The sticker on the sleeve of this albums said "eight tracks reminiscent of classic Kyuss strained through a Soundgarden at 100 miles an hour", which is a pretty good summary - John Garcia sings, so it sounds a lot like Kyuss and I think everyone can agree that is a good thing. It's definitely a bit faster than Kyuss and I guess I can see the Soundgarden reference - heavy and fast in a way that stoner-rock typically isn't, but Soundgarden often were. Either way, you put a sticker like that on a record and I'm going to buy it.
I'm not sure I knew anything about Hermano when I found this record in Generation Records in New York a decade ago. I used to work with a guy who wore a Hermano t-shirt, so I knew they were a band, and the music makes sense given what I knew about the guy. I bought a lot of records that day, and even more at my next stop in Boulder, so I had quite a stack to work through when I got home. I can't remember the first time I played this, or how long it took me to get to it in amongst all the other purchases.
This is the strange thing: this album is huge, yet I've made no effort to check out the other Hermano albums. It makes me smile so much when The Bottle gets going, Senor Moreno's Plan has such an incredible groove to it and Landetta (Motherload) has a chorus I never want to end, but Only a Suggestion sits alone in my collection as the only Hermano album I've heard, let alone bought. Now part of that is down to the fact I have never ever seen another Hermano record in real life (and I'd definitely buy any others if I found them), but the internet exists so I could find them very easily if I tried. But I haven't.
Ultimately, I guess the reason is that I have all the Kyuss albums and when I want a band who sounds a bit like Kyuss I listen to Kyuss. Sure this album is huge and makes me smile, but the Kyuss albums are even more massive and make me so fucking happy. I love John Garcia's voice - I'd go so far as to say it's one of the main reasons I love Kyuss so much - so I should feel compelled to seek out everything he's sung on, but I'm just not bored of Kyuss yet. If the day ever comes when I do get bored of Kyuss, then working through the many albums he's sung on will be the first thing I do. I'm just not sure that day will ever come.
This might not sound like a very positive review, but this really is a great album. I'm sure John Garcia hates that he can't do anything without people constantly banging on about Kyuss, but I see it as a compliment.
Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 8
Cost: £5.96 new
Bought: Generation records, New York
When: 11/04/08
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "Ouch that's hot" Side B: "Ouch that's hot"
mp3s: None
