MAHA SOHONA ~ ENDLESS SEARCHER ..... review

 

To be perfectly honest Desert Psychlist were convinced that Sweden's Maha Sohona had joined the ranks of the promising but disbanded, that they were one of those bands that regularly burst onto the scene with everything you ever wanted to hear from a band only to then disappear into the ether never to be heard from again. Thankfully that has not been the case and seven years after delivering us a killer debut album with "Maha Sohona" the band return to once again entice and excite us with their long awaited second album "Endless Searcher" (Made of Stone Recordings)

Fuzz and distortion are essential components of genres like doom, stoner rock and heavy psych so clarity is not a topic we generally speak about when discussing these musics, however clarity is something we do need to talk about when attempting to describe the grooves Maha Sohona have laid down for our listening pleasure with "Endless Searcher" Every note, drum beat and vocal inflection on this stunning release is crystalline and clear, there are no muddy moments, no unintelligible growling or demonic harshness to be found here everything you will hear on these five essential cuts of space themed stoner rock/heavy psych are delivered with a pristine crispness not always the reserve of  bands working in this genre. It is no good having quality of sound if you haven't got the grooves to back that sound up so it is especially pleasing to find that Maha Sohona have those grooves in abundance. "Endless Searcher" opens its account with "Leaves", a warm hazy tome with a liquid like groove that doesn't so much explode out of your speakers as gently trickles out of them and is fronted by vocals that have an equally warm and hazy dynamic, its a stunning opener that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album.. Even when things do get a little heavier and harder, as they do on many of the albums five songs, it is to the bands credit that they still try to maintain their hold on both that warmth and clarity and don't fall into the trap of  being heavy just for the sake of it. What really sets Maha Sohona apart from the crowd however is the space they bring to songs like "Luftslott"," A Black Star", "Scavengers" and "Orbit X", the trio allowing each other room to breath within each song, careful to never step on each others toes, a band working in perfect harmony who are totally willing to play for the songs and only for the songs, finding room to express themselves within those songs but not to the detriment of those songs.

"Stunning" is an oft overused word when describing music but in the case of Maha Sohona's "Endless Searcher" that word is totally justifiable, someone else also mentioned the word "creamy" in their review of this incredible release, which suggests an element of smoothness to what Mah Sohona bring to the table. Both of these words hold water when applied to Maha Sohona's musical attack but there is also an element of grittiness and bite to the bands grooves that shouldn't be ignored either.

Check it out ..... 

© 2021 Frazer Jones