Formed by members of Fu Manchu, Yawning Man, and Mos Generator, Big Scenic Nowhere formed a couple of years back and immediately began putting out material filled with warm desert/stoner rock riffs and sprawling psychedelic grooves. This likely isn’t surprising given the players involved, but even early on it’s felt like these guys have pushed outwards and explored additional territory that their main bands weren’t. 2020 brought both their debut full-length and the Lavender Blues EP, with 2022 now bringing their sophomore full-length The Long Morrow. Despite coming after Lavender Blues, the foundations of these songs stem from the same three-day jam session that resulted in that material, making it a natural complement.
The Vision Beyond Horizon full-length emphasized variety and more compact songs, with some surprise dips into punk and other rock styles. But the band’s previous two EP’s Dying on the Mountain and Lavender Blues showcased their jam session origins, and this has been continued on The Long Morrow. The second half is made up entirely of the title track, which runs for just shy of twenty minutes and features guest appearances from Reeves Gabrels (The Cure, David Bowie) and Per Wiberg (Opeth, Spiritual Beggars). With that in mind it wouldn’t be surprising if the four songs from the A-side paled in comparison and felt more like a lead up to the lengthier piece, but that’s not the case. Compared to the previous full length the material here flows seamlessly and doesn’t have the sudden stylistic shifts, which leads to a more cohesive listen and makes sense given the jam session origins. The A-side gives the guitar and bass plenty of room to deliver warm and inviting grooves, with the main difference between each one being the tone. Some let the melodies and psychedelic haze spread outwards, while others bring in a bit more bite with a crunchier sound and heavier edge. “Defector (of Future Days)” and “Lavender Bleu” in particular have riffs that will likely be stuck with me for some time, and they’re supported by Tony Reed’s vocal work that is able to match that grittier or softer tone depending on what the rest of the band is doing. Reed showcases the depth of his voice throughout this side of The Long Morrow, and while his performance is a bit mellower overall compared to Vision Beyond Horizon, he does bring back just the right amount of grit when needed.
With the aforementioned guests providing additional synthesizer and guitar work for the title track, Big Scenic Nowhere lets their ideas sprawl outwards and use this extended period of time to explore multiple facets of their sound. The first element to come into play is the synthesizer, which opens things up with a sweeping and hazy melody that pulls in equal amounts of psych and prog rock influence, but after only a few minutes the guitar has taken over for a passage that feels more traditional rock ‘n roll and hard rock inspired. I like the way that the instrumentation seems to move seamlessly between prog and more traditional rock with ease, giving listeners plenty to dive into but still providing the type of chunkier grooves and weight that has appeal to those that aren’t always into the proggier side of things. The vocals remain a bit sparser, with Reed’s singing moving between a mellower, introspective pitch and louder, commanding one around the halfway point before the instrumentals get the remaining focus. Big Scenic Nowhere keeps things interesting for this song’s entire runtime, and while they don’t hit the same big hooks here as they do on the A-side there were still plenty of warm and fuzzy layers that kept me coming back to the entire package.
Despite how quickly they’ve been putting out material (and there’s mention of even more on the horizon), it’s clear that Big Scenic Nowhere is just getting started and have set a high bar already. I like the way that this album flows a bit more than Vision Beyond Horizon, and while this still may not deviate significantly from what the band has already released, they still have hooks strong enough to keep listeners jumping back into the haze again and again. Fans of everything psych, stoner, and rock will find this an early highlight of 2022, and at the rate we’re going this may not even be the last we hear from Big Scenic Nowhere this year. The Long Morrow is available from Heavy Psych Sounds.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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