22AD – See The World

 

 

22AD – See The World
Self-released – 2026
Rock, Stoner, Grunge
Rated: ***

I don’t know about you. But the band name 22AD immediately reminded me of Alain Johannes’s fabled studio 11AD. And listening to their new album See The World there is absolutely a moment here and there that will surely lead you to think they might be fans and named their band thusly. On the other hand, a lot of what they might have in common with Mr. Johannes might be in the ears of the beholder, although the album also definitely hints of love for that other fabled studio: Rancho De La Luna… 

And continuing the talk about studios, it was recorded at Far Out Sound Studio in Rotterdamn, run by Baardvader’s Niek van den Driesschen and mastered by the one and only Karl Daniel Lidén. The result is a powerful blend of grunge, alternative nineties and stoner captured in a highly melodic jerrycan of diesel. There is a lot of fuel running through See The World, and once on the stereo, it will surely make you kick the accelerator through the cracked asphalt and let it be the soundtrack for your long haul across an imaginary desert. 

Brooding melancholy, detached commentary, all laced with sun scorched riffs that seem to roll on like a heat waves over endless dunes. There’s groove here, riding the sandstorm, but the melodic overtures are never buried beneath the dust. The songs breath and exhume, never bludgeon, never smother. Warm bass lines, and earthy guitars, have it all unfold through patient builds, that on a small occasion are left to drift into a psychedelic mirage…

But always present are that grunge ghost and a punk spirit, not added as an afterthought, but used to either convey a message or remind you that bands like the Meat Puppets could use some more attention. The Spot In Magic track for instance or the You’re Not song. Did we mention the melodicism yet? Of course we did, but there is so much of it, and with a production so slick and thick, yet organic, it something becomes syrupy. But don't worry, it's the good kind of goo! And luckily, there’s also enough low end rumble to shake loose the last bolts of your rusted pickup. 

22AD, are not chasing yesterday’s legends, instead they waltz with their adoration of grunge and foxtrot with all the stoner that came out of that legendary desert. It’s a dance of many, an album that feels heavy, but also hypnotic and romantic. Charming on every song and unmistakably alive, See The World offers a plethora of landscapes and vistas to enjoy. Take the ride! 

(Written by JK)

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Desert Colossus – Apparatus

 

Desert Colossus – Apparatus
Self-released – 2026
Stoner, Rock, Metal, Sludge
Rated: *****

We fell in love with Desert Colossus the moment we heard their Golfshoes track for the very first time. I guess that was some ten years ago. And since then we’ve been lucky to see them live a couple of times and always felt justified in our love for these cats. Cause they’ve always done it all in their own singular way and with a dose of energy, fun and humor that is hard to come by. And now there’s proof once again that they do everything however they want and however they feel like. For they just unceremoniously dropped a bombshell of a record called Apparatus on March 1st without sending out promos beforehand or calling out to a record label for aid with this stunning album. That’s how they roll and have been rolling ever since they put on them Golfshoes… 

But this time around it’s serious business, they’ve realized they have their own style, are highly accomplished in what they do and should dispel with trying to make light of it. There’s still fun and humor, textually, musically, but it’s all served with such fervor and zeal, that you can’t help but be entirely swept off your feet from first opening track Hermit till final song Come Forth…

Most of the songs have this stand out vocal part that is bound to drag every listener along, hook, line and sinker. This is the ear worm kind that will surely get the crowd a grooving or the listener at home to scream that sentence out loud. Whether it’s the swing in Sweet Cherries Hang Low, the with Komatsu in mind line “My shit smells savage” during Feel Me Up or the absolute brilliant ending to the chorus of Black Out, “I knew her name and now it’s gone…” And those are just a few of the lyrical, vocalized gems found on Apparatus. Which you know will be there from that very first opening line: “You should see me now, nothing’s in my way” in Hermit. But it has so much more… 

For they have upped their game in every aspect, turning the Desert Colossus sound into something leviathan would quiver and quake for! You can almost feel the veil lift, the curtain rise, as Hermit starts with a slow-burning desert vision, which just rolls on towards the horizon on towering waves of fuzz. The riffs stretch wide and heavy, pulsing with hypnotic and powerful intent. The grooves man, they swing big and have you lusting for that swaggering motion and that more ritualistic desert churn. Or take that thick distortion and off center rhythmic approach, during Hermit, the different sections, giving it all that restless spirit edge. In synch with all that opening song wants to be. 

Most of it was recorded during the pandemic and afterwards mastered by Karl Daniel Liden, giving the highly dynamic and versatile album that extra push, stomp and cohesive ability. That open aired beginning of Three Eyed Fox, slowly edging through the hallway, before coming to the punch in the face and the carpet pull. And as you fall backwards through the second slow and spacious melody part, you feel a smile creeping through every fiber of your being, because you fall in love with all the creativity displayed. A bit of grunge here or punk there, or a mirror image of Red Fang for an instant. 

But on other tracks they let the melody take flight, first drifting through some thick distortion, turning misty as rhythms shift shape and then, as the passages open into spacious elevations, they fly away… Before snapping back with a bite! Entirely immersive, balancing raw grit with so much fun and awe inspiring hooks, this is a Desert Colossus on the absolute top of their game. I cannot wait to see them live again and shout along. Cause over here, next to the record player, with the album on repeat, every run again, another mile deeper into a vast, echoing landscape, that never lets me go, I am starting to feel like that Hermit… But… “I’m not crazy, I will never be alone again…”

(Written by JK)

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Desert Colossus – Eyes And Tongues

Desert Colossus – Desert Colossus