4 years on from their beginnings, the four piece Stoner band SUNCRAFT, have released their debut full length album "Flat Earth Rider". The artwork for this release really plays into the Stoner theme with some pseudo psychedelic themes. But, lets get stuck into the music, shall we?

Opening is the titular "Flat Earth Rider" and straight away there is a definite groove to the music. The riff is bouncy and just makes me want to dance, the vocals are light and airy, almost mystical. The music, to me, seems to be leaning quite a lot on Desert Rock influences but mixing them with some more traditional Stoner stylings. The flow of the track, the structure and just the overall output really is top notch and I am excited to see what is coming next. "Space Buddha" keeps on that light and bouncy style, but still, I am getting more Desert or even Blues styles. The build to the solo is divine, showing a real understanding and control for the group.

That hammering heavy riffage continues with "Lingo Hive Mind" but if you listen into some of the back tracking at times you can hear some really amazing bass licks that just help to pull it all together. In fact, the drums and bass really are working in tandem to produce the solid foundations to build the track on, whilst the guitars add the finishing touches. "Commie Cannibals" takes the pace back a little bit initially and periodically throughout, now this is more like the Stoner Rock I have come across before, but that's not to say that SUNCRAFT couldn't be blazing their own trail to redefine the genre in their own way.

Something that I really cannot get over is the sheer standard of musicianship throughout. "Adaptation" continues to hammer that home to me. It is so tight. The guitars laying in tandem there is just such a depth to the music that each and every chord played is so undeniably pleasurable. But the crowning glory for this track in particular? The ethereal verse, floating over soft vocals and clean guitars before relaunching into a full bodied assault. "Bridges To Nowhere" sees the album out over a ten minute epic journey that is a pure showcase of everything that is fantastic about SUNCRAFT.

Overall, I really cannot recommend this album enough. Seriously get out there and get it now. It is such an amazing and fantastic album that just shows such a great level of skill and knowledge from quite a young band. Fans of ALICE IN CHAINS and ORANGE GOBLIN be sure to check these guys out to widen your library a bit.