II

Sasquatch’s sophomore record treads like good stoner rock, its cracked earth littered with broken booze bottles and ashen fragments of rolling papers. Sounding less metal and more rawk than their 2003 offering, the Los Angeles trio revives the sun-baked, kegger-party energy of early stoner heroes Kyuss more than anything else. (Sasquatch includes Detroiters Rick Ferrante and Clayton Charles on drums and bass respectively.) It also seems that, when they weren’t sitting around getting baked, Sasquatch made some time for their early ’70s hard rock collection — the trio tones down its herb-coated blasts for "Nikki," a serene rock ballad complete with bongos and guitars that trade fuzz for flange. Think a laid back Gov’t Mule covering Neil Young. An acoustic guitar is broken out here and there, for some slide and Black Crowes worship. But over the span of II, its most discernable feature is Keith Gibbs’ buzzing, bluesy guitar, which complements his liquored-up croon nicely. Sasquatch may take a well-traveled path, but with its knack for songcraft and jones for volume, it’s creating new footprints. And that says it all.

Kent Alexander writes about music for Metro Times. Send comments to letters@metrotimes.com.