So, as you've probably guessed by now, this “one of the best stoner albums of the year” I'm referring to is Green Yeti’s Necropolitan. This is the Greek band's third full-length release, and it's somewhat of a comeback album, with their last album already being six years old. Well, one thing's for sure: they haven't lost their touch. They're still playing finest psychedelic/stoner/space rock, and, in fact, improving with every subsequent release.
Throughout Necropolitan, Green Yeti rely on catchy choruses and fun lyrics, but also indulge in long, purely instrumental passages. After the second track, for example, the listener has to listen to ten whole minutes of both ambience and groovy riffs (not that I’m complaining) before one hears the next spoken word on track 4. The singing on Necropolitan is mostly performed in a style that should be all too familiar among stoner fans. Yet, the slight imperfections and lazily adolescent-sounding delivery add an extra layer of charm to the band. Instead of a stale, by-the-numbers performance that's sadly common among many bands, Green Yeti give an unpolished impression that speaks with raw emotion.
But don't be mistaken. While their playing might be fun and wild, the production and sound are clearly expertly engineered. Especially satisfying is the thick, meaty bass guitar, which is very prominent in the mix as it leads the pack in the slower, psychedelic ambience and accompanies the fuzzy guitar riffs during faster moments. The second half of the song “Golgotha” is a nice example in this sense. Within the maelstrom of frenzied guitar-work, the patient, groovy bass acts as a strongly fastened guideline, leading the listener through the murky stoner haze.
While the instrumentation stays quite consistent throughout the album, the lyrical theme is anything but. Yes, it can be argued that there's some sort of interstellar through-line, but the moods conveyed by the different songs are very diverse. “Witch Dive”, for instance, is reminiscent of many classic rock songs, telling of an attractive woman from out of this world. Yet, “Dirty Lung”, with a surprisingly deep vocal style, shifts the mood to a dismal sci-fi setting. “Kerosene” offers again a more free-spirited feeling, before the album ends on the more menacing, apocalyptic track “One More Bite”.
“What if I'm stoned out of my fucking head?”
Yeah, that lyric from the final song tells you all you need to know. Green Yeti are stoned out of their minds and aren't worried about a damn thing. And why should they be? They're delivering some of the best stoner sounds of the year and making it look so, so easy.
