Let It Burn
NEBULA

Hey, just when you thought, or maybe when "I" thought the whole fuzz-rock, stoner-scene was becoming just a muddled mass of rehash and strung out junkie noise, along comes Nebula with more than just a few words to the contrary.

Their Sub Pop debut pays homage to the desert from whence they came yet soothingly swings and sways into a modern day setting that few of their likeness have yet to explore.

The trio, already toting enough 7" EP's to fill up three full lengths is actually making their long player debut here and the results are pretty radical.

"Come Down" immediately comes across as one of my favorites, a good time groove rocker with an addictive chorus that goes well with a swig of tequila and beer chaser… "Clearlight" is typically slow and winding, while "Freedom" catches hold of its bootstraps introducing of all things a sitar at its beginning before chucking caution to the wind in a tightly-structured rhythmic pattern over a tribal pre-chorus beat.

Mudhoney's Mark Arm plays the role of Iggy on the Stooges cover, "I Need Somebody" from their monolithic "Raw Power" and do a bang up gang tackle of a job in a nearly true to life version of the '73 original.

2/3 of the group come from what formerly was Fu Manchu… yes, it would seem that they have indeed eaten dust!

Too bad, but then again, something good usually must follow something bad and as good as they were, Nebula could well be considered the pure and natural progression for where the Manchu men left off.

We'll have to see but for now, Nebula fuels up on the best of the rest-hard and heavy feedback, insomnia inducing wailing rock and modern-day nostalgia set to a disheveled production and untucked shirts set to rumble down the hallucinogenic highway of synthetic dreams…

Released by Sub Pop

Review By Vinnie Apicella