I can’t remember the last time I got a demo CD in the mail. They went out with newspapers and spats and no matter how mainstream steampunk gets some things are notcoming back. Despite that, I received local act Stonerider’s new CD, Fountains Left To Wake, in the snail mail box so I popped it into the player.
Next time you’re sitting at home watching Dazed and Confused for the 1,000th time and using your Mountain gatefold record cover and a credit card to try to get the seeds out of your latest purchase of home grown while thinking to yourself, “I wish the James Gang had made just onemore record,” Stonerider has got you covered. The album starts off with bouncy boogie a la Grand Funk Railroad and fades down, track by track, until you don’t even notice the smell of bongwater rising from the shag carpet.
I was sent the album by Adam McIntyre, member of the Forty Fives and Pinx. He produced the thing and it sounds pretty good. I could’ve used a bit more clarity in the vocals, but it’s a mix that works with this sound. Stoner rock itself has evolved in the last 40 years, getting harder, heavier, sludgier. By comparison, this CD is a helium balloon – clean and airy. Apparently the record is available on vinyl but unfortunately I have been ruined on full length albums by the iPod. These days I evaluate things based on how well they will fit into this listening style – which is actually a good thing for a lot of artists. If something gets a little samey same as an album, I might still enjoy it when a single track comes up in shuffle, thus I purchase a whole album to throw into the mix on the iPod. I’ll likely sift through the 16 tracks on Fountains Left To Wake and leave the stems and seeds behind, but a lot of buds and leaves will make it through.
It’s available now. Check them out at http://stoneriderband.com/
