Review: Stonebirds - Into The Fog....And The Filthy Air

Another riff heavy delight from Pink Tank Records...this time in the shape of French psychedelic sludge peddlers Stonebirds and what these guys have done is actually bring something new to the whole sludge/doom/stoner scene. The music has a sense of space and atmosphere that is normally missing....forays into psychedelic wanderings and, on some tracks, the same structure and feel as some of the good post-rock out there imbue this album with spaciousness and ambience. But, worry ye not, the riffs are still heavy enough to shake the foundations and there is plenty of glorious fuzz.

Stonebirds are a trio who hail from central Britanny in France from which they "draw inspiration to write crushing and misty songs". After the self-release of a demo CD, a split album with Stangala and a digital EP they entered the studio last September to record 'Into The Fog....' which will be released by Pink Tank in July (500 copies on vinyl in lots of groovy colours) and can be pre-ordered here.

Opening track 'After The Sin' sets the tone nicely with a nice, fuzz-laden psychedelic riff before it opens up like a crashing wave. The riffs are heavy and the fuzz and distortion are dense but there is a telltale sign of the ambience mentioned above. 'Angst Lover' is a heavy sludge track, the tempo is slower, the vocals impassioned and a lovely fuzzy signature running throughout. Occasionally the track spreads its wings and takes on a more psychedelic aspect with some great woozy riffs. Title track 'Into The Fog' is a whole different kettle of fish....it starts like a stoner anthem ala Kyuss but has a more relaxed feel than Homme et al and, at times, the guitars sound like some of the great post-rock bands (Explosions..., Godspeed...) except heavier. The latter stages of the track really open up to become sludgier and a whole lot heavier still. 'Burned Flesh' (see below) is stripped back and more sparse than the preceeding tracks, the atmosphere is doomy and gloomy, and the riffs are crushingly heavy. Closing Track 'Perpetual Wasteland' is a brooding, tense affair, full of threatened malevolence and an ideal way to top off an impressive debut album.

It seems Pink Tank have done it again...another LP that is as heavy as fuck, but with intelligence and thought. Kudos to the guys in Stonebirds, they have produced an album of variety, craft and nous without losing any the riff-heavy power; their sense of space and atmosphere, coupled with crisp production have resulted in an exceptional debut album.