Hognose
¡El Sombrero!
Arclight Records

¡El Sombrero! lands a second gut punch after the first album, Longhandle poked yr soft white under belly. It’s the same brand of stompy, rompy, bluesy, grimy, greasy, pretty, gritty hollar-for-a shot, howl-at-the-moon classic bad ass rock action they’ve shown on the first record and’ve sprinkled on stages hither and yon. Apparently there’ll be sprinkling galore as they hit the tar and roll outta town. So see this stuff in it’s natural habitat. Much of what these guys, (and the Arclight stable), do is rework the real good parts of rock/rock and roll that were forgotten or buried due to horrible commercial/social/aesthetic reasons in the 80’s. It’s kinda like getting in the way- back machine and getting things right and taking it forward-no mere revisionism here. Hell, ‘huntin' rake’ cops some classic Alice Cooper drum voodoo and takes it to metal Valhalla. Remember; Johhny Winter died for your sins-luckily you can pay it back in beers at the Hognose show. Whew! That was close! See? You too can be saved.

One of the things I like about these guys, (and many of their Southern brethren), is their ability to do pretty, bluesy material without waving their hands in the air and demanding you notice how “sensitive” they are. Alabama Thunder Pussy, Beaten Back To Pure, COC, 60 Watt Shamen, Mezzanine, hell even Weedeater have done so , proving their innate humanity; like the Chuck Berry song that goes, “when it hurts you, it hurts me too”. Check the cover of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe” for cross pollinated proof, ‘kay? Just by doing it and it sounding so natural in these surrounding you realize the blues are the blues; reworked, mutated and redone. May the circlebe unbroken.

When in the mood thy’ll lay back and brood on what the hell’s goin’ on. By can relaxing the tempo’s, lagging the beat they’ll slowly and surely suck you into their world. Then drop some chugga-chugga riff rock t omove things along. The lead work is sensible and melodic, never losing focus of going somewhere. For whiskey perhaps, or to buy a mint copy of ZZ Tops “Tres Hombres”, but always somewhere sensible. The recording and tones are great, lofting the music from smokey bar to your living room in a one deep breath. Once again another Arclight label release with a powerfully musical rhythm section; supportive and tactilely inventive-just check “muffin”, it starts off like classic delicate Hendrix/Trower, arc’s into full bodied warm psychedelic rock built from the red clay of The Dixie Dregs and Allman brothers and finishes out like like a fine wine fed European/British stoner rock. Fucking ace.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Hognose
iEl Sombrero!
Arclight Records

As a follow-up to their 2004 release Longhandle, Hognose brings their roll-your-own Metallica-esque fuzzy guitar rock to the forefront once again with iEl Sombrero!

"I got a job, I've got some money, I've got a car, and I've got a gun" is how the album kicks off with "Weedbilly." In "El Chamuco" lead singer Shane Herring comes off like a kick-ass Rob Zombie without the electronica. Then there's the song named after the character actor from the 1970s, "Warren Oates."

The stand-out of the disc seems to be, "Muffin," which is the longest track as well, coming in at just under nine minutes. The delicately performed slow instrumental that builds to a jam at about the four minute mark. It really showcases the tight musicianship that makes iEl Sombrero! Such a good album.

The album lasts over fifty minutes, and the bulk of the songs run close to the six-minute mark. The "hidden track" is a sweet cover of Pink Floyd's "Breathe" which is worth seeking this album out on it's own.

Anyone who sat down one day and listened to Black Sabbath and said "Yes..this means something" will enjoy Hognose. Add some pork to your CD collection.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Texas loud, Texas proud, pissing on genre boundaries and creating some shit-kicking boot metal in the process, HOGNOSE wield some riffs that are half Seventies boogie, half overdriven stoner metal, and kinds of a good time.

Though the metal boogie is paramount, HOGNOSE manage to diversify things a bit here and there. "Local Honey" is four-on-the-floor adrenaline, old (good) AEROSMITH filtered through dead horse with shouted vocals and a headbanging groove. Then the next song, "Warren Oates", takes on a CLUTCH vibe, showing off a slippery riff and some nice jammy soloing in the middle. And just when you think you've got 'em figured out, the eight-minute "Muffin" gets all pretty on ya – a slow-building, sleepy, Sunday-morning testifyin' instrumental that crescendos into a big, warm anthem, the sort of song where a good rockin' band can take a few basic building blocks and, through sheer intensity of playing, make an epic.

And lest you worry they're gonna go soft on you, the crunching "El Chamuco" is next up, somehow sounding like a demented ROB ZOMBIE let loose on some moonshine and peyote in the desert. Hell, they even end the record with an unlisted of the PINK FLOYD chestnut "Breathe", and manage to make it sound a little greasy and barbecue-stained. Maybe it's the yowling vocals (when they can be bothered with 'em, HOGNOSE leaving them out for long passages, the riff being king here), but my money is on months, if not years, locked in some sweltering Austin garage or basement, sweating out gallons of Shiner Bock beer and fusing into a half-crazed rock colossus. I mean, wandering through the maze of stoned-out SABBATH and refried classic ALICE COOPER that is the ten minute album ender "Hunting Rake" and "The First Song" is almost a psychedelic experience, followed quickly by a boogie-rocked ass kicking at the end. I dunno if I've heard anyone metal up these classic Seventies grooves this good since I first heard BOULDER.

"¡El Sombrero!" is a damn fine slab of Lone Star rock and roll done right, captured loud and spittin' here (although nothing beats seeing these cats live, preferably in a hot, tiny bar while drunk). Somewhere, Billy Gibbons is smiling – and if you have to be told he's the guy from ZZ TOP, you may not be who HOGNOSE is lookin' for here.

- Keith Bergman
                            Read more...