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Voodoo Mule

Voodoo Zoo

Written by: BV on 23/06/2013 15:50:39

Voodoo Mule, a trio from Ljubljana, Slovenia is one the latest off-shoots of the quite expansive stoner scene that, despite its arguably American origins, is blossoming around the world at the moment. Naturally, when a ‘scene’ is blossoming, there are occasional flower-buds that falter in comparison to other, fully-fledged flowers, or to end the metaphor, bands. Voodoo Mule sadly falls into the first category at the moment, as their sound is still in development and isn’t really all that intriguing as of yet. Still, there are factors present that make their debut “Voodoo Zoo” a relatively good listen.

Album opener and somewhat of a long-runner “Honeyland” is, sadly, nothing special. The long and far too drawn out fuzz-track is, obviously, meant to show that the band can groove and maintain a jam for an inconceivable period of time. However, a track should never be a long-runner just because you want it to be – it has to be necessary for the song, before it is even remotely justifiable. Otherwise, you’ll end up with this; a slightly tedious lullaby with fuzz guitar on it.

The lo-fi grit of “Honeyland” continues on “Trunkfull” which, despite its relatively simple riff, comes off as extensively better, and more coherent, than “Honeyland”. The shorter runtime provides a much-needed focus to the track and makes for an infinitely better listening experience in this particular case. As the fuzzy rumble of the bass and the gritty vocals take the center I am reminded that most albums, even weaker ones, often have those few redeeming tracks, those that are exponentially better than the rest and “Trunkfull” is most definitely one of such songs.

However, as the album comes to the supremely long-running “Church Snake” my mind once again gains an opportunity to wander off numerous times throughout 20 minutes of fuzzy guitars, rumbling bass, scarce vocals and drumwork that most of all just wants to be able to keep up with the fuzzy grit of the remaining soundscape. Despite the fact that “Church Snake” is marginally better and more coherent than “Honeyland” it is nonetheless a track of the same sort – one that should have been boiled down to a fifth of its current runtime to be justifiable. The abundance of tracks like this one is therefore what drags down my impression of the album and ultimately leaves me thinking that this release is one that really won’t make an impact on the current stoner scene. – With good reason.

Download: Tapas, Trunkfull, I’m A Midnight Moler
For The Fans Of: Lost Souls Carnival, Redding, The Gentlemen Bastards
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 27.05.2013
Self-released