Sunnshine

Engender (Underdogma)
by Brian Varney

That’s “Sunn” with two “n”s, as in the brand of amps. And if that doesn’t mean anything to you, consider the following, all of whom either use(d) or endorse(d) Sunn amplification: Tony Iommi, Jimi Hendrix, Wino (St. Vitus/Spirit Caravan/Obsessed), Goatsnake, Earth, etc.. Starting to get the picture? A thick, distorted guitar sound is what you should be looking for, and you’ll get it here, along with a heavy, agile rhythm section with plenty of forward momentum (no doom to be had here, thanks), and standard-issue stoner vox. So far, sounds pretty good, but nothing out of the ordinary, right? Right.

Well, things start to get interesting on track two, the slow-building, near-nine-minute title track, where the band begins to integrate an unexpected sense of drama that brings Solace to mind. The song begins with unaccompanied guitar strums and slowly but persistently builds to a controlled, furious climax some eight minutes later. Huge and epic, the song packs equal amounts of sonic and emotional wallop, which is unfortunately not very common for stoner bands. Their confidence emblazoned, the band piggybacks these skills onto the final two tracks, both of which feature whisper-to-a-roar dynamics and impassioned performances. The end result is a confident, masterful EP from a band whose name you’d better commit to memory. Buy this and don’t look back.
(PO Box 5070 Fredericksburg, VA 22403)