Brujas Del Sol - Deculter (Album Review)

Release Date: July 22nd 2022. Record Label: Kozmik Artifactz. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Deculter - Tracklisting

Intro

Divided Divinity

Lenticular

To Die On Planet Earth

Myrrors

Arcadia

Members

Adrian Zambrano

Derrick White

Josh Oswald

Review

Psych Stoner Rockers Brujas Del Sol new album Deculter sees the band offer a more progressive and adventurous offering with the band moving between Post-Rock and Ambient Rock textures for a different style of music from the band. Still operating within the boundaries of Psych Stoner Rock, Brujas Del Sol have a vivid style of imagination that perhaps sounds like a more Post-Rock/Post-Stoner version of King Buffalo at times.

Beautifully played melodies and fast-paced grooves that you can hear for the first two opening songs Intro and Divided Divinity. Ambient noises give way to a fuller style of Psych Stoner sound with a twinge of  Doom and Gloom moments with a subtle sideline in Electronica beats which fully comes into focus on Divided Divinity. This is still the Brujas Del Sol that you remember from years gone by. However, there's a more Progressive based sound allowing the band to explore a heavier Space Rock influence. 

The album does have vocals for about half of the album with Brujas Del Sol impressing even further when they offer lush sounding extended Spaced Out Stoner based jams. When the vocals do appear, they're calm, measured and oozing mega confidence.

Deculter does have a sense of urgency to it all especially on tracks such as Divided Divinity, Lenticular, To Die On Planet Earth and Arcadia. The lyrics are quite gloomy for the most part and allows this record to tread the same path as Pallbearer, Russian Circles and Pelican. Maybe I'm looking far too much into that aspect but the gloomy synths are exquisite when they move over to a more Doom Rock/Metal atmosphere. 

This album sounds vastly different to "II" with Brujas Del Sol playing to their creative strengths especially when the heavier and progressive appear throughout the album. Deculter is perhaps not the album you were expecting from Brujas Del Sol but one that we most definitely needed and deserved. 

The instrumental work is absolutely stunning as the band weave their way through the multiple different styles of Psych Rock, Stoner Rock and Post-Rock that is contained on the album. Brujas Del Sol have gone all out for this record with perhaps some of the best music we've heard from the band. Intricate Post-Whatever creative themes allow the Psych Stoner Rock elements to be some of the freshest sounds you'll hear this year.

First rate production values allows Brujas Del Sol to release a wonderfully sonic diverse album that will no doubt please their existing fan-base and perhaps gain them a bigger following within the underground scene. 

Overall, Deculter is an outstanding release and don't be surprised to see the album pop-up on multiple Album Of The Year lists when the year is over...

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Kozmik Artifactz for the promo

Deculter will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Kozmik Artifactz from July 22nd 2022.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

Brujas del Sol - II (Album Review)

Release date: October 19th 2018. Label: Kozmik Artifactz. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

II – Tracklisting

1.Teenage Hitchhiker 06:39

2.Sea Rage 03:14

3.Sisterlace 05:08

4.Fringe of Senility 05:43

5.White Lights 07:06

6.Polara 06:18

7.Spiritus 09:34

Members

Adrian Zambrano - Guitar, Vocals

Derrick White - Bass

Joshua Oswald - Drums, Vocals

Phillip Reed - Guitar, Synthesizer

Review

Brujas del Sol were a band that I hadn't come across before. That seems to be happening to me a lot recently. Though I'm not complaining as I'm discovering a lot of great bands and these guys are perhaps the best I've heard yet. Though that wasn't the case when I first heard their new album II.

Brujas del Sol play a heavy psychedelic version of Desert/Stoner Rock with elements of Post-Rock and Post-Doom being added in. Some parts of the album even have a poppier vibe to them as well. This all makes for a highly intriguing and experimental sounding album. Brujas del Sol make you wonder where they will take you next on this album with each passing song.

Opening song - Teenage Hitchhiker - may have a seedy name but Brujas del Sol approach this song as an upbeat Post-Rock/Desert Rock song that takes influence from bands such as Yawning Man, Elder and Weedpecker. The music is quite complex and progressive in equal measure. Though Brujas del Sol have a commanding presence that's simply hard to ignore.

Second Song - Sea Rage - is a shorter song with Brujas del Sol playing a more standard Post-Rock it's not as exciting as the first track but it does have some thrilling heavy sounds that may surprise you along the way.

Third song - Sisterlace - is where vocals actually appear and they have an immediate impact on the band's music with Brujas del Sol becoming an almost different band as a result. The music becomes heavier and more daring with psychedelic sounds becoming the main focus. The vocals take a few moments to get fully used to as I was expecting something different.

Fourth track - Fringe Of Senility - is a very strange song indeed with Brujas del Sol adding elements of Electronic music into the mix and offering and eighties sounding gloomy landscape. The whole song feels inspired by the electronic bands from the eighties but given a Psychedelic Stoner Rock makeover. This is perhaps my favourite song on the album. As it shows you how really out there Brujas del Sol can actually be.

The band carry on the Electronic style influence on the next song - White Lights - but with a calmer Post-Rock sound. The album carries on this style of music for the remaining two songs - Polara and Spiritus. With Brujas del Sol moving around the different style of music they create on the album.

Spiritus is another standout song on the album with the song running almost ten minutes in length. Brujas del Sol have managed to create an exciting and genuinely original sound for this album. Truth be told I was left wanting more from the band. As this album is epic as it comes.

Brujas del Sol brilliant and exciting use of different musical sounds that will have you coming back for more.

Words by Steve Howe

You can buy II on CD/DD/Vinyl now via Kozmik Artifactz.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp