WEEED

So, this one comes with a bittersweet sentiment. On one hand, Portland stoner rock rippers WEEED offer up a wealth of material, the culmination of eight years of recording that’s resulted in three albums-worth of new music. On the other hand, that’s it folks, the band has called it quits. It’s a generous parting gift, though. Along with a companion piece to their 2022 album Green Roses Vol. 1, recorded during the same Hansville sessions, the band unleashes Mushroom, a single track album that clocks in at 29 minutes, featuring Nicole McCabe on sax. The song explores some of the furthest reaches of the band’s psychedelic singe. Both warrant their own full-throated examinations, but for the sake of brevity here, I’m locking in on the band’s new eponymous album, a record that feels the most like a continuation of the Cosmic American itch and outer rim explorations of 2021’s Do You Fall?

Like that album, the record hinges on a multi-part suite, tossing the listener into the kaleidoscopic canyon of “New Country.” The three pieces push through twang and turbulence, galloping with rhythm in the first two pieces, while sliding through the center of the maelstrom on pt III; a deluge of feedback and fury that sets its sights on scorch for the better part of 8 minutes. The suite sets the stage, already a furious undertaking, but the band lets this album embrace all parts of their vision. They inhale deeply on “Books one the Shelf,” the immediate follow-up to “New Country.” The song swirls a psych-folk forestry into the mix, lightly lapping acoustics with the soft patter of percussion. The twang is scrubbed clean for “Live,” a track that probably would have been a killer on the stage had they continued, tossing the listener through some fuzz n’ rumble with nods to their Sabbath influences. The rest of the album centers on their impeccable jam instincts. McCabe returns on sax, the band cranks the speed dial on “Acid With Friends,” and they send us off with another monster of dynamics and diverse sounds on closer, “Göbekli Tepe.”

This album alone would have been a welcome send off, threading the band’s many facets over the years, but paired with the other two pieces, it’s an overwhelmingly deep landscape of psych to set you straight for days.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.