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Stoner rock. It brings to mind sandy deserts, visions of landscapes distorted by the heat like images from the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix, complete calm under the sun, the roar of engines.
Well, erase all that, and replace these omens with an expanse of ice, a similarly lunar and desolate landscape but in exact opposition to the Californian climate. We are in Iceland and Brain Police revisit stoner (or ‘solid rock’, as they call it) by infusing it with typically Nordic ingredients, starting from the cover: wolves, fish, and women with animal-like features as in pagan mythology, inside the booklet the rainbow merges with the waves of a stormy sea, transforming into it.
The band was formed in Reykjavik in '98, the reference of the name is clearly Zappa-influenced ("Who Are The Brain Police?") and "Beyond The Wasteland" is their fourth work, released in 2006.
The album is very enjoyable from the first track "Rooster Booster" which contrasts a soft start with a fast-paced ending, moving through rock solos and cowbell accompaniment. The evident references to Fu Manchu with the rhythmic "Black Tulip" or to the masters Kyuss are evident, but Brain Police manage nevertheless not to offer us reheated soup but songs that indeed have ideas, from Jens Olafsson's timid vocal distortions ("Sweet Side Of Evil") to the organ psychedelia in "Snake"
The tuning of guitar and bass (Gunnlaugur Larusson/Hordur Stefansson) is typically seventies and offers a full and warm sound, the drumming by Jon Bjorn Rikardsson is varied and very convincing, for example in the rocking "Mystic Lover", one of the best tracks of the album.
There are no filler or anonymous songs, each has something different from the others, "The Baron" built on a web of riffs, the slow "Leo" characterized by Jens' great vocal performance, "Human Volume" with a Sabbath-like start or the classic "Thunderbird". Finally, the title track is stunning.
In conclusion, in my opinion, a really good album, a band that manages to be original while offering classic stoner. Even though I can't really see them traveling Fu Manchu style with a convertible and an arm dangling out the window through the Icelandic valleys at 26 degrees below zero....
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