Droids Attack

Fun and light-hearted while still devoutly rockin', Droids Attack's third full-length is a wonderful mixture of straight-ahead, borderline stoner rock that never gets so serious or bogged down in its respective rut to forget that even heavy bands can be upbeat. Blending slinky, steadfast grooves and beefy fuzz with occasional spaced-out rhythms, syncopated beats and crisp, yet throaty, vocals, the band offer up a tight Fu Manchu-meets-Hermano kind of grit. Not much of a stretch, but even though the wheel can't be reinvented, a few alterations never hurt. Understanding the need for unyielding attitude, these guys are still somewhat intellectual, stepping just beyond the psyche-influenced rock'n'roll that Priestess and Valient Thorr have been mining for some time now. It results in a powerful, churning effort high on creativity and virtually devoid of the genre's typical lazy approach: wringing one substantial riff to death.