Hermano
…Only A Suggestion
Tee Pee
A massive and monumental first album from new – and probably already defunct – super group Hermano. Orquesta del Desierto’s Dandy Brown is the main motivator behind the band, with some very special help from John Garcia of Kyuss and Unida fame on vocals, Steve Earle from Afghan Whigs, David Angstrom from Supafuzz and Mike Callahan from Disengage. So how can you possibly go wrong with this?
Well, you can’t. This is a stunning effort of hard blues-infused stoner and avant-garage rock. If there’s nothing truly original on here, that point is rendered meaningless by the sheer, brute force of the band’s delivery, and by the layered, progressive songwriting on here. Try “Landetta (Motherload)” for evidence, a soundtrack to some imagined defining stoner flick. Or the hard rocking horror boogie of “Manager’s Special,” surely the feel-good track to any self-respecting rocker’s BBQ party. The closing “Nick’s Yea” takes the riff from “Sunshine of Your Love” and turns it inside out, wrestling some last, tasteful drops of life out of it.
And everywhere there are beautiful traces of Black Sabbath and Soundgarden and the great Kyuss to be found – not least, obviously, because of Garcia’s presence on here. A convincing display of pure, rarely matched talents and a profound love for the music, and Hermano have delivered a beautiful, pounding, all-out rocking album. Great stuff.
Tee Pee Records: http://www.teepeerecords.com
