Olmeg : Slab

Psychedelic/stoner rock is an acquired taste. Unfortunately it’s not a taste that this writer has acquired, even after years of trying. It’s one style of music that just doesn’t seem to progress in any way shape or form, heavily restricted by its very nature. And it seems more than happy with this situation. It’s the type of music that if you’re into it, you’re way into it. If not, you really don’t care for it at all.

Whether you like the style or not, Olmeg are a Melbourne three-piece who do the fuzzed up stoner thing extremely well. In fact, the riffs are so fuzzy that they’re almost indistinguishable. It’s very heavy, in a bluesy sorta way, and the grooves are fatter than a tub of lard. The production is typically unpolished, and the artwork is none too pretty. This is ugly music, in the grand stoner tradition.

Olmeg may not be for these writer’s ears, but if you dig the stoner sound, then you will find Slab very satisfying indeed. Crack open a slab of your own, sit back and enjoy the fat and the fuzz.

BY ROD WHITFIELD

Best Track: Still Searchin’

If You Like These, You’ll Like This: FU MANCHU, QUEENS OF THE STONEAGE, ELECTRIC WIZARD

In A Word: FUZZ!