Pelata North Carolina’s purveyor’s of Doomy, Sludge-filled goodness return on Southern Lord with their own brand of organized noise (self-dubbed “Weed Metal”). The music on this record sounds like a leaky riverboat drifting down a muddy river. You can see a big storm looming over the tree tops in the distance. The smells of stagnant water, algae, alligator feces & soon-coming rain fill the air and the humidity makes it all stick to your skin like stale honey. With a bottle of Jack in one hand, and a hand-rolled “cigarette” in the other, you lay on your back, staring at the coming storm, knowing that there’s nothing you can do otherwise but take it all in. Yep, that’s exactly what this sounds like…swampy, dark, ominous and heavy!

The sonics are typical of the genre, without forsaking clarity. It’s muddy, but it’s the good kind of muddy. The guitars & bass are like hot tar bubbling out of the speakers & the drums sound like that fat, angry drunk guy at the bar with tattoos on his face lumbering over to kick your ass. The vocals, a blend of shredded growls & drunken stammering, fit very well amidst the din.

The songs are slow & angry…packing enough punch to level an elephant (or that fat, angry drunk guy at the bar with tattoos on his face), they never overstay their welcome. At times it’s the loudest, most oppressing thing you’ve ever heard, other times it’s subtle & cold…like they got the Iron & Wine guy way too drunk & wrote a song with him.

Records like this aren’t about songwriting, they’re not about guitar tones, they’re not about musical ability…they’re about vibe. The kind of vibe that makes you want to listen over and over again just to keep it going. The kind of vibe that feels like impending doom, but you like it. That’s Godluck And Good Speed. That’s Weedeater.