September 22, 2014 by A.S. Van Dorston

The Well – Samsara (RidingEasy, 2014)
Small Stone isn’t the only indie heavy rock label that’s ablaze with a string of great releases. RidingEasy Records (they had to change their name from Easy Rider for legal reasons) looks at first like someone’s irreverent hobby label with Sabbath Worship patches, “Keep On Fuckin'” shirts and novelty cassette tape releases. But in just over a year they’ve built up an impressive roster of over a dozen bands covering stoner, doom, psych, garage, punk, hard rock in all kinds of hybrid variations. The latest this week is a stellar debut from Austin’s The Well. Since 2012 they’ve released well received records in a single and EP.

Most of the songs were re-recorded for their full-length debut, but still retain the fuzzed-out edges of their garagey psych-doom, laced with some bluesy proto-metal (think Blue Cheer, Mountain). While they inhabit a niche that has a few close neighbors in Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats and Satan’s Satyrs. Like those bands and the massively influential Electric Wizard, who’s latest album comes out a week later, they’re big fans of campy occult horror films, and exude that lava lamp and incense vibe, but freshened up with some punk attitude. Just because a handful of similar minded bands have emerged the past few years, don’t let some assholes poop on the party and say it’s already tired or played out. If anything’s played out, it’s the thousands of shitty fame-whore pop artists you hear non-stop, everywhere. As far as I’m concerned, if I don’t have the option to go out and hear a live performance of mind melting psychedelic doom rock just about every week, there there aren’t enough of these MFers.

I’ll be stoked to see The Well live when they eventually come around, as they’ve distinguished themselves with a recognizably unique signature sound with the layered vocals of guitarist Ian Graham and bassist Lisa Alley. They don’t harmonize so much as pigpile on each other in an approach that isn’t terribly melodic, like a doomy X, but sounds nicely menacing and meshes well with the music’s lazy groove. From the Rod Serling-like audio clip about the Egyptian temples of Amun-Re to the pounding blues of “Trespass,” the riffs stretching out to jams that completely hold my interest every second, this is a damn good debut. The only track I’m captivated by is “Lucifer Sam,” a cover of the Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd classic that I’ve never really loved. The poppy 60s melody sounds slightly out of place, and I feel like they could have been less reverent and done more to improve it and make their more more of a signature statement of their own peculiar insanity. But perhaps that’s my own baggage, as I’m sure it’s a big hit at the live shows. “Eternal Well” is a better example of what they do best, progressing from a slow, woozy psychedelic crawl to a raging rocker with captivating solos, and circling back to their heavy, memorable doom riff. Even the CD bonus track “I Bring The Light” goes from strength to strength.

I don’t know what’s going on in Texas, like their hot sauces contain some super doom powers, but there’s quite an impressive group of bands that have come up lately with Venomous Maximus, Hornss, Funeral Horse and of course The Sword and Wo Fat. The Well measure up nicely, with the potential of growing like a radiation-charged lizard. | Buy

I’m not kidding about the quality of RidingEasy releases. Along with The Well, I got a batch of CDs in my order, and even tried one (The Picturebooks) unheard. While the vinyl can be pricey, the CDs are only $7 each.