Bison B.C., “Dark Ages”
Much to my delight, Canada’s up-and-coming metal sensations have returned with this mature follow up to 2008′s outstanding Quiet Earth LP. Spending a fair share of the past two years touring behind that release, the young men of Bison experienced a tremendous amount of attention and praise from aficionados of the genre. That they’ve produced an album that surpasses their prior one while not departing tremendously from its style is commendable. Simply put, Bison have gotten even better at what they do, with vastly more memorable bits than before. The riffs are as thick and crunchy as ever, and the unit benefits from the tightness achieved during the intervening years. These seven sustained metal jams–the shortest over five minutes long–maintain interest by interweaving thrash, stoner metal, and punk elements. Opener “Sleeping Elephant” twists and grinds with soaring animism and epic grandiosity, while “Fear Cave” slogs valiantly through viscous low-end and sludge. “Two Day Booze” evinces a newfound accessibility (particularly in the vocals) that suggests Bison wont be playing twenty-minute opening sets for much longer.

(4 out of 5 horns)

Sweet Apple, “Love & Desperation”
When it comes to making hard garage rock, Sweet Apple have done a hell of a lot better than higher profile contemporaries Them Crooked Vultures. Unlike that group’s bland studio effort, Love & Desperation sounds much like a bunch of (extremely talented) old friends jamming together in the studio. The high quality of this material should surprise no one familiar with Sweet Apple’s membership: the rhythm section of stoner rockers Witch paired up with Cobra Verde’s frontman and guitarist. As with Witch, indie rock icon J. Mascis sticks primarily to the drums, allowing for a sound reminiscent of Steppenwolf and other such late 60s / early 70s hard rock progenitors. Sweet Apple frontload the record with their best three songs. “Do You Remember” is a soaring, summery single in the vein of Uriah Heep’s “High Priestess” but considerably more revved up and power-poppy. John Petkovic comes out the gate with a wizened, almost desperate vocal that dazzles alongside Tim Parnin’s gratuitous yet welcome guitar licks. Subsequently, “I’ve Got A Feeling”–easily the most Dinosaur Jr-ish cut thanks in part to Mascis’ backing croon– takes it down just enough, while “Flying Up A Mountain” packs as much a bluesy stomp as anything Jack White’s ever recorded. After this dynamic trio of tunes, however, the album loses some momentum but not much. There are several more tracks worth sticking around for (“Somebody Else’s Problem”) for lovers of sentimentally slogging yet hard bluesy rock.

(4 out of 5 horns)

-GS