Crobot has been one of the more consistent bands in the hard rock space over the past fifteen years. Where their earlier material had a noticeably bluesy swagger and even some funk elements, in more recent years things took on a darker tone and even a bit of a metallic slant. 2024’s Obsidian represented the biggest shift yet, offering a crunchier and heavier tone that reminded me a lot of 90s Corrosion of Conformity, Alice in Chains, and a healthy dose of 2000s hard rock. I was a big fan of that album, as it had some great hooks and fused a lot of stoner rock/metal and hard rock elements together in ways that weren’t too formulaic, but if you missed the brighter and more fun sounding rhythms of Crobot’s material this year’s Supermoon is likely to scratch that itch.
As soon as you press play, “Gun To My Head” makes it clear that the bluesy swagger and funkier rhythms that defined Crobot’s earlier material is back in full force. This song has a huge sound from the beginning, letting the drums have funkier and bouncier rhythms alongside soaring guitars and harmonica. There’s still a lot of low-end weight to the sound, but things have a brighter and more fun feel from the get-go and this first track gave me some hints of ZZ Top and other classic blues rock artists compared to the more modern sound of Obsidian. While it’s clear the band has sought to recapture their earlier swagger and more playful approach, they aren’t merely repeating what has been done before and Supermoon comes through like a fusion of old and new. Crobot has used this foundation to deliver some of their strongest and most fun riffs to date, as the run from “Battle Cry” to “Me and Your Mother” not only has a ton of variety but will have you tapping your feet along the entire time. “Happy Days” offers a more relaxed and chill vibe with softer acoustic melodies that build into a huge booming chorus, while “Girl From Another World” goes for some appropriately psychedelic sounding melodies during its second half. When the band ups the funk on “Me and Your Mother” they have an even looser and playful sound, and the second half continues this back and forth between heavy, bluesy grooves and funkier breaks. There are a few that sound a bit similar and do blur together slightly on repeat listens, but Supermoon’s compact forty-six-minute run keeps things moving and avoids some of the issues I had with Obsidian’stendency to feel slightly overstretched.
Brandon Yeagley has one of those voices that instantly jumps out and grabs you no matter which song you’re listening to, and if you’ve followed Crobot for a little bit you’ll notice there are different nuances to his performance depending on the album. Obsidian’s darker and grittier tone was replicated on the vocal front, but with the shift back to a bluesier and brighter cadence Yeagley has also shifted back to some higher ranges. It’s an approach that works well, as the way his voice soars on tracks like “Foot Off” is infectious and there’s the same type of swagger to the performance that made classic blues and hard rock bands household names. The rest of Crobot gives Yeagley plenty of time to shine too, as there are quite a few passages where the instrumentals head into mellower territory and his singing fills most of the space. Even fifteen years in, the singing is just as high energy and versatile as ever and this gives Crobot an edge over some of the other groups out there.
Where Obsidian felt like a much darker and metallic take on Crobot’s established sound, Supermoon shifts things back towards the soaring bluesy grooves and playful funk infused elements. But this isn’t just a case where an established band is trying to simply repeat their earlier style, as this album comes through like a proper fusion of old and new with a genuinely infectious energy. Even after fifteen years, Crobot shows no signs of slowing down and have a lot to offer fans of everything hard rock.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
