Mars Red Sky- Mars Red Sky (2011)

Do you wish that instead of putting out a piece of shit like their second album, Sgt. Sunshine put out another killer album like their debut? Do you wish Sgt. Sunshine were French? If you answered yes to either of these questions then Mars Red Sky's first full length is for you (in case you don't know Sgt. Sunshine, they were a stoner rock band from Sweden). I hesitate to say that in the end Mars Red Sky (the album) will supplant Sgt. Sunshine (the album) as my go to stoner rock jam because Sgt. Sunshine has held that honor for so long, but I believe Mars Red Sky will. Here's why: Like Sgt. Sunshine, much of the riffing on Mars Red Sky is of the heavy, groove laden variety that I love. The tracks have plenty of hooks. Honestly, if I were to listen to just the riffs on this album I would swear it was some unreleased Sgt. Sunshine material from around their debut. Unlike Sgt. Sunshine however, Mars Red Sky really mellow out at times, abandoning the Kyuss-like mammoth riffery and fully embracing the psychedelic and space rock elements that permeate the rest of the album. I think the variety makes for a more enjoyable listen. Finally, I generally think vocals are the weak point for most stoner rock bands and Sgt. Sunshine were no exception. I really enjoy the vocals on Mars Red Sky. They're actually good, not just "good for a stoner rock band."

If you dig Sgt. Sunshine (obviously) or Kyuss, check this out. 

Mars Red Sky on last.fm



Get it here.

Gems:  Strong Reflection, Curse, Way To Rome, Marble Sky.

Moccasin- Last Leaf (2006)

Sorry, busy (I mean lazy) week this week.

Moccasin was (is?) a shoegaze/space rock/psychedelic rock band from Denver. I happened upon this back in 2007 or so and it hasn't left my heavy rotation as of yet. Their music features most of the hallmarks of shoegaze, pedal driven guitars, a dense, lush wall of sound and subdued, dreamy vocals, but Moccasin does so without sounding derivative. The rhythm section adds a certain heaviness to their sound and a times there's a moody, dark quality to the tracks on Last Leaf. But, playing yin to Moccasin's moody yang, there are plenty of hooks, riffs and catchy sing-along choruses. For me, much of the appeal of this album is the number of different ways you can listen to it, depending on your mood. You can strap on headphones and focus on the guitar textures (like I'm doing right now), put it on while cooking and groove along to the rhythm section or even sing along while driving around with your windows down.

As you probably surmised based on the first sentence, Moccasin's current status is uncertain. Back in 2009 they posted a few tracks on their myspace from an upcoming album and that was the last they were heard from. I'm still holding out hope, because if said album is anywhere near as good as Last Leaf it's sure to find a spot among my all time favorites. If you're a fan of early 90's shoegaze, newer shoegaze bands like The Helio Sequence, psychedelic rock or even the space rock stylings of Cave In on Jupiter you'll likely dig this. So, yeah, just listen to it.

Moccasin on last.fm



Get it here. Guess what Blaine? It's a .zip!

Gems: All of them. This album is a 10 in my book, no weak links.

Yob- The Unreal Never Lived (2005)

You know, I had a hard time deciding whether to post that Middian album or this Yob album. So fuck it.

Yob on last.fm




Get it here.

Middian- Age Eternal (2007) METAL AERT

Steve overhead me listening to some Yob, he said it reminded him of a heaver old Soundgarden (read: good Soundgarden). I don't see the comparison, but I told him I'd post some. Instead, I'm posting this, the singer/guitarists other band. Middian sounds exactly like Yob, but this might be a bit more accessible than any Yob album as there's a greater ratio of clean vocals to screaming on this one (more on that later). Over the past 10 years or so I don't think any musician has been as consistently good as Yob's Mike Scheidt. 5 Yob albums and this Middian album while Yob was on hiatus, all of which have been at least an 8/10 in my book, a few being 10/10s (including this one). Yob has been labeled as just about every sub-genre of doom imaginable, stoner doom, psychedelic doom, progressive doom, sludge and I've definitely referred to them as space doom a few times. All of these labels certainly fit Middian as well, but none of them even come close to fully describing either of them. What you'll find on Age Eternal is monumental, head-nodding, trance-inducing riffs, surprisingly pretty psychedelic/space rock sounding leads and passages, odd stops and starts for a doom band and lumbering sludge parts. Also, I really like Mike's clean vocals, usually doom band's clean vocals are way too cock-rocky for me and I can't stand them. Mike and guitar player Will Lindsay's screams add a litte balance.

Yob just announced they're headed into the studio to record a new album and a tour to support said album. SWEET.

Middian on last.fm



Get it here.

Gems: All of them.