Wednesday, 1 January 2025

Dunes - Lands Of The Blind (Album Review)

Release Date: January 17th 2025. Record Label: Ripple Music. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

​Land Of The Blind - Track Listing:

1.Cactus

2.Tides

3.One Eyed Dog 04:59

4.Northern Scar

5.Riding the Low 03:59

6.How Real is Real

7.Voodoo 04:05

8.Fields of Grey

9.Riding the Slow


Members


John Davies – guitar & vocals

Ade Huggins – bass & vocals

Nikky Watson – drums


Review


UK Stoner Rockers Dunes return with their new album Land Of The Blind and it’s quite a surprising and daring contrast to their previous albums. Firstly, the band are now signed to Powerhouse Rock Label RIPPLE MUSIC and most importantly this is their most mature work to date with Dunes touching upon very adult themes whilst still being part of the classic Desert/Stoner Rock fabric.


Land Of The Blind features guest performances from Ryan Garney of High Desert Queen on "Voodoo", and Nick Carter (formerly of the legendary Newcastle-based post-punk outfit Crane) on "Northern Scar". This shows how Dunes stature has grown in recent years and this comes across within their epic songwriting themes contained within the album. The music is powered by classic Stoner grooves inspired by the likes of KYUSS, FU MANCHU and Monster Magnet with Dunes easily managing to create their own subtle style of music.


The record can be quite cautionary in places especially the bleak and sombre surroundings of Northern Scar where Nick Carter (CRANE) appears. This song has a proper Northern based grimy Kitchen Sink outlook on life which is quite unheard of for a Stoner Rock album. However, Dunes play mostly a winning and highly reminiscent style of good old fashioned Stoner Rock with a blast of Classic Rock and Roll. The sound is boosted by moments of Psych Rock, Desert Rock and Fuzz Rock which allows the vocals of John and Ade to fully shine through especially on the early stages of the album.


There is a gritty determination contained within the lyrics which contains some mighty singalong choruses for everyone to become part of. The music always has a super fresh ROCK/METAL energy approach which allows Dunes to play the heaviest and brilliantly melodic tracks of their career yet especially on tracks such as: Cactus, Tides, Riding The Low, Voodoo and Fields Of Gray.


Dunes have certain similarities to fellow UK Stoner Rockers PSYCHLONA as both bands blend that classic Californian Desert/Stoner Rock momentum with flashes of cool sounding European Psych Stoner Rock spliced with Spaced Out Textures when the time calls for this. 


Land Of The Blind is an album packed full of absolute stone cold classics where songwriting is key which allows Dunes to add an unexpected and winning style of storytelling into the mix. The band play their hearts out on this album with an infinite blend of catchy grooves, riffs and melodic passages which should establish Dunes as a force to be reckoned with. 


I also love how Dunes tap into the menacing swagger that QOTSA had for their first few albums before losing that for Radio Rock credibility on this album. (Sorry, I went on a bit of an OLD MAN RANT there. Apologies). This gives Land Of The Blind a gloriously PUNK ROCK quality which Dunes absolutely play to their full advantage. 


The record may seem offbeat and low-key at first, but give this a few spins and this record will be the soundtrack to your life for the whole day, weekend, month and year for that matter. Dunes have delivered the absolute goods with Land Of The Blind and perhaps unlocked the door for a brighter future for themselves within the global Stoner Rock/Metal scene.


Dunes are from my hometown of Newcastle Upon Tyne and I've seen them plenty of times over the years and it's great to see a local band to do well and I wish them every success with this album. As they truly deserve it.


Words by Steve Howe


Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.


Land Of The Blind is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music from Friday 17th January 2025.


Links


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