Do you like RIFFS?
Do you crave for somebody to add something fresh to the well-trodden stoner rock path?
Then let me introduce you to the world of Pendejo and their second album Atacames. These four boys from the Netherlands appear to be your typical heavy rock band as the opening RIFF of ‘El Verano Del ‘96’ thunders along in a brilliant yet expected manner but then vocalist El Pastuso gets to work…singing in Spanish!
To cut a long story short, vocalist El Pastuso and guitarist Jaap 'Monchito' Melman are cousins with a Latin American background and bring the associated flair and flavor of the region to grab the stoner rock sound “by the cojones and to be throw it into a spicy puddle of chili con carne”, so the Spanish vocals are enthusiastic and energetic whilst trumpet blasts also make themselves present throughout.
At first it feels like a comical gimmick due to the unusual clash of styles but the songs are so well written and the RIFFS so huge that you quickly acclimatize to the exuberant nature.
So back to ‘El Verano Del ‘96’ with its thundering RIFF and high tempo stoner rock groove mixed with the exuberant expressive and graveled vocals leading into a wallowing trumpet solo that somehow doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb before kicking back into the main RIFF, but with noticeably much more aggression.
‘Amor Y Pereza’ follows up with a slower tempo but no less heavy or filthy RIFF and groove that would make Fu Manchu proud before hitting a full on mariachi inspired crescendo that seems completely natural; it’s a balance they pull of superbly throughout with the RIFFS and groove doing most of the leg work such as the monstrous ‘Unero’ and ‘Amiyano’, which are all RIFF while the additional ingredients are used sparingly for greater affect.
And that there is all to say about it, the RIFFS come by the truck load, the songs are all extremely well crafted and they have a character all their own that blows a breath of fresh air into an often saturated market.
