Astralnaut – Emerald Lord of Pleasure [2012; self-released]

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Buzzy guitar, bellowing vocals, and laid-back drums kick off the title track A-side of this single, which then digs into a series of fairly standard, but energetically played, stoner metal grooves, with a psych-flavored bridge that dove-tails into drum action ends up as the most memorable portion.  The B-side, an acoustic rendition of Astralnaut’s “Back to the Bog”, leads the way out with a chilled atmosphere that ends up feeling more distinctive than the first song.  Decent enough, but unlikely to win over any new fans.

Stone Machine Electric – The Amazing Terror [2015; self-released]

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Excerpted from a series of recording sessions for a full album, the four tracks of this EP bob and weave through fuzzy feedback and gnashy riffs, with the guitar providing texture and the disarmingly active drumming controlling pace and punchiness.  Though the songs have an enjoyable energy, and the musicians bring some interesting expressiveness out of their instruments, the EP hits its end with so little build-up that it winds up hobbling the preceding material to an extent.