Hermano - Only A Suggestion

  by Mark Rowland

published: 7 / 8 / 2002

Label: Teepee
Format: CD

intro

Slightly too short, but otherwise "quality" debut offering from Hermano, the new project of John Garcia, former Kyuss frontman and star of Stoner Rock

Back in the early nineties, there was a band that defined the sound of Stoner rock, mixing Black Sabbath with punk and psychedelia to create an immense, rolling heavy rock sound. That band was Kyuss, who were responsible for two absolute classic albums, 'Blues for the Red Sun', and 'Welcome to Sky Valley'. They released four albums, before splitting in 1995. Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri have now achieved a certain amount of fame with Queens of the Stone Age, but they're not the only former members of Kyuss to still be releasing albums. Singer John Garcia has been lending his distinctive vocals full-time to bands like Unida and Slo-Burn, and now is also the vocalist for Hermano, the brainchild of bassist and producer Dandy Brown. Hermano was formed when Brown sent tapes to guitarists David Angstrom and Mike Callahan, drummer Steve Earle and obviously Garcia, asking for their input. The band finally met in the studio to record this, their debut album. While this definitely has a Desert stoner sound, it's not just Kyuss Mark Two, although the distinctiveness of Garcia's voice does make it easy to compare them to his former band. The guitar sound is a lot more like Soundgarden than it is like Kyuss, especially tracks like 'Manager's Special' and 'Senor Moreno's Plan', but, at the same time, the main riff to 'Landetta (Motherload)' couldn't be more Kyuss. Comparisons aside, this is a very good stoner rock record, with strong hum-able tunes, great vocals (though that's not really very surprising), and absolutely huge riffs, all you need in a stoner band. It's a shame then that there are only eight tracks on here. The quality of the tracks leaves you wanting to hear more of Hermano by the time the last notes fade on closer 'Hick's Yea'. The fact that Garcia's Unida are still his priority means that it's likely that it'll be a while before Hermano release anything else. It's still quality, though, a must for people who like their music heavy and tuneful.

Track Listing:-