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| STONER ROCK |
Se l’attività
live del gruppo era ripresa nel 2013 con l’esibizione al Desertfest di Berlino,
quella in studio era ancora ferma al primo e – almeno fino al prossimo
febbraio – unico lavoro: l’indimenticabile Ode to Io, che
proprio quest’anno compirà vent’anni. Ma già sul finire dello scorso millennio
si era avuto un saggio delle loro qualità, e l’iconico split con i già citati
Nebula – che nel frattempo è divenuto un cult per il genere - è lì a
dimostrarlo.
È il riff di
Red River ad aprire le danze, ed è esattamente come lo vorresti: monolitico,
granitico, robusto. Bastano pochi secondi e ti ritrovi già ad ondeggiare con la
testa, come se venti anni di silenzio svanissero in un sol colpo.
Con l’intro
di Ode to Ganymede si raggiungono già picchi elevatissimi: la batteria che inizia
quasi in sordina, il suono caldo e lontanamente psichedelico della chitarra, l’atmosfera
nel complesso molto desertica; a momenti sembra roba venuta fuori dai Kyuss
dell’ultimo periodo. Ma i Lowrider sono un culto dello stoner e non certo dei
semplici imitatori, e il prosieguo della canzone è un vortice di muri di suono,
sezione ritmica imponente, colate di riff; e le tastiere che ad un certo punto
si prendono la scena rendono il risultato finale ancor più sorprendente e
grandioso.
Quello di Ol’
Mule Pepe è un altro riff da KO, mentre in Sernanders Krog la robustezza del
suono viene impreziosita da un certo retrogusto psych.
Il gran finale è affidato alla lunga (siamo sopra gli undici minuti) Pipe Rider, che parte anch’essa un po’ in sordina per poi deflagrare in tutta la sua muscolare e irresistibile potenza. Un viaggio sonoro che è un po’ la summa di ciò che è oggi il gruppo svedese, oltre che la degnissima conclusione di un album davvero molto convincente.
Il gran finale è affidato alla lunga (siamo sopra gli undici minuti) Pipe Rider, che parte anch’essa un po’ in sordina per poi deflagrare in tutta la sua muscolare e irresistibile potenza. Un viaggio sonoro che è un po’ la summa di ciò che è oggi il gruppo svedese, oltre che la degnissima conclusione di un album davvero molto convincente.
Tornare dopo
venti anni è difficile per chiunque, evidentemente i Lowrider fanno eccezione.
Siamo abbastanza certi che Refractions sarà uno dei punti di riferimento per lo stoner del nuovo decennio. A cavallo tra vecchio e nuovo, i Lowrider tornano in grande stile a riaffermare la propria importanza e imprescindibilità.
ENGLISH VERSION:
Nostalgia is a feeling that is rarely associated with a muscular and dynamic genre like stoner. There are, however, special cases, and Lowrider certainly falls into these. The revived Swedish group was among the first - but still in good company, just think of names like Fu Manchu, Nebula, Dozer - to collect the cumbersome and heavy legacy of Kyuss and to give a new boost to the sound that had been made legendary by the Californian band.
If the live activity of the group resumed in 2013 with the performance at the Desertfest Berlin, the studio one was still stuck on the first and - at least until next February - only work: the unforgettable Ode to Io, that precisely this year will turn twenty. But already at the end of the last millennium there was an essay of their qualities, and the iconic split with the aforementioned Nebula - which in the meantime has become a cult for the genre - is there to prove it.
It is the Red River riff to open the dances, and it is exactly how you would like it: monolithic, granite, robust. It only takes a few seconds and you find yourself already swaying with your head, as if twenty years of silence disappeared in one moment.
With the intro of Ode to Ganymede we already reach very high peaks: the drums that start almost muted, the warm and remotely psychedelic sound of the guitar, the whole very desert atmosphere; at times it looks like stuff that came out of the last Kyuss. But Lowrider are stoner cult and certainly not simple imitators, and the continuation of the song is a whirlwind of sound walls, imposing rhythm section, riff flows; and the keyboards that take the stage at a certain point make the final result even more surprising and grandiose.
Ol ’Mule Pepe is another KO riff, while in Sernanders Krog the robustness of the sound is enhanced by a certain psychic aftertaste.
The grand finale is entrusted to the long (we are over eleven minutes) Pipe Rider, which also starts a bit on the quiet side and then explodes in all its muscular and irresistible power. A sound journey that is a bit the summa of what the Swedish group is today, as well as the worthy conclusion of a very convincing album.
Returning after twenty years is difficult for anyone, but apparently not for Lowrider.
We are quite sure that Refractions will be one of the reference points for the stoner of the new decade. Straddling old and new, the Lowriders return in grand style to reaffirm their importance and indispensability.
Siamo abbastanza certi che Refractions sarà uno dei punti di riferimento per lo stoner del nuovo decennio. A cavallo tra vecchio e nuovo, i Lowrider tornano in grande stile a riaffermare la propria importanza e imprescindibilità.
ENGLISH VERSION:
Nostalgia is a feeling that is rarely associated with a muscular and dynamic genre like stoner. There are, however, special cases, and Lowrider certainly falls into these. The revived Swedish group was among the first - but still in good company, just think of names like Fu Manchu, Nebula, Dozer - to collect the cumbersome and heavy legacy of Kyuss and to give a new boost to the sound that had been made legendary by the Californian band.
If the live activity of the group resumed in 2013 with the performance at the Desertfest Berlin, the studio one was still stuck on the first and - at least until next February - only work: the unforgettable Ode to Io, that precisely this year will turn twenty. But already at the end of the last millennium there was an essay of their qualities, and the iconic split with the aforementioned Nebula - which in the meantime has become a cult for the genre - is there to prove it.
It is the Red River riff to open the dances, and it is exactly how you would like it: monolithic, granite, robust. It only takes a few seconds and you find yourself already swaying with your head, as if twenty years of silence disappeared in one moment.
With the intro of Ode to Ganymede we already reach very high peaks: the drums that start almost muted, the warm and remotely psychedelic sound of the guitar, the whole very desert atmosphere; at times it looks like stuff that came out of the last Kyuss. But Lowrider are stoner cult and certainly not simple imitators, and the continuation of the song is a whirlwind of sound walls, imposing rhythm section, riff flows; and the keyboards that take the stage at a certain point make the final result even more surprising and grandiose.
Ol ’Mule Pepe is another KO riff, while in Sernanders Krog the robustness of the sound is enhanced by a certain psychic aftertaste.
The grand finale is entrusted to the long (we are over eleven minutes) Pipe Rider, which also starts a bit on the quiet side and then explodes in all its muscular and irresistible power. A sound journey that is a bit the summa of what the Swedish group is today, as well as the worthy conclusion of a very convincing album.
Returning after twenty years is difficult for anyone, but apparently not for Lowrider.
We are quite sure that Refractions will be one of the reference points for the stoner of the new decade. Straddling old and new, the Lowriders return in grand style to reaffirm their importance and indispensability.
TRACKLIST:
1. Red River
2. Ode to Ganymede
3. Sernanders Krog
4. Ol' Mule Pepe
5. Sun Devil / M 87*
6. Pipe Rider
INFO:
ANNO: 2020
LABEL: Blues Funeral Recordings
LOWRIDER: RED RIVER (LIVE)
