Heavy stoners The Company Corvette have an eighteen-year history and a fine pedigree, having played with the likes of The Obsessed, Pentagram, and Weedeater. The band’s fourth album, Little Blue Guy was recorded in New Jersey by Matt Weber at The Gradwell House. With longtime members Alexei Korolev and Ross Pritchett joined by drummer Zach Price, the three-piece set about tracking a gloriously fuzzy album of stoner rock, with a strong metal underpinning. With its glorious Drew Elliott artwork (Amorphis, Necrophagia) and solid production, Little Blue Guy may just be The Company Corvette’s most expansive offering to date.
Opening with the title track, the album instantly impresses with a production that leaps from the speakers, despite the molasses-thick density of the riffs. Incoming drummer Zach knows exactly how to drag the beat to keep power behind the guitars, while the vocals are neatly pitched between Ozzy wail and King Buzzo howl. Stretched out over eight, leisurely minutes, it’s a stoner grind that takes in feedback-strewn leads, chunky riffing and a surprisingly deft sense of melody amidst the doom-laden fuzz. There’s even room for a bizarre, psychedelic digression that strips away the immense riffs, but maintains the sense of mystery. What’s not to love? Next up, Marshmallow, despite its gooey title, is a dark and doomy piece, with gritty, distortion-smeared vocal. Drifting toward the nightmarish soundscapes of Khanate (although never hitting the leaden pace that that band deploys), Marshmallow is a seriously heavy march to the fuzz, that should absolutely not be listened to by those in charge of vewhicles or heavy machinery. When the track does finally open up, it’s to take in an echoing solo that threatens to leave the listener with a contact high as it surges through the mix. Rather less brutal, albeit still a lively jam, Out Of Control gives Zach a chance to break out of the stoner straightjacket, unleashing a barrage of toms at the track’s conclusion, and then repeating the trick on the introduction to the punning Brain Cells… But Who’s Buying, a short, sharp piece that is somewhere between Melvins and Butthole Surfers in execution, from the slight southern twinge evident in the vocals to the multi-layered riffs that pepper the piece. It’s a brilliant piece of mischievous stoner metal, and its all the better for the excellent production which keeps such separation between the various components.
A mid-paced trudge, Stupid is deceptively short, allowing a showcase for some deft lead and a surprisingly catchy vocal that harks back to Mudhoney’s earliest works, before Drag explodes from its embers. A vital, vibrant number, it’s more punk than metal, and it gives the album a hefty boost, helping it towards the conclusion. Keeping things surprising, the band kick out an airy jam next, with Ted Tedder exhibiting a touch of New York groove. With semi-spoken word vocals and humungous riffs, it ends up sounding like a heavier Sonic Youth playing Monster Magnet covers in a grimy basement – and it’s every bit as cool as that sounds. The album comes to a suitably epic conclusion with the seven-minute Lit The Wrong End. Returning to the swampy sounds of Melvins, it’s an alt-stoner gem that brings the album to an end on a (sorry) high point, and you’ll be hard pressed not to reach over and stick the needle in the groove all over again.
While The Company Corvette boast a touring history that reads like a who’s who of the stoner metal scene, they have as much in common with the early 90s alternative scene, drawing on the likes of Melvins, Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, and early Soundgarden. The results are pretty stunning, with the band kicking out the jams with vigour, and then hooking you in with sneaky melodies that stick to your mouth like peanut butter on the brain or, err, something like that. Look, this record is seriously cool, wonderfully heavy, and deeply addictive. Just buy a copy, OK? 9/10
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