Hot off last year’s remixed and remastered Sasquanaut, Lo-Pan waste very little time dropping a pulsing crate of new songs right on to the collective heads of the Small Stone/stoner rock faithful. That crate, ever heavy and dangerous, is stamped Salvador (go ahead, smile at the cover’s clever rebus), and as best as I can tell was a wartime leftover that once contained a shitload of trinitrotoluene. But like a bunch of fearless jackals, the Ohio quartet have gone and pilfered all that TNT, wrapped it in the blood and crust of last night’s good times, repacked it in atomic dust, and sealed it with a fist. Its demolishing power is off the charts. Its explosive energy knows no limits. Its massive, mind-fuck aplomb is cerebral, not dumb, and the band practically urges us to embrace Salvador‘s surreal shock. I mean, there’s gotta be a reason “Intro” is the sixth song in, right? Anyway, what Lo-Pan does, quite obviously, is destroy, and I’m impressed with their ability to bring Kyuss’ groundbreaking desert rock vibe into the 21st century via soaring, melodic vocals over top of mean, fuzzy, smoky riffs.
Originally released last year on Nice Life Records, Lo-Pan’s Sasquanaut has been given a thorough turn in the ol’ cement mixer courtesy of their new label, Small Stone, who probably built a nice addition to their headquarters with the cinder blocks formed from the thick concrete riffs on what is now known as Sasquanaut, mark 2. The fact that this album has been remixed and re-mastered is supposed to mean there’s a bit more spit and polish to the Ohio band’s brick n’ roll, but the stoner fuzz here is so gritty I can’t help but think that they placed the majority of the emphasis on the spit and polished what was left with coarse sandpaper. Lo-Pan are true bruisers, man, barreling their way through the eight songs on Sasquanaut like a dump truck driver on PCP, and should throw a wrench into the power rankings over at Small Stone thanks to their Bigfoot-in-outer-space sound (or gorilla as the cover suggests), which will instantly remind you of any number of combinations consisting of Roadsaw, Sasquatch, Devil to Pay, Kyuss, Antler, Los Natas, and Orange Goblin. Heavy, loud, and dirty, just the way we like ‘em.
The Main Street Gospel Love Will Have Her Revenge
Tee Pee
Blowin’ in on the winds of yesteryear is The Main Street Gospel, a country-psych band with ties to Brian Jonestown Massacre and a sound so steeped in nostalgia and tradition you gotta blow the dust off of it just to discover the true treasure it really is. Love Will Have Her Revenge, the Ohio trio’s debut, is a laid back approach to the usual foot-stomp of mustache rock, and gets its point across by way of delicate pop melodies, tin cup blues, and breezy jams. While none of the songs here are exceptionally overpowering in their virility, they do have amazing breadth, depth, and reach, like the thick roots of an old and impressive tree. Not only that, but they shake and hum at times with a journeyman vibe, as the longest songs on deck (“Fool’s Gold,” “Ready to Shine,” and “She’s a Disease”) draw you into a solitary world of lonely rural squatting and the hallucinations it might induce with their 70s-inspired freak-folk rock. You’ll be able to hear a wide array of influences on this one, like Neil Young, Wilco, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dead Meadow, and Blood Meridian, but in the end it’s just good ol’ rock n’ roll — vulnerable, honest, heartfelt, and a tad trippy.
Check out MSG performing the title track from Love Will Have Her Revenge!
Lo-Pan
Lo-Pan
The Main Street Gospel