Release Date: December 14th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
..and we leave the planet? - Track Listing:
1.YOU ARE DEAD 04:05
2.COUNTING CLOUDS 04:04
3.I AM RIGHT 04:33
4.THE PILOT KNOWS... AND WE LEAVE THE PLANET? 05:10
5.NO THIRD EYE 06:24
6.THIS IS WHERE WE STAND 03:47
7.BE AWAY 03:42
8.LAST ChANCE 06:34
Members
Néstor Ayala Cortés - Everything
Review
...and we leave the planet? is the new album from Some Pills For Ayala which is the solo project from Néstor Ayala Cortés better known for his work with the Chilean Doom/Fuzz/Stoner Metal band At Devil Dirt. Some Pills For Ayala have released a few other records before this one and I’m quite late to the party of enjoying Néstor’s great style of Fuzz, Grunge, Doom, Psych, Stoner, Drone and Acid Rock that he created for this project alone.
There’s a similar creative structure and sound to At Devil Dirt but with a more refined Drone Rock appetite which reminds me of early era QOTSA with the flirtatious blend of anthemic Stoner Rock that oozes 1990’s appeal and credibility. There’s a certain mainstream flare to Some Pills For Ayala which is quite radio friendly in places but Néstor adds that classic underground and seedy style of Fuzz, Doom and Space Rock musical surroundings which comes fully into play on tracks such as: You Are Dead, Counting Clouds and I Am Right.
With a record called …and we leave the planet?, you would expect full on Space Rock explorations but to Néstor’s credit he keeps the mood moving along at a cracking pace where there’s a great sense of fun to be had especially with the vocals moving from areas of 1960’s Psychedelia right upto the modern day. The production values are quite LO-FI where the record is most definitely part of the underground DIY scene and I wouldn’t have this any other way. This gives the album a more dangerous quality where anything goes but still having a delicious and wicked sounding POP edge.
The standout tracks of the record have to be The Pilot Knows… And We Leave The Planet?, No Third Eye and Last Chance with Some Pills For Ayala perhaps aiming for a heavier and progressive sound whilst keeping in with the addictive blend of music heard on the previous tracks. Some Pills For Ayala becomes quite trippy and abstract with the subtle Acid Rock melodies that appear on the second half of the record. Néstor even finds the time to add an aggressive form of Doom Rock which brings a whole level of destructive FUZZ into the mix.
...and we leave the planet? is quite a refreshing and highly original record where nothing as it seems with Néstor having a chameleon like quality to his entire performance throughout the whole album. I would call this record a tour-de-force performance from Nestor, as not only did he play everything on the record but he mastered, engineered, recorded and produced everything himself. Like he says on his BandCamp page for this album - “By the way, the whole album was made by a human being, there is no fucking AI in this work.”
AMEN to that and that’s even more reason to listen to this brilliantly entertaining album.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
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