edition]
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
At this year’s edition of Desertfest in London, I finally got to witness Swedish stoner rock Lowrider in all their glory. There was something quite special about them that afternoon and with Peder Bergstrand leading from the front, they have a certain coolness about them and now, on its 25th anniversary, they have reissued their landmark album “Ode to lo”.
With Bergstrand saying that “this is the version they didn’t let us do back then – only better” it’s hard to know how they could better the original, as I once again listen to the fabulously fuzzy notes which herald the start of “Caravan”. It’s a timeless classic in my eyes, built upon the shores of the late 90’s post Kyuss era. The riffs may be cleaner, but that distinctive stoner rock fervour is clear, with “Flat Earth” showing once again why they are so revered in the genre.
It rocks from start to finish, like a shot of adrenaline, with “Convoy V” having those sumptuous riffs from Ole Hellquist, and we get the gritty, forceful vocals at the beginning of the delightful “Dust Settlin” with drummer Andreas Eriksson pounding away on the drums, keeping the rhythm tight with the bass. “Sun Devil” provides a little bit of rest bite from the force of nature that their riffs feel like, but it’s soon back to what the do best with “Anchor”.
![Album Review: Lowrider - Ode To Lo [Deluxe Edition]](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.com/65535/54793829336_bd6dbe2b68_c.jpg?w=678&ssl=1 "Album Review: Lowrider - Ode To Lo [Deluxe Edition]")
The limited edition will be issued on silver, black and white colour merge double album and features a host of unpublished goodies, with the deluxe edition having the full sixteen songs, including “Shivaree”, “Upon The Dune” and “Lameneshma” that were recorded in that era but not on the original release.
My Lowrider memories are of the first ten songs, with “Texas Pt I & II” featuring in my thoughts as I’d been working in Texas the year before. It has an American swagger and texture to it, and that single bassline midway through with the vocal overlay, just gets more exceptional with each listen. That recognisable fuzziness rides up into our senses on “Riding Shotgun” and demonstrates why they were one of the trailblazers of the stoner rock movement.
The final two tracks of the original release in 2000, “Saguaro” and the title track, “Ode to lo” give further examples of the talented quartet. The former is like a peacock displaying its feathers in front of you and saying, “match that”, with the latter giving a final demonstration of how the band sauntered in twenty five years ago to stamp their authority with their riff laden songs and imperious harmonies.
