Members of Dozer, Demon Cleaner, Truckfighters, and Lowrider have all posed for Greenleaf’s promo shots at one point or another during the band’s spotty 12 year career, which makes ‘em a catch and release program for some of Sweden’s stoner elite, but you might just call this current incarnation Dozer 2.0 with Truckfighters’ Oskar Cedermalm on vocals instead of Fredrik Nordin (although he does make a guest appearance, as does Per Wiberg of ex-Opeth and Spiritual Beggars and Peder Bergstrand of ex-Lowrider and I are Droid). But hey, if Dozer ain’t in the bullying business anymore, I’ll gladly be pushed around by its bloozier brother, Greenleaf, and they certainly haven’t forgotten how to shove a roach-stained finger into your chest since not having released anything since 2007′s Agents of Ahriman. But that’s the great thing about Greenleaf; they can disappear for a spell — like they did between 2003′s Secret Alphabets and Agents of Ahriman — and come back sounding as tight as ever, and Nest of Vipers is packed just so, with all the movement and danger of its namesake. Greenleaf have always sounded like they’re plugged into mile-long coiled guitar cables in the only desert that exists in Scandinavia, kicking up smoky riffs and fuzzy groove, which they do here in bold fashion (“Jack Staff,” “Lilith,” “Dreamcatcher”), but the thing that has always set ‘em apart and given ‘em that royal, powerful edge is their ability to incorporate that other Swedish rock n’ roll force into their tunes: pure swank. It’s casually slight, but there’s enough garage rock vibe on songs like “Case of Fidelity” and “Sunken Ships” to shake things up just right, and when you add the cosmic prog of “Tree of Life” and the organ-fried “Nest of Vipers (A Multitude of Sins),” you’ve got one well-versed and exceptionally executed trove of heavy venom.
It’s been three years since we last heard from The Parlor Mob, whose debut album And You Were a Crow successfully cradled the fine line between mainstream exposure and underground appeal, a rock n’ roll record borne of barefoot ideals and mustache machismo that was part Led Zeppelin, part Black Crowes, and all radio play. But the New Jersey band has surfaced with their follow-up, Dogs, which, like its predecessor, should curry compliments from people on either side of the popularity divide. However, unlike And You Were a Crow, Dogs has a more commercially viable edge to it, a darker, heavier hard rock flavour, heard especially on the songs “How It’s Going to Be,” “Fall Back,” “The Beginning,” and the album’s first single, “Into the Sun,” complete with a pop-driven chorus. What Dogs lacks, however, is the hippie groove that packed And You Were a Crow full of dust and soul, and while “Hard Enough,” “Slip Through My Hands,” and “Holding On” capture some of that ol’ feel good vibe, it’s clear The Parlor Mob have kicked it into attack mode this time around. You know, Dogs could have a little more boogie for my buck, but now that Dirty Sweet have rode off into the hazy horizon, it’s The Parlor Mob or bust. And I’m not ready to go down just yet.
Four-song EP from San Diego’s Griever (once Lewd Acts), who double down on the two-song single they released earlier this year. There’s actually more than one Griever out there, but this is the only one that deserves your attention, believe me, and even if you don’t think so, they’ll go ahead and take it from you anyway. Griever comes to the race with a hardcore gait but their strength actually lay in their ability to pace themselves with a sludgy, down-tuned melody, which means they’ll remind you more of Torche than they will Trap Them, but they could flank either of ‘em on the podium at the end of the day. “The Forgetter” and “Black Vinyl Clouds” are the two aggressively incessant songs here, loaded with groovy, volatile riffs, while “Stag Hymn” and “Home Again, Alone Again” showcase a gloomier Griever with a post-rock vibe. While heavy and loud, Griever keep you guessing, and that makes Inferior somewhat superior.
Greenleaf
The Parlor Mob
Griever