Imagine if the beardy porcelain blokes in your nan’s back garden got as stoned as they look and made music together. That’s roughly what it’s like listening to Gnome, Belgium’s pre-eminent stoner-rock trio. With their latest album, Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome, they’ve made a thunderous step up on to the global stoner-rock stage.
Right from the word go, Gnome have had a knack for catchy hooks and driving riffs, and they bring this forward for Vestiges…. Combined with a greater expansion of the vocals, the songwriting has become tighter and more focussed than it was in their instrumental days. None of the fun has been shaved off though – there’s a healthy dose of humour across the album.
Take, for example, ‘Duke of Disgrace’, a pointed jab at the stereotypical basement/bedroom-dwelling nerd who only ever plays video games and is otherwise a lazy layabout: “I play my games in Mama’s home/No job no friends always alone/my life’s a pixelated haze.” It’s tongue-in-cheek, sure, but still a satirical barb. Even the riffs, swaggering and jaunty as they are, convey a sense of humour. Just listen to the opener ‘Old Soul’ – it swings with such a jolly attitude you could be forgiven for thinking it was crafted by actual gnomes.
Clearly, Gnome have lost none of the sense of fun and joie-de-vivre that characterise their music, even with the tighter songs and increased emphasis on lyrics. Adding lyrics to older songs like ‘Platypus Platoon’ or ‘Rat King’ could easily afford them a spot on Vestiges…, but the new songs meander less than their predecessors. No time is wasted on Vestiges…, whereas some of their older songs somewhat outstayed their welcome, resulting in something that Clutch’s younger brother could have cooked up.
As creative, heavy, and fun as they ever have been, with newer areas of focus, Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome shows Gnome at their best so far. Get your red caps at the ready. The world is going to need a lot more music like this in the years to come.
