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Over the past two decades of reviewing music I’ve concluded that France seems to have more stoner/desert rock bands than most other countries. For as many artists as there are in different parts of the US offering their own take on the crunchy tonality and grooves associated with these genres, I’ve had just as many French ones come across my desk. High On Wheels is another great example, as the band has really put the “power” in power trio over the last decade. Their previous material found a sweet spot between heavier stoner/desert rock and sprawling psychedelic rock, and for album number three The Monkey they have opted for a slightly more direct approach. With weighty tonality that crosses over to stoner metal and doom at points alongside songs that emphasize pummeling grooves, High On Wheels continues to showcase they are a bit rougher and aggressive than the average stoner act.
The first two tracks make it clear that High On Wheels wanted to explore faster paced and heavy hitting grooves a bit more than before on The Monkey, as opener “Get Down” comes in with that familiar crunchy guitar tone and rumbling grooves that move at a brisker pace. It’s definitely a sound you’ve heard before, but the band does a good job of drawing you in with this type of high energy opener. After that you get one of the most eye-catching song titles I’ve seen in awhile, “The Monkey Who Dipped his Balls in my Whiskey”. The tonality drops down to doom and sludge levels of bludgeoning weight, showcasing an even more aggressive side of the band that was immediately appealing. From here High On Wheels moves between these heavier grooves and songs that slow things down a bit and let more of the psychedelic and desert textures take center stage. Sometimes this comes in the form of the breezier tones of “Lost in Space”, which feels like Kyuss crossed with some 60s rock ‘n roll, or the denser and almost High On Fire swagger of “Black Sands”. Closer “Arrakis” returns to the lengthy exploration of psychedelic textures and more versatile writing from 2021’s FuZZmovies, using Dune as an inspiration for a lengthy arrangement that is as atmospheric as it is dense. Admittedly a few of the tracks do come and go without fully having the impact I hoped for, but “The Monkey Who Dipped his Balls in my Whiskey”, “Sinking Too Much”, and “Arrakis” gave me plenty of reasons to return to this album.
Another area where High On Wheels differentiates themselves from other stoner/desert rock adjacent bands is through their vocals. The pitches are generally much rawer and closer to the yells and growls of doom and sludge than the rock side of the things, and things shift from song to song. “Get Down” has a slightly cleaner sung/yelled pitch that still has a lot of jagged edges to it, while “The Monkey Who Dipped his Balls in my Whiskey” opts for a much lower range that’s way more on the metal side of things. It’s an interesting combination, as the mellower psychedelic rock leaning moments utilize a bit more singing while some of the more direct groove-laden tracks are as raspy and violent as any other sludge band out there.
On their third full length High On Wheels spends a bit more time hitting the listener with bottom heavy grooves and a more aggressive tone, but still has dips back into the sprawling psychedelic and desert atmosphere of their prior work. It does feel like a few of the tracks do cut themselves a bit short and don’t quite reach their full peaks, but there’s still plenty here that will keep fans of both stoner rock and doom/sludge coming back for another helping. I do like the more aggressive slant, especially when it comes to the vocals, so I’ll be following to see where these guys go next. The Monkey is available from Klonosphere Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg