Ryan Güt - The Shastafarian (Album Review)

Release Date: May 23rd 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD/Vinyl

The Shastafarian - Tracklisting

Beggars and Choosers (explicit)

Basically Dead (This Town)

Song for G

On the Up & Up 

Sand to Snow

Crig Lord Archduke Earl of Montague (The Monkey)

DHS (12th St. Remixes)

Veteran of the Psychic Wars

Members

Ryan Güt - Everything

Review

The Shastafarian is the debut album from Desert Rock/Stoner Rock multi-instrumentalist Ryan Güt who is better known for his work with the legendary Brant Bjork, Mario Lalli and Nick Oliveri. Ryan has been part of projects such as Stöner, Mario Lalli & the Rubber Snake Charmers and Hammerface. Ryan’s musical and desert rock credentials have never been in doubt where he’s been part of some of the most memorable Desert/Stoner Rock records of the last decade.

The Shastafarian is an eclectic mix of Psych, Stoner Rock, Desert Rock, Americana, Prog and Jazz for a record that’s quite experimental whilst also being superbly familiar. Ryan channels the music of his youth and what has influenced him within his lifetime. There’s a subtle Blues Rock and Soft Rock charge that takes inspiration from the heartland of Seventies and Eighties AOR along the way but with a superb Desert Rock vibe. I would say The Shastafarian has close ties to Brant Bjork’s classic experimental laid back record Jacoozzi.

You can hear influences as diverse as Prince, The Eagles, Tom Petty and KYUSS but Ryan uses a superbly developed style of classic rock melodies set against a backdrop of Cosmic surroundings which shines a light beautifully on the legendary Californian Rock scene. The lyrics can be quite playful and subversive in equal measure especially on tracks such as Beggars And Choosers, Basically Dead (This Town) and Song For G which opens the album superbly well.

There is an “outsider” quality about this album about not fitting in and perhaps following your own destiny though the power of music that Ryan constructs here makes sure that everyone is welcome here with its warm hearted musical energy. I would say that influence has perhaps been learned by Ryan’s time with Brant Bjork over the last decade or so.

However, Ryan still deserves all the credit for releasing an album that is constantly refreshing and showcasing a lost art of storytelling we don’t truly appreciate nowadays especially on a debut album. The songs are wonderfully constructed which allows Ryan to explore the finer details of the Californian Desert Rock landscape. There are plenty of hard rocking moments to fully lose yourself in but you will be thrown a few curve balls along the way as Ryan embraces quite a nomadic creative structure on tracks such as Song For G, On The Up & Up and Sand To Snow.

The Shastafarian drifts into areas of Post-Rock and Electronica which can be quite classical or even low-key in many ways. The album may perhaps be too experimental for the casual Stoner Rock fan but there’s so much to admire and brilliantly enjoy here as the album takes a refreshing approach into how the Jazzy themes interlock with the classic Desert/Stoner Rock melodies. 

The second half of The Shastafarian perhaps contain the heaviest sounds on the record but still spliced with the earlier Post-Rock/Jazz/Desert Rock movements but still being quite grounded. The lyrics are bold and superbly earnest once more with Ryan fully embracing his storytelling persona with a freakish commanding performance on the standout tracks of Crig Lord Archduke Earl of Montague (The Monkey) and Veteran Of The Psychic Wars.

The lyrics could be inspired by the likes of Frank Zappa and perhaps other worldly WEEDIAN ingredients the whole scene is known for. All I can say is that The Shastafarian never plays out how you fully expect and that makes this such a truly outstanding and highly original Desert Rock record you’ll likely hear this year. 

The Shastafarian is superb and I’m hoping Ryan will be releasing more solo albums in the near future. As he’s a true original which this album proves time and time again.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Rebelle Rebelle for the promo.

The Shastafarian is available to buy on DD/Vinyl from May 23rd 2026.

Links 

Official | BandCamp | Instagram

Sun And Sail Club - Shipwrecked (Album Review)

Release Date: October 18th 2024. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Shipwrecked  - Track Listing:

1.Just Friends

2.Halcyon 

3.Torture Garden

4.Tumble

5.Vector

6.Bird Strike

7.The Color Of War

8.Drag The River

9.District 19

10.Tastes Like Blood

11.Days Of Wine And Roses

Members

Scott Reeder (FU MANCHU/SMILE) on Drums

Scott Reeder (KYUSS/THE OBSESSED/FIREBALL MINISTRY) on Bass

Bob Balch (FU MANCHU/SLOWER/BIG SCENIC NOWHERE/YAWNING BALCH) on Guitar

Tony Adolescent (THE ADOLESCENTS) on vocals.

Review

Sun And Sail Club return to the Stoner Rock shores after a nine year absence with their new album Shipwrecked and like its predecessors, the album is a fast-paced, turbo-charged and mightily aggressive affair. The sound veers into different directions with vast amounts of Stoner, Sludge, Fuzz, Punk and Psychedelic sounds with the band even allowing a subtle Jazz Rock attitude appearing on the album.

There’s a Hardcore Punk vibe which isn’t surprising with Punk Rock legend Tony Adolescent of The Adolescents leading the vocal charge. Other members of the band are from the Stoner Rock/Metal fraternity and the music is hap-hazard style of distorted elements of Stoner Metal and Fuzz Rock with a Progressive leaning attitude forming within the sublime tracks of Halcyon, Torture Garden and Tumble.

This is perhaps some of the heaviest sounds that Scott, Scott, Bob and Tony have put down on record of their respective legendary careers. Some folks may not enjoy the fucked off attitude that Sun And Sail Club explore and brilliantly perform throughout the whole record. There are moments on the album where the band play a Progressive Sludge Rock sound that reminds me of Mastodon and Torche in places but with a distorted Punk/Stoner Rock edge.

The music is always catchy and brilliantly melodic despite the weird delivery and timeframes the music goes through. Shipwrecked is quite a short record running around twenty three minutes in length but it’s never boring and everything is thrown at you even if it’s from over a hundred different directions. The Punk Rock vibe becomes more stronger as the record reaches its natural conclusion but with an aggressive burst of Stoner Metal energy. 

The lyrics are always a genuine highlight and keeps up with that rebellious attitude that dominated their previous albums. Other great tracks to check out are. The Color Of War, Drag The River, District 19 and Tastes Like Blood which has a RED FANG-esque delivery but with more added bite especially when the music becomes heavier, seedier and even thrash based along the way.

Shipwrecked may have been nine years in the making but it’s been well worth the wait with Sun And Sail Club delivering their most deliciously entertaining and brilliantly outlandish record to date.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.

Shipwrecked will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds from Friday 18th October 2024.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

SUN AND SAIL CLUB (w/ The Adolescents, Fu Manchu, Fireball Ministry members) share new track off upcoming album "Shipwrecked" on Heavy Psych Sounds.

US heavy punk supergroup SUN & SAIL CLUB (with members of The Adolescents, Fu Manchu and Fireball Ministry) present the second track taken from their anticipated new album "Shipwrecked", to be released this October 18th on Heavy Psych Sounds. Put the pedal to the metal with "Tumble"!

After a nine year hiatus, SUN & SAIL CLUB are back and they’ve come back swinging! The band is Scott Reeder (Fu Manchu, Smile) on drums, Scott Reeder (ex-Kyuss and The Obsessed, Fireball Ministry) on bass, Bob Balch (Fu Manchu, Big Scenic Nowhere) on guitar and Tony Adolescent (The Adolescents) on vocals, with a guest appearance from Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Big Scenic Nowhere) on synths.

Stream Sun And Sail Club's new punk banger "Tumble" + check out their previous single "Halcyon"

About the song, guitarist Bob Balch says: “Tumble was written with a jazz scale in mind. It’s based on a jazz minor mode named “Super Locrian” but played in fourths. Dork fest! I was studying that style of playing because of a jazz guitar player named Sid Jacobs. When I was playing through the chords he uses I thought to myself “this sounds like something Voivod would use”, so a song came out of that. There are two Tony’s and two Scott’s on this track. Tony Adolescent killed it on vocals and Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Big Scenic Nowhere) added some prog synth. Scott Reeder (Kyuss) added low end madness and Scott Reeder (Fu Manchu) provided the beats. I think this is a good song to check out if you wanna see what the album is all about. Frantic but grounded by songwriting."

Their first album in nearly a decade is more aggressive than the previous two records as if that was even possible. "Shipwrecked" proceeds to rip your face off from start to finish. Fully realized and to the point. Fast and dissonant. A rhapsodic, fun and punishing heavy-punk charge which the power foursome describes as their strongest album yet!

SUN AND SAIL CLUB "Shipwrecked" - Out October 18th on Heavy Psych Sounds (LP/CD/digital)

SUN & SAIL CLUB is Bob Balch of Fu Manchu (guitar/vocoder/vocals), Scott Thomas Reeder of Kyuss / The Obsessed (production, bass) and Fu Manchu drummer Scott Reeder. The band's debut album "Mannequin" was released in the spring of 2014. The band would recruit Tony Adolescent of legendary punk rock band The Adolescents for the follow-up album "The Great White Dope", released in July 2015. Together these three musicians, heralded in their own right for spending the past few decades writing albums that would turn the world of hard rock and metal on its head, have united to create one of the most groundbreaking and arguably most pummeling and original albums the world has ever known.

About the new album, Bob Balch says: “This album is a compilation of riffs collected over a nine year period. Most of the songs were written last year but some of them have been floating around for a while. There is a general sense of unease throughout. I wanted to make an album that went one step further than “The Great White Dope.” The songs are faster and more intense at times. It’s basically the soundtrack of me beating the shit out of my guitar. Then you factor in Scott Reeder on drums, Scott Reeder on bass and Tony Adolescent on vocals and you’ve got something more than I could have imagined by myself. This album is raw and pummeling. If you’re a glutton for punishment this might be your desert Island record.”

"Shipwrecked" was recorded at Jim Monroe’s The Racket Room, Casa De Balch, and Scott Reeder’s The Sanctuary. Mixed by Jim Monroe and mastered by Tony Reed at HeavyHead Recording Co. The band is also set to reissue their first two records "Mannequin" and "The Great White Dope" on October 25th, with preorders available at this location.

SUN AND SAIL CLUB is

Tony Adolescent - vocals
Bob Balch - guitar, vocoder, vocals
Scott Thomas Reeder - bass, production
Scott Reeder - drums

SUN AND SAIL CLUB links

Facebook ⎜ Bandcamp ⎜ Instagram ⎜ Spotify

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS links

Website ⎜ Facebook ⎜ Bandcamp ⎜ Instagram ⎜ Youtube

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for all of the details.

Astrometer - Outermost (Album Review)

Release Date: July 31st 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD/Cassette

Outermost: Tracklisting

1.Wavelength Synchronizer 04:06

2.Power Vulture 04:58

3.Blood Wedding 07:48

4.Inspiraled 01:26

5.Quantum Divorce 03:16

6.Conglobulations 03:18

7.Do I Know How To Party... 04:26

Members

Carmine Laietta V - Guitar

Jon Ehlers - Keys

Sam Brodsky - Bass

Drew Mack - Guitar

Jeff Stieber - Drums

Review

Instrumental Stoner Metallers Astrometer is a band made up of members from such great acts as HULL, Meek Is Murder and Bangladeafy. Their debut album Outermost is quite an eccentric album with the band focusing upon areas of Math Rock, Psych Rock, Space Rock, Jazz Rock, Ambient Sounds and Stoner Metal with a free thinking Prog Rock/Metal attitude. The album is wonderfully strange and marches to its own original beat and you can see the members other bands heard throughout the record.

There’s a hint of Mastodon and CAVE IN progressive heaviness on the early stages of the record especially on tracks such as Wavelength Synthesizer and Power Vulture which carry an Electronic Rock dynamic that is brilliantly supplemented by Jon Ehlers intense Keys, Synths and direct Ambient sounds. This is all topped off with a subtle Doom/Stoner Metal energy which has a dramatic Science Fiction or Space Rock presence. 

With a melodic Hard Rock score being added along the way, Astrometer fully live upto their Math Rock aspect of their music which embraces a full on Space Metal attitude within the heavier stages of the record. Astrometer are not afraid to switch to areas of Post-Rock and Post-Metal which gives the record an identity crisis along the way but I mean that as a good thing. As you never know what you’re going to experience with this record and when the band decide to change creative tactics and employ a Jazz Rock attitude then Outermost becomes an even stronger and more interesting record because of these creative choices.

Other standout tracks include Blood Wedding, Quantum Divorce and Do I Know How To Party…

Outermask is brilliantly weird and has quite the GONZO attitude within the whole journey of the record. It’s quite short and compact, running under thirty minutes but the album feels longer and makes you want to hear more especially on the later stages on the record where Astrometer go full on EXPERIMENTAL and deliver some of the best sounds on the whole album.

Astrometer has delivered a surreal and action packed record that I’m hoping there are more exciting releases such as this in the near future. 

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Exclusive Album Premiere Of Psych/Jazz/Stoner Rockers DRÖÖG New Album: Det Stora Ov​ä​sendet

Swedish Psych/Jazz/Stoner Rockers Dröög return with their second full length album Det Stora Ov​ä​sendet which is being released digitally now and vinyl later in the year by the one and only Majestic Mountain Records.

Credit by Emil Österlund

This time round the forest-jazz masters continue to move deliciously in the shadows with their gloomy grooves from the ancient forests of Dalarna, and their deeply doomy, metallic grandeur abounds once again, but to chilling new heights. As always, a swinging groove is the undercurrent to soulful vocals which immerse us in lurid legend, powerfully rising through mysteriously distorted effects and illustrating their folkloric lyrics like visions from an ancient fever Dream. 

Thanks to the cool folks over at Majestic Mountain Records you can hear the thrilling new album in full:

Music:

https://droeoeg.bandcamp.com/ 

https://songwhip.com/droog/droogDRÖÖG 

DRÖÖG Social media: 

https://www.facebook.com/Skogshuggarjazz/ 

https://www.instagram.com/droog_bandet 

Majestic Mountain Records Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/majesticmountainrecords/ https://www.instagram.com/majesticmountainrecords/ 

https://twitter.com/Majestic_vinyl

Thanks to Majestic Mountain Records for all of the details.

Virgin Vacation - Dapple Patterns (Album Review)

Release Date: April 02nd 2024. Record Label: Various. Formats:CD/ Cassette/Vinyl/Download

Dapple Patterns - Tracklisting

Yellow Scissors

Ghost

RED

Jupiter

Dapple Pattern Prelude

Dapple Pattern II

Forest

Forest Reprise

Dapple Pattern I

Members

 

Chan Chin Ho - bass

Wing Chan - guitar, synthesizer, glockenspiel

Step Ip - drums, programs, glockenspiel, electronic percussion

James Woodbridge Hedges - guitar, sitar guitar, synthesizer, percussion, glockenspiel, electric piano.

Review

Dapple Patterns is the new album from Hong Kong based Instrumental Post-Rock collective Virgin Vacation with the band focusing on various levels of Experimental sounds that ventures through areas of Cosmic Rock, Psych Rock, KrautRock, Jazz. Surf and Ambient Rock. The sound is a tapestry of magical Post-Rock expressions which are quite flamboyant and wickedly over the top but never boring.

The whole album is wonderfully weird with Virgin Vacation clever use of Feedback loops, distorted guitars, electronic beats and the multitude of different instruments that the band used within the whole album. Virgin Vacation feel stuck in a never-ending time warp with their music inspired by multiple eras of music ranging all the way back from the 1950’s upto the present day. 

There is a certain “KITSCH” and free-flowing film soundtrack element which would make Quentin Taraninto blush with envy when the throwback Jazz/Pop/Rock energy of tracks such as Yellow Scissors, Ghost and Red allowing the band to have a deep meaningful creative energy which allows them to wholly original within the Post-Rock field.

There’s a lot to take in with this album as Virgin Vacation march to the mood of their own beat. However, there’s an epic distorted Cosmic Rock sound that leads the band to heavier areas of music which stay firmly in the background.

Other standout tracks include: Jupiter, Dapple Pattern II, Forest, and Dapple Pattern II which sees the band become more dramatic and focusing more on Ambient sounds with the dub-step grooves not feeling out of place from an Anime Series or Anime Movie.

Though, it’s the little sonic sounds, glitches and beats which impressed me the most. As Virgin Vacation explored into realms of Post-Rock that I didn’t think were possible or would go together. Surf, Dubstep and Jazz are not normally associated with Post-Rock but the band pull this off with magnificent style within the forty minute runtime of Dapple Patterns.

Dapple Patterns is full of cinematic wonder and a fearless creative direction which will leave you breathless. The musicians who make up Virgin Vacation are brilliantly talented and they prove this time and time again throughout the whole album. 

Though, the record won’t be for everyone. You may have to fully appreciate the Avant-Garde attitude of Virgin Vacation’s music. However, folks willing to take the journey with the band will be rewarded with a breathtaking Post-Rock album unlike you’ve ever heard before.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Virgin Vacation for the promo.

Dapple Patterns is available to buy now on CD/Cassette/Vinyl via White Noise Records and Digital Download from May 2nd 2024 via ONErpm

Links

Spotify | Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Sunguine - I (Album Review)

Release Date: September 01st 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

I - Tracklisting

1.Feral Moon 05:16

2.Between Tides 06:20

3.Spindrift 07:06

4.Seaweed 02:33

5.Wormhole Lounge 06:01

6.Time Will Stop at Nothing 09:15

7.Mirage 03:32

Review

“I” or “One” is the debut album from Croatian Solo Instrumental Psych/Doom/Stoner Rock outfit Sunguine and is quite an interesting concept with Sunguine playing a more subdued Doom/Stoner Rock sound that merges Desert Rock and Jazz for a record that can be quite laid back but isn’t afraid to offer a more heavier sound. Taking cues from bands such as Karma To Burn, Yawning Man, KYUSS and FU MANCHU with a more out there “Jazz Rock” approach which still retains that classic Californian Desert Sound.

The album does have a soundtrack feel and structure which allows Sunguine to try many different creative themes for the album which you can hear within the first few tracks of the album with Feral Moon, Between Tides and Spindrift having a wicked raw sounding Garage Rock sound. The instrumental work is always impressive though the production values can be quite ineffective in places. As the volume can be too low for certain instruments but apart from that minor complaint, Sunguine are passionate about the 90’s Desert/Stoner Rock scene.

As Sungine plays a loving homage to the genre with intense Psychedelic extended instrumental jams which becomes ever more aggressive when the Doomed Out sounds appear with Jazz based grooves being left behind slightly.The record even has plenty of pure “Chill Out” sounds where the Jazzy atmospherics briefly take over before Sunguine returns to their catchy and heavy Desert Rock surroundings.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the record is the drumming aspect of the album. As when the other instruments are playing full-on Doomed Out Stoner Rock, the drums essentially retain a more realistic Jazz delivery. They never become part of the highly destructive Stoner based atmosphere and that’s a standout moment for the whole album. As it gives this record a more realistic sound and creative vision especially on tracks such as Seaweed, Wormhole Lounge and Time Will Stop At Nothing.

Sunguine perhaps even offers complex sounding Progressive moments which showcases the finer technical details of the whole album which you may not realise when first listening to the album. This allows “I” to be quite a vivid and highly experimental release whilst delivering classic and familiar sounding Desert/Stoner Rock grooves.

This is a highly unconventional release but one that also offers a refreshing change of pace that should find a dedicated audience within the Desert/Stoner Rock underground scene.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Desert Bloom PR for the promo.

You can find more about Sunguine from this recent Introduce Yourselves feature I carried out earlier this month.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Introduce Yourselves: Sunguine

What is the name of your band?

Sunguine. The word stems from “sanguine”, depicting optimistic or positive personality, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation. It’s a reminder to be positive in this weird experience of the strange realm we live in, while the “Sun” represents the bright light in the dark.

What is the genre of music that you play?

I’d say my music fits somewhere between psychedelic rock and stoner doom while flirting with stoner jazz, covertly disguised altogether as psychedelic stoner doom.

Can you give a brief history of the band of how it came together and where it is today?

It started out as (and still is) a solo project in the late 2022 when my friend challenged me to finally start recording. She was fed up with me talking and not doing anything about it, so when I finally did it, I didn’t really liked how it turned out.

However, she was so hyped for me that I spent the following spring developing heavier and slower ideas with a new, different approach. This led me to an idea for a concept album, resulting in 86% instrumental tale spread across 7 chapters of the full length debut, “I” (“One”), recorded during the summer of 2023.

I’m pretty sure another release will see the light of day sometime in 2024. While recording the first release, I started to come up with new ideas which I’m currently reviewing and expanding, so stay tuned.

Which musical roots was crucial to direct your approach in songwriting?

I’m a guitarist first, a drummer second (and a bassist somewhere down the road). And it’s all very connected when you write all parts for each instrument.

Most of the time, I feel the guitar-wise influence of early stoner rock / stoner doom era bands with a hint of classic Wishbone Ash, Kenny Burrell and Boogaloo Joe Jones vibe.
Drum-wise - since jazz is all about the drums - my ears are drenched in anything Art Blakey or Joe Morello had for a nightcap.

What can people expect from your music?

An introspective expedition to psychotropic soundscapes. Walk the sonic trail through the scenery of Adriatic coastline, shape-shifting dunes and cosmic exploration. Stop by the scenic overlook and have a snack with heavy cream bass, crispy drums and fuzz on the side.

Where can people find you on Social Media?

https://sunguine.bandcamp.com/album/i
https://facebook.com/sunguineband/
https://instagram.com/sunguineband/
https://youtube.com/@Sunguineband
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Q2G9zmT6s2LZjw5fyukSH