Lo-Pan – Subtle

The sharp and energetic guitar playing coupled with Jeff Martin’s soaring and expressive vocals are the driving force of the music, while the thick bass lines and dynamic drumming lay a tight rhythmic foundation which gives the songs a certain groove. However, the album tilts towards the heavier and more aggressive end of the stoner rock spectrum, being anything but subtle.  

The album starts off on a strong note with the “10 Days” which features distorted and somewhat reverbed guitars, and melodic vocals, setting a high bar for the rest of the album. Not losing any momentum the next track, the hard hitter “Savage Heart”, contains one of Martin’s best vocal performances on this album, as he veers between melodic singing and belting, especially around the chorus. “Ascension Day” has some sludgy guitar riffs and groovy basslines under the soaring vocals, this providing a nice dichotomy of melodic and heavy. The moody “Sage” tones things down a bit with a nice bass / vocal intro but soon picks up pace with distorted guitars that almost take over the whole song.

 Slow-burner “Everything burns” has a doomier feel to it coming from the guitar melody, which works neatly with Martin’s powerful vocal delivery, while “Old news” brings the heat and ramps up the heaviness a few notches with intense drumming from Jesse Bartz and fierce guitars courtesy of Chris Thompson. Keeping the momentum going, “Bring me a war” is as harsh as it is edgy, with a somewhat warmer guitar tone and another on-point vocal delivery. Slowing things down a bit is the rockish ballad “A thousand miles” as well as the penultimate cut “Butcher’s bill”, with emotional, borderline melancholy delivery, and uplifting melodies, while, nestled between them, the brooding “Khan” brings a dose of darkness to the music. “The law & the swarm” is another hard hitting track, which boasts a sweet but short guitar solo from Chris Thompson and powerful drumming, closing the album on a high note.