The start of a new year is the time to look ahead, of course, but fans of great rock music just love to look back, don’t they?
The Awesome Machine’s … It’s Ugly Or Nothing (Ripple Music) set out to give stoner fans a landmark to remember on its original release in 2000. Now, it’s back, and well worth a revisit – or a first listen, I suspect, for many.
This very fine and properly fuzzy album offers up a robust, rollicking slice of desert adventure, heavy and satisfying, stately and accomplished, melodic, and, for much of its running time, quite magical.
Boasting an undeniably classic rock swagger, Sweden’s The Awesome Machine formed in late 1996 and went on to establish a strong live reputation, touring with the likes of Dozer and Karma To Burn. … It’s Ugly Or Nothing was their first full-length release. The band would go on indefinite hiatus sometime in 2006.
Opener ‘Never Said I Never Fail’ is a powerhouse introduction to the Awesome sound, while ‘How Am I To Know’ has cowbell and harmonica to the fore, without sacrificing any of the weighty, Pearl Jam-y vibe (‘Never Said …’ is even a bit Nirvana).
Song titles like ‘Son Of A God’ and ‘Supernova’ will remind you, if necessary, that when stranded in the desert, space never seems too far away. ‘Son Of A God’ is a stand-out, ferocious, writhing beast with a nailed-down drum beat, a killer bassline and hooky chorus – something of a concise version of the band’s modus operandi. Singer Lasse Olausson is on top form and Christian Smedstrom’s guitars are shooting for the stratosphere.
Drummer Tobbe Bovik leads the doomy, atmospheric way on instrumental ‘Cruise Control’, which has a Pink Floyd thing going on, and ‘Supernova’ ups the pace and and the ante.
Bassist Anders Wenander impresses again on “Out of Fuel” and also on “Looking For Sweet Opium,” adding vital details and a solid spine as the latter track grooves its way through the landscape/soundscape before grinding to a halt somewhere in the middle of an expansive nowhere.
All in all, these 11 tracks of stoner class (well, 10 and a half, really – see “Untitled,” below) showcase an enterprising and expert approach to varied pacing from an outfit more than capable of maintaining poised control of their formidable and often dramatic material.
“No Share” kicks off with subtle guitar and keyboards (Anders Timmeras on organ, adding considerably to the overall effect) then stretches out to a smouldering 11-minute epic with a heavy psych feel (and a hint of Devin Townsend’s “Deadhead”), graced by some nice lead geetar and more swirling keys. The rhythm section of Wenander and Bovik really shine on this one.
King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque (co-producer/engineer) contributes slide guitar to “No Share,” before ‘Untitled’ brings things to an “experimental”, groovy close – “groovy” as in two-plus minutes of what sounds like a record needle stuck in a vinyl groove, followed by some sparse and largely unintelligible spoken word.
California label Ripple are unearthing what they call “long-lost gems from the early days of stoner/desert/doom rock”, with their Beneath The Desert Floor series, a promise of more to come as we all continue to look ahead.
Buy the album here:
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/beneath-the-desert-floor-chapter-1-its-ugly-or-nothing
8 / 10
CALLUM REID