Stoner
Majestic Mountain Records
Release Date -September 29th 2023
Line Up:
Kristoffer Norgren – Guitar/Vocals
Anton Hoog – Bass
Oskar Melander – Drums/Backing Vocals
Tracklist:
1 – Gunman
2 – Dead Space
3 – Ruins
4 – Wake
5 – Uma
6 – Pigs
7 – Time
8 – Void
9 – Release
I Am Low hail from the Swedish area of Umea. They’ve been around for a decade; this is their fourth album and their first on Majestic Mountain. Having never heard them before I cannot comment on their previous releases but if Majestic Mountain have grabbed then they must have something.
Fuzzy guitar opens ‘Gunman’ before big bass notes come in then they’re away on a solid stoner groove that rolls along and gets the head nodding. They bring the psych early on ‘Dead Space’ with shimmering spacey guitars and a slow beat then ‘Ruins’ rattles along for just under two minutes on a punkier groove. ‘Wake’ comes in gradually with Anton Hoog’s bass and Oskar Melandar’s tribal rhythm whilst guitarist/singer Kristoffer Norgren strums and noodles before they settle into another psych pattern which is continued on the dreamy title track. ‘Pigs’ is heavy and brings some early Sabbath before the psychedelic almost Floydian lines of ‘Time’ gets you taken away to wherever you want to go. ‘Void’ shows earlier Sabbath akin to ‘Planet Caravan’ before the final cut ‘Release’ starts with the psych and develops slowly into a stoner roller. Close your eyes and let it take you away on its reverb drenched groove.
Some of the songs are immediate and others have grown on me quickly suffice to say that this is a fine release that stretches the stoner genre. I love this sort of stuff, it’s heavy, groovy and they just go where the music takes them and like all good stoner/psych the sounds are honest with a real live feel and not too much polish on the production. Looks like I’m going to have to invest in their back catalogue, oh well, beans on toast for tea this week.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 7/10
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