TRUCKFIGHTERS
Gravity X
Meteor CityTrack listing:
01. Desert Cruiser
02. Gargarismo
03. Momentum
04. Freewheelin'
05. The Deal
06. Superfunk
07. Subfloor
08. Gweedo-Weedo
09. Manhattan Project
10. In Search of (The)
11. Intermission
12. A. Zapruder
13. Altered State
For a place with nary a cactus or tumbleweed in sight, Sweden sure has spawned its share of slavishly devoted desert rock rats. TRUCKFIGHTERS add just about nothing to this well-tilled genre — long, 'luded jams, big fuzzed-out riffs, a monolithic guitar tone and big clattering drums, vocals that might as well have been lifted off old KYUSS records. But to a small, devoted, mostly bearded set of followers out there, that's exactly what the doctor ordered.
Actually, there's a lot of light and shade here — check out the quiet, brooding verses and hard-driving chorus on "Manhattan Project", or the pretty little "Intermission". The obligatory drawn-out, psychedelic album closer, "Altered State", is a nice, if utterly expected, change of pace as well. The lion's share of "Gravity X", though, is made up of textbook desert rock riffs, well put together and possessed of a huge sound.
It's all gonna come off as a bit generic and pointless to anyone who's not already immersed in this stoner vibe up to their eyeballs, of course. But with the retro astronaut cover art, the hour-plus running time, even the name of their European label ("Fuzzorama Records"?),TRUCKFIGHTERS have made no secret of what they're here to do. As long as you leave any and all expectations of originality at the door, and focus on lighting up and rocking out under the stars, these guys will do you just fine.