ROPE TRICK – Red Tide EP

Rope Trick’s 2017 release ‘Red Tape’ shared some great riffs, but its DIY production sound and some decidedly iffy vocals made it the kind of listen that would only appeal to the more committed stoner rock fan. Nevertheless, looking beyond the obvious flaws, Rope Trick’s semi lo-fi world of stoner grooves and garage rock crunch had an obvious potential.

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SOFTSUN – Daylight In The Dark

A new name for 2024, SoftSun are a doom-laden shoegaze/desert rock trio featuring a few familiar faces. Guitarist Gary Arce will be known to some as a member of both Yawning Man and Yawning Balch; vocalist Pia Isaksen is a member of Superlynx, and Dan Joeright is the drummer with Earth Moon Earth. Between them, they’ve created something that sounds different enough from their parent acts to make SoftSun an immediately effective side hustle.

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BLUE HERON – Everything Fades

Blue Heron’s debut release, the 2022 double single ‘Black Blood of The Earth’/‘Everything Fades’ introduced a band who really didn’t skimp when it came to a heavy riff. Their sound, a hearty mix of classic doom and sludge, created a monstrous noise; an intensity that made the tracks instant genre classics, despite vocalist Jadd Schickler’s “gargling with concrete” styled approach occasionally making the Blue Heron sound rather more marginal than some of their peers. A swiftly delivered full length release (‘Ephemeral’) really capitalised on their heavy abilities, but also showed off a band who were also capable of a hefty, bluesy swagger, bringing more of a desert rock/stoner quality. Between these bleak moods, Blue Heron appeared to have the full spectrum of heavier stoner vibes covered…and with aplomb.

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Listen: SoftSun share new track ‘Daylight In The Dark’

Here’s a real treat from the Ripple Music label. SoftSun are a doom-laden shoegaze/desert rock trio featuring a few familiar faces. Guitarist Gary Arce will be familiar to some as a member of both Yawning Man and Yawning Balch; vocalist Pia Isaksen is a member of Superlynx, and drummer Dan Joeright is a member of Earth Moon Earth. Between them, they’ve created something that sounds almost nothing like their parent acts, immediately making SoftSun an effective side hustle.

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RED MESA – Partial Distortions

Red Mesa’s second album ‘The Path To The Deathless’ brought the world a selection of finely crafted riffs during the pandemic lockdown of 2020. At the album’s most melodic, tracks like ‘Death I Am’ injected an extra spookiness into a classic desert rock backdrop; at its most groove laden, Red Mesa blended the driving elements of early Sabbath’s faster offerings with an extra layer of fuzz that looked back to classic Corrosion of Conformity, and when occasionally stretching for heavier sounds, their slow and oppressive riffs showed a love for the mighty Electric Wizard. In terms of taking a bunch of key influences and chucking them into a giant stoner metal stew, it was the kind of album that genre fans would love.

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