Monster Magnet // Last Patrol

The pioneers of stoner-rock have returned to reclaim the beard-and-mirror-shades look from ZZ Top. Dave Wyndorf and his crew are back with 'Last Patrol', Monster Magnet's tenth studio release, comprising nine tracks of classic material. Predominantly recorded on vintage instruments and amps the album has a genuinely old-school feel, and Wyndorf's lyrics are still as far out as ever. In a style that he refers to as 'Space-Noir' he writes songs inspired by the usual stuff (love, heartbreak, revenge etc) through the "vernacular and imagery of science fiction and surrealism". It's nice to see his increasing years haven't brought him back from his own planet just yet. As a result 'Last Patrol' retains the traditional MM tripped-out, other-worldly feel. On first listen it contains more downers than uppers, but this album is a grower, not a shower, requiring a little investment on behalf of the listener. Opener 'I Live Behind The Clouds' eludes to potentially epic tracks to follow but is not really  followed up until fifth track 'Hallelujah', a classically sleazy, foot stomping hellbilly song. 'Mindless Ones' follows, adding sci-fi sounds to psychedelic guitars and mind-bent lyrics, with 'The Duke (Of Supernature)' providing a hedonistic, stripped-back seventh track. The extended songs on this release (what your dad would refer to as 'proper tracks'), like 'End Of Time' and 'Last Patrol', will lose some people's attention due to their long-winded and complex nature, but these are also the tracks that make a Monster Magnet album what it is. This is a band who consider the album as a whole, rather than as a collection of singles and fillers. Fans looking for another 'Powertrip' won't find it here, but a solid, well put together album nonetheless, and another insight into what it's like to be inside Wyndorf's crazy haze of a mind.