Cruzeiro - Cruzeiro

 

 

Cruzeiro - Cruzeiro
Insterstellar Smoke Records - October 2021
Doom, psych, sludge
Rated: ****

A quartet from A Coruña, Spain, after a 2019 demo Cruzeiro emerge with a flattening self-titled debut of psychedelic doom. The tone is crunchy and weighted, the colorful psych guitar flourishes are spot on, and the eerie vocals are the cherry on top. Opener "Aquarius" rolls in with gravelly guitar that nods and lumbers under grungy, haunting vocals. The low end is massive, and deft drumming keeps things flowing as spaced-out solos phase in and out. The follow-up track "The/Owls/Are/Not/What/They/Seem" is appropriately ominous with a slow, rumbling buildup, and the vocals' cavernous depth enters into King Woman territory. Roiling fuzz lurches and drums pound, and choppy riffage hides a squealing solo lying in wait before returning to a sludgy stomp. The album's second half is just as heavy but even more atmospheric, with "Balor, As Sete Pálpebras" slowing things down and upping the creep factor, before turning a corner and becoming a straight up groove machine for a hot minute. Not to be outdone, closer and longest cut "Al-Quibla" shifts to an almost mystical sound, and ritualistic drums herald a languid guitar that snakes it way to a spidery  solo of unhinged psychedelia. Beyond just having A+ vocals and riffery, of which they have plenty, Cruzeiro succeed in taking doom's common themes of occultism and low n' slow nod, and twisting them into a very distinct and singular vision. One of the strongest debuts of the year, Cruzeiro are bound for great, doomy things.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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