Dreams And Delirium...

Slowbot - Sleepwalker (2020)

It's been almost five years since Slowbot's last release, with their sophomore EP, Pacifier for the Mind.  Following just a year after their self-titled debut EP (which we covered here), their second effort found the band solidifying their stoner rock flavors into a heavier form, and stepping up their cover art as well.  Both trends continue with this LP, which comes as a welcome return from their hiatus, and brings with it six tracks of the French group's heavy rock explorations.

First of the tunes is “Sleepwalker (Part 1)” (its second half closes out the album, fittingly), a creeping crusher which finds the band delving into doomier territory than they've shown on either of the earlier releases.  Once the mood is firmly set, the vocals arrive, ringing out over the swampiness of the guitar and bass, and muffled clangs of the cymbals, with a goosebump-raising ghostliness to the timbre and intonation.  Some deft soloing directs a bridge into more pronounced restatement of the original riffage, with a brief drop before surging even higher for the finish.

With that powerful opening, there would be a lot of options for how to follow it up, and Slowbot go with a shift towards more of a hard rock route in “Strange Fish”.  The drums are allowed to come through more clearly, the guitar riff rides faster and more intently, and the vocals, while still echoing with some distortion, feel more earthly in their delivery.  As if to balance that out, the breakdown is much more psychedelic, with some serious flourishes on the strings.  “Inside” steps back into the big shoes, coming together at just under nine minutes, and bringing its heavy rock base on a versatile trip.  The vocals come through cleaner still, and some lush atmospheric bridges rise up, but with the guitar and bass slamming their chords down as hard as they do, not an ounce of heaviness is sacrificed.

Opening the B-side (assuming this album gets the vinyl release it absolutely deserves) is “Ride”, which brings a rollicking rhythm to bear, and a pounding chorus to get lodged in your head.  Dropping down to just seven minutes, it really evokes the sun-baked feel of rolling down a highway with no particular destination, and practically demands to be played at high volume.  Penultimate track “Here Comes the Fire”, far from being a toss-off warm-up for the finish, changes to a rawer guitar tone to help it stand out (as the LP's shortest song, it kind of needs that feature).  Some droning warbling from the singer helps lend further garage psych flavoring, and the guitarist really seems to be having fun with the solo on this one.

Lastly, “Sleepwalker (Part 2)” brings a close with its nearly eleven-minute run.  Pulling together vibes from all the preceding songs, it unfurls a lengthy instrumental wandering, building up energy before the vocals break in, pulling it into the doom-tuned mood.  Flowing from there through assorted other twists and mutations, the band eventually ties it all back into the original order, giving a fine showcasing of their chops in the process.  It's a pleasure to hear Slowbot back again, and rising to the occasion with such verve and creativity.  Here's hoping that (in addition to this getting a vinyl pressing) their next release doesn't have such a time gap in making its way to us.  Even if it should, though, this one is loaded with enough variety and life to hold up to playing all that while.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Canopy, Fatso Jetson, Greenthumb, Keef Mountain, Pale Grey Lore

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Slowbot - Strange Fish (320 kbps)

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Stick It In...

Slowbot - Pacifier for the Mind EP (2015)

Roughly a year after the release of their first EP, Slowbot are back with another one, set to continue their exploration of heavy stoner rock.  While it holds just five tracks, they're all meaty offerings that crack the 4-minute mark (with "Massive Suicide Machine" at a sprawling 7+); no jingles or pop flashes to be found here, just chunky grooves and slow-beat power.  The band comes together with a strong unity of purpose in these earthy trips, supporting each other's performances and only going for the spot-light when it works for the song, fitting themselves together in the service of rock.  It's one slick ride through the EP, with the fired-up bursts rising and burning out of the songs in a way to make you enjoy it while getting ready for the next hit.  Good stuff, all around.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Daily Thompson, Fatso Jetson, Mos Generator, Sinister Haze, Slow Season

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Slowbot - Hangover (320 kbps)

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Invasion of the Slowbot

Slowbot ~ Slowbot EP (2014)

 Slowbot is a four piece Stoner Rock band out of France, but to simply just label them off as Stoner Rock doesn't really do the music justice. What they play is really a "take no prisoners", grungy Stoner Rock with lots and lots of groove. With nice chunky, fuzz laden riffs, lots of fat bass groove, and 90's era grunge sort of vocals.Their debut, self-titled, EP was recorded in the summer of 2013, after only being a band for about a year. They just released the finished product on the 7th of April, after a Facebook competition to find the mix and mastering engineer. The result are 5 tracks of that heavy Stoner Rock that seems a little more addicting each time you listen to it, just like good music should. While all 5 songs are worth your time, and all were really stand outs in their own rights, the one I finally decided on talking about was probably what could be considered the single, "Casual Monsters". It's just one of those songs that embody the whole spirit and reason behind playing this kind of music. Opening with a Stoner Rock jam, a slightly fuzzy riff chugging along, that groovy bass line, and straight up, rock and roll drumming. The vocals drop in with that trademark Grunge sound, right in the middle of super clean and gravel filled, with a perfect amount of rawness and emotion. They really managed to pool the best things to come out of Rock music in the last 20 years or so, not bringing anything new to the table, but you shouldn't have to when you're doing the old thing so well that it almost sounds new. With a price tag of free over on their bandcamp, you really shouldn't pass this one up, one of the best, free pieces of music you'll pick up all year.
~Skip

For Fans Of; SoundGarden, Fu Manchu, Kyuss

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