Band:	Acid King
Album:	Middle Of Nowhere, Center Of Everywhere
Style:	Stoner metal
Release date:	April 14, 2015
A review by:	BitterCOld

01. Intro
02. Silent Pictures
03. Coming Down From Outer Space
04. Laser Headlights
05. Red River
06. Infinite Skies
07. Center Of Everywhere
08. Outro

Retro-sounding female fronted psychedelic stoner doom? but before you dismiss them as another Janey Come Lately, do realize Acid King have been kicking out the jams for more than 20 years.

While they've been around for north of two decades, they have put out albums with Tool-like regularity. Middle Of Nowhere, Center Of Everywhere marks their fourth release overall, and the first since 2005's III.

Their approach is, well, as the inclusion of Acid in the band's name would indicate, heavy on the psychedelia, but a pretty chilled out mellow heavy. Expansive, not suffocating. The bassline is the spine which holds everything together while the drummer mixes in the beat while filling here and embellishing there. The fuzzed out guitar is used both for riffing as well as lots of sustained tones.

Lori's vocals are reminiscent of Laura's less-angry outbursts with Kylesa? or rather the other way around. Come to think of it, a lot of Kylesa's more psychedelic chilled out later pieces are of a similar vein to what Acid King has going on. The title track almost feels a tad like Minsk's "Embers" in the build-up, only without the crushing release.

The tracks are in no apparent hurry to get anywhere. Six proper songs, between five and ten minute's length. They start, they carry on, and eventually they come to an end. The journey just happens, all feeling quite organic as they unfold. Just relax and go with the flow.

All in all I found it an enjoyable ride, even if Middle Of Nowhere, Center Of Everywhere didn't really blow my mind at any point. It was a entertaining listen each of the dozen plus times I've spun it over the last couple weeks.

I must say it also feels weird listening to and reviewing Acid King for the first time now, as I have been enjoying Acid Princes* for years now. It's weird listening to an album, seeing influences and similarities, only to have to reverse perspective once chronology it taken into account.

So if you dig all the femme-fronted stoner doom stuff popping up, be sure take a cue from Ash, Housewares, and "Hail to the King, baby."

*Acid Princes - i.e. their royal progeny, if you didn't catch my drift.