Weedsconsin (2021)

They may be discovering things that are now considered "old tricks" (pentatonic jams, harmonics...), but slacker-ish vibes prevail and in Bongzilla's case I came out rooting for the underdog. Weedsconsin gives itself away like a dank cloud of marijuana, it's about the hard rock riffs, the head-nodding repetition, the pot; it's about the snickering demon on the record cover that you're smoking with who intermittently tells you to check out a new strain ("Sundae Driver") or how to mash marijuana together to get even more high ("Space Rock"). And in that way, Weedsconsin is good to throw on when you need something crunchy and hot yet laid back and unobjectionable. Not to say the band doesn't know how to structure a great tune ("Free The Weed"), but Bongzilla prefer to work with the basics. Which gels with the magma-like pace they play at and the way they dig into those head-nodding stoner grooves. In Weedsconsin it seems Bongzilla are growing some of my favorite stoner rock, the kind that has the appeal of a hazy Tuesday off (with snacks).