Release Date: August 09th 2024. Record Label: Small Stone Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Acido y Puto: Tracklisting
1.Space Nomad 08:33
2.Outsider 04:27
3.Kosmik Swell 09:37
4.Vice 03:52
5.Nazaré 09:32
6.Steamroller 04:33
7.Joy 04:30
8.Blackout 03:41
9.Living for Today 04:24
Members
Borja Fresno - Guitar, vocals, percussions and synth
Victor Bedmar - Bass
Carlos Bedmar - Drums
Review
Free Ride. The name evokes a long tube ride or perhaps a powder run down a freshly snowed upon mountain. Acido y Puto is the coolest, most vibing Cali stoner rock album I've heard this year, and these guys aren't from California. Hailing from Spain, Free Ride is the summer hit sensation of the heavy underground scene this year. This record sustains hot stoner surf sensibilities from start to finish. The scorching grooves and riff require SPF 50 for safe listening.
Free Ride might currently be the most California sounding band ever not from California. Surf grooves, hot rods, girls on the beach carrying shortboards into the ocean with a bright yellow, cool sun beaming down...put on your shades cause this is some blinded-by-the-sun, heavy underground rock and roll, this is Free Ride.
Free Ride is Borja Fresno on guitar and vocals (percussion and synth as well); Victor Bedmar on bass and Carlos Bedmar on drums. The rhythm section is tight, I was not surprised that the players are brothers, they sound like they've played together forever. This is Free Ride's 2nd full length album and it's mind blowing!
It's not fair to confine the sound of Free Ride to California alone. There is some southern grittiness and European desert influences are evident here. Free Ride forges their own unique blend of Cali stoner, hard rock, surf inspired grooves and riffs from Spain. I remember listening to Fu Manchu 20 years ago and feeling this type of vibe. It's a lofty comparison but Free Ride has delivered a top notch, landmark record here and I think comparisons to some legends are not unwarranted.
This record kicks off with a nice long jam, Space Nomad. This 8:34 minute song has some Brant Bjork-like cool grooves, a bit of space psych ripping that was really unique, all coming together over El Supremo-ish sonic landscapes. While evoking many influences Free Ride retains a unique sound amongst Heavy Underground bands. They are a real breath of sunny, salty beach air in a dank forest of dark, foggy mists. There is something bright about Free Ride. Space Nomad is a happy sativa flowering in the sun, waiting to be smoked by the unsuspecting listener so it can take them to the far reaches of the galaxy. Prepared to be propelled into an intense future full of heady riffs, spacey introspection and mind altering solos.
Outsider is a whirwindy rocking jam, with laid back but heavy stoner vocals. This one does sound a little like an outsider, ditching the California vibe for a trip to Texas. This song has a gritty sound reminiscent of Wo Fat's Lost Highway. The fuzz is thick on this track and it sounds perfectly set against the drawling vocals. You can hear a lot of kick ass Texas blues heavy rock in this one and it's delicious as a fat ole Texas porterhouse chased by an ice cold Lone Star. This track is meatier than any bbq rib I have eaten lately. So Good!
Cosmic Swell sends the band back to California. San Diego to be a little more specific. This hot number sounds like it could have been the third side of the 2016's Harshtoke/Earthless split. This song seemingly pays tribute to the bad-ass instrumental scene in San Diego circa 2015. Innovative guitar riffs over rock steady drums and bass drive this sonic crusher through dramatic swells and troughs, riding towering waves and shooting tubes with style. This is a classic instrumental that doesn't have a dull moment in it.
The seduction of Vice will grab you and make you take a long listen to some rock steady advice. A bit punk rock sounding here, with a little Jane's Addiction thrown in, this brings back some late 90s stoner rock vibes in a wonderfully fuzzy way. Featuring a killer vocal presentation, fuzzy as fuck guitars and perfect pacing, this is a nice hard rocker that transitions the listener from the beach to a seedier side of Sothern California...you get some dirty West Hollywood in Vice appropriately enough.
A few of the next tracks have a little San Clemente influence, you can hear some Fu Manchu and early Nebula in Nazare, Steamroller, Joy and Blackout. Fuzzed out riffs, surfing inspired lyrics fuel Nazare, named after a famous big wave location in Portugal. The lyrics are classic surf:
"There's no eternal wave
Get on the board again
Everything has an end
But there's still fun my friend"
And there is still fun! This jam is the perfect beach tune. Nazare is the highlight of the album for me. I grew up on the Beach Boys and this ripper hits just right, melding classic beach vibes with the current tones and sensibilities of the modern desert stoner rock. So much joy on this track I wanted to grab a skateboard/surfboard and just go!!!
Steamroller and Joy continue the San Clemente vibe with tough rock attitudes with references to addiction and "sins". They are punchy driving hard rock songs with killer riffs throughout and tasteful solos punctuating the tough vocals. These two songs have a similar vibe, getting off the beach to examine the rougher side of coastal life. There is a litte reality and darkness on Acido y Puto and you can find it in these two songs.
Blackout leaves the beach and heads to Las Vegas. Man, they nail the city's vibe in Blackout:
Sin City, That's all I want
Sin City, fucked to the bone
I mean, that's Las Vegas, right? I had my final relapse after I quit drinking in Vegas and this song resonates with me a lot! A crazy party song, this bad boy rocks right from the start and never stops melting faces to the end. Super fun song!
The final cut, Living for Today has a little of that Fu Manchu thing going on. The lyrical presentation, the tones and themes remind me a bit of one of the biggest acts in the Heavy Underground but Free Ride is never derivative. This album is uniquely Free Ride. They pay tribute to other sounds while remaining true to themselves and the music. This album is a nice little tour of the western US influence on the heavy underground scene. This album is impossible to stop listening to. I think it might be my favorite thing I've heard this year. I live in Colorado and weirdly I'm waxing up my surfboard and I'm ready to FREE RIDE some waves!
Go get this one. GET IT NOW! Free Ride - Acido y Puto
Words by S Patrick Brooks (The Heavy Underground Farm Report)
Thanks to Earsplit PR for the promo.
Acido y Puto is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Smallstone Records.
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