Nebula
Apollo

I have plenty of time at my disposal; little work, lots of free time.

Mountains and Music are of great help to me, to relax, to escape...to not think too much.

I noticed, while exploring Nebula's discography on Debaser, that the review of my favorite album is missing.

The time has come, on this windy and cold afternoon in Ossola, to fill the gap.

Apollo is the fourth album of the Californian group, born from a "split" of Fu Manchu that occurred in the second half of the nineties.

Musical references do not differ much from their previous works, all of which are appreciable, by the way. We are in the realm of American Stoner-Rock; a music imbued with reddish and dark moods, dense with Heavy-Fuzz and psychedelic distortions that evoke the warm desert sun at sunset. The image chosen for the album cover certifies it without a doubt.

There are three of them, in the very classic "GuitarBassDrums" formation: a raw and direct sound mix capable of shaking the walls of the house, especially thanks to a guitar sound oriented on acidic tunings, as per the best and bloodiest Stoner tradition. They are assisted in the writing, recording, and production of the tracks by a certain Daniel Rey (I hope someone remembers him from some pages of the Ramones brothers!!).

The short and feverish "Fever Fray" with a Punk spirit given the vehemence with which it is played; the explosive "Loose Cannon" rightly smoky, where at times a "grouchy" voice is supported by an intense and dynamic rhythmic section, and a finale in which the instruments slowly set, fade away, slow down, vaporize into space.

Short and intense songs; some sporadic insertion of keyboards and sitar to "psychedelize" the emitted noise.

And in a heartbeat, you reach the end in less than 40 minutes.

Great album, great band.

Ad Maiora.