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 BIO | ALBUM REVIEWS | LIVE REVIEWS | INTERVIEWS |
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| Album Reviews |
 NEBULA - SUN CREATURE The Rocket (5/26/99) by Steve Turner of Mudhoney Clouds Taste Metallic Nebula are floating straight into the sun, blue-green smoke trails swirling. Bursting into the heavens brighter than all the stars put together, before raining down shards of white hot molten metal onto the bleached earth below.... Sorry. Let me start over. Nebula are the one. I'm not so convinced by the new line circulating lately that "Rock is back." For one thing, I don't remember it going anywhere for too long, and there's always the old "been there, done that"/"seen it and heard it" school of thought. My Rock dollars have seen diminishing returns with each successive retread of a retread of etc. But not so with Nebula. They're this close to perfection (hands very close together). This four-song Sun Creature (Man's Ruin) is the latest from Eddie Glass, Ruben Romano and Mark Abshire. All of whom spent considerable time with the once great Fu Manchu, so their Rock credentials are, excuse me, heavy. They continue to mine the same territory a la Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Stooges, etc., adding healthy doses of flange, phase, extended space jamming and what sounds like early video game noises. What sets them apart from everyone else is how perfect every piece of the puzzle fits space jamming and what sounds like early video game noises. What sets them apart from everyone else is how perfect every piece of the puzzle fits together. For one person Glass is a great two- (four- or five-) guitar team, with each track dueling with the others like the MC5 at their best. Abshire's bass wanders around almost aimlessly, but always checks back in with the main riff when necessary. Roman bashes at the drums in perfect cro-mag fashion, and when the headband comes out, you know the drum solo is just around the corner! And it's all topped with Glass' valley dude vocals as the perfect filler between solos. This EP is a perfect place to start your Nebula experience. Smokin' Woman is an ode to a sexy, smokin' woman, and who can't relate to that? Sun Creature is pot-fueled "X-Files" paranoia. Rollin' My Way to Freedom is just plain pot-fueled, and Fly On is eight-plus minutes of flying guitars and bongo drums. Interestingly, Glass says he prefers the term "acid rock" to their recent media tag of "stoner rock." Hmmm. Sun Creature was produced in part by Jack Endino, who's just finished work on their sure-to-be-stellar upcoming LP. Again, Nebula are the one. back to album reviews |
NEBULA - SUN CREATURE Stoner Rock Mailing List by Dwayne Jones Clocking in at just under 24 minutes, this new EP from Nebula is more than a just a holdover till the full length LP comes out later this year. These songs are part of Nebula's creative growth spurt. With a seemingly endless supply of cool riffs, Nebula has been putting out very consistent songs on their recent releases. No weak tracks here either. "Rolling My Way To Freedom" kicks this EP off a rockin'. A song about being on the road and scoring weed, this song captures the spirit of the infamous tour of the same name. Check out the cool breakdown for the second half of the song. "Sun Creature" is a kickin' little tune that shows Nebula's chaotic side. Slowing down the groove is "Smoking Woman", this has been one of my favorites since I saw them play it last year. With some cool Hendrixesque licks and a totally stone groove, this is one "smokin'" song that really kicks it in at the end. The album's centerpiece is undoubtedly "Fly On", at over 8 min., this has also been a favorite since seeing them play it live. In my opinion this is their master work (so far). Starting with a haunting bass groove from Mark Abshire, it begins a groove that will take you to one of the coolest drum breakdowns ever recorded. One listen and you'll know why Ruben Romano has been one of my favorite drummers for a while now. While a flurry of toms and congas are hurtling towards a seemingly certain self destruction, Eddie Glass gives us some tasty psychedelic lead work that builds everything into a tornado of swirling rhythms that almost explodes before Mark brings you safely back to earth with his Fender. I listened to this particular track while on mushrooms and I'm not kidding about this song, it will mess you up good. With great artwork by Frank Kozik, this album is a must for anyone loves good jams, so go buy this now and quit fooling around. If this album is a good indicator of things to come from Nebula, I can only expect magnificent things. back to album reviews |
