Release Date: July 21st 2023. Record Label: Desert Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Lost Season: Tracklisting
1.Miss Ann Thrope 08:20
2.An Axe Named Otis 06:58
3.Faded Dune 06:54
4.Dusty 08:35
5.Entering the Eight House 09:29
Members
Neal De Atley – Guitars/Vocals
Jessica Brasch – Bass/Vocals
Bryson Marcey – Drums
Review:
Lost Season is the new album from Doom/Stoner Metallers Sorcia who bring a much more vibrant Sludgy melodic mix into this record compared to their 2020 debut album. Sorcia have a gloomier Blues and Doomed Out sound with the band exploring their hometown of Seattle grunge roots and pair this off with subtle flashes of The Doors Psychedelic Rock which perhaps comes through mostly with Neal De Atley’s vocals on the opening stages of the album.
Opening track Miss Ann Thorpe conveys a dark message with the Heavy Sludge Rock attitude and lo-fi distorted grooves. Add some classic Soundgarden and TAD based energy with Sorcia moving between the finer moments of trippy Doom/Stoner Metal extended jams. Teaming up with Seattle and Grunge legend Tad Doyle yet again for mixing and mastering duties, the album is a seedy and psychedelic nightmarish journey which this track shows amazingly well. Sorica employs a wide array of different Stoner based themes which gives more volume and weight compared to their debut album.
Second track An Axe Named Otis continues with the hybrid style of Doom, Sludge, Stoner and Grunge based heaviness. This song has a more PUNK RAWK attitude with raw sounding grooves and vocals allowing Sorcia to play a more violent and distorted style of music than we’re used to. The vocals from both Neal and Jessica are superbly different from each other. Neal’s delivery is perhaps slightly chaotic with Jessica’s style being more calm. There’s an extended drone based groove towards the end of the song which impressed me highly. As it calmed the mood down for a few moments before Sorica returned to their heavier Doomed Out roots.
Third song Faded Dune has a vibrant High On Fire energy within the instrumental sounds Sorcia plays on this track. The song has a deliciously heavy and evil sounding level of FUZZ which is quite subdued whilst still behind freakishly heavy. The vocals are perhaps more Doom Metal based but the grooves are most definitely Stoner based with flashes of epic Blues Rock jams and first rate Classic Hard Rock energy.
The final two tracks of Dusty and Entering The Eight House is my favourite parts of the album as Sorcia operate with a more Psychedelic energy and the influence of The Doors, Black Sabbath and Soundgarden reign supreme here mostly on Dusty but The Eight House offers a few creative surprises of its own. Sorcia do experiment more with their music on this part of the album with the heaviest moments appearing on The Eight House
Lost Season is a refreshing change of pace from Sorcia and one that sees them avoid the “sophomore slump” triumphantly. This is a wonderfully addictive album with exquisite production values that ranks as another first rate album from Sorcia.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Desert Bloom PR for the promo.
Lost Season is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Desert Records.
Links:
Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
