https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Satellite Beaver: Riding Rockets with the Mighty Skunk Ape

Part of the growing and fertile Polish stoner rock scene, Satellite Beaver make no bones about their love for all that’s heavy on their most recent self-released demo Trip Outside Your Mind. The band formed in 2008 and are definitely still figuring out their sound, but like a lot of the nascent acts in and around Warsaw rock city, the four-piece display a genuine affection for the lineage of stoner and other riffy-type rock, and that goes a long way toward establishing their charm on the three-song release.

The title Trip Outside Your Mind might lead you to believe we’re going to be dealing with far-out space reverb psychedelia, 13-minute expansive songs that delve into Hawkwindian self-indulgence, but Satellite Beaver are more earthbound than that, rocking like Earthride or a half-speed High on Fire, the vocals of guitarist Simon the Beaver leading the arguments in favor of the comparison. On opener “Fat Man in Wellingtons,” he and his fellow Beavers (each member takes “The Beaver” as their last name) begin with about 45 seconds of noise before actually starting the song – a bold move on a release that’s only 15 and a half minutes total – but once they get going, the groove is palpable, the tones are thick and the vibe is stoned. Fellow guitarist/backing vocalist Tom the Beaver contributes to the heft of “Fat Man in Wellingtons” and the quicker “OD&D” with bassist Marian the Beaver and drummer Mad the Beaver proving more than capable of following the guitars wherever they may take the songs along whatever path they choose to get where they’re going.

And they do move, I’ll stress that. “OD&D” is still in the realm of mid-paced groove, but it’s not slow by any means, and where “Fat Man in Wellingtons” had a plod appropriate to its name, in thinner tones and with less gruff vocals, “OD&D” could probably pass as a slow thrash number. But you know, take away all the stoner elements and it’s not stoner anymore – not exactly saying much there. More important is that both of the first two tracks, if you remove the intro from the opener, are roughly the same length, which shows Satellite Beaver as being able to inject multiple approaches into roughly the same song structure. Not a bad thing going forward. As they move into closer “Mighty Sasquatch,” which nearly touches the six-minute mark and is the longest track at 5:57, once again they’re hardly hitting unheard territory for the genre, but the expanded lead guitar plays off the vocals and the song in general feels more developed than the two before it. Mad the Beaver’s crash cymbal sounds like it’s blowing out the speakers, and the band as a whole affect a surprising bombast given the relatively laid back feel Trip Outside Your Mind has thus far harnessed. Good to hear.

As they grow more into their own, expect Satellite Beaver to expand the psychedelic elements in their sound, because they’re there, amidst a heady desert influence and driving rhythms. For now, the three tracks on Trip Outside Your Mind show Satellite Beaver as a band with charm and confidence behind them, and that’s going to go a long way toward establishing them in the international and constantly-growing scene. Being part of a healthy contingent of acts – bands like Broken Betty, Luna Negra and Vagitarians – is going to help in terms of both friendly competition and mutual influence, and I can’t see a reason why not to expect good things from whatever Satellite Beaver choose to do next, be it a full-length, EP or split with any of their countrymen acts.

Satellite Beaver on MySpace

Tags: , , ,

One Response to “Satellite Beaver: Riding Rockets with the Mighty Skunk Ape”

  1. Yet another thanks straight from the beavers, JJ! We’re preparing a new material for the next year’s EP or LP to be released. There’s an idea of making a split too, but for now: cross your fingers ’cause there’s gonna be a huge party @ 22 sept with The Grand Astoria and Luna Negra, first one integrating russian and polish stoner scene so far.

Leave a Reply