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Fuzz Manta Get in Deep

Do you think that's supposed to be Hvillum on the cover? I can't decide. Probably right? That would make sense. It's pretty much her show.If you know stoner rock, if you’ve been around the genre for a while, then you know there are bands from all around the world who use the sound as a launch pad for highly unique and creative endeavors, and there are bands who, quite simply, don’t. But even most of those acts have something individual about them, whether it’s their subject matter, a specific songwriting quirk, or even an exceptional player who stands out from the unit, making the whole band noteworthy in the process.

In the case of Danish distortion-junkies Fuzz Manta, it’s the latter, and the exceptional player is frontwoman Lene Kj?r Hvillum, whose soulful vocal delivery helps lift her band’s full-length debut, Smokerings (Bad Deal Records) out of the trap in which genericism might otherwise wholly ensnare it. Even with her going punch for punch, note for note with the lead guitar on “Night Fright,” however, there is little else on the album to catch experienced listeners off guard.

Classy Danes.Were it an instance of, “Oh, this band sucks, don’t bother,” I would say so, and that’s not the deal with Fuzz Manta at all. Rather, their sound is just run of the mill enough to be completely forgettable. Two-guitar stoner rock with a straightforward rhythm section — tell me you’ve never heard it before and I’ll direct your attention immediately to Fu Manchu. It’s not that Smokerings is bad, it’s just ground that was well covered long before Fuzz Manta came along.

There are some highlight moments, however, and most of them involve Hvillum, whose singing has been compared to Janis Joplin but I’d put more in line with Grace Slick. The aforementioned tandem work with the guitars of Morgan Cederborg and Frederik Jensen is a definite, as are the melodies of which the vocalist makes short work on the admittedly catchy “Mysterious Thoughts.” Unfortunately, neither “Desire” nor “Over the Mountain” are Ozzy covers, and double unfortunately “Who Sees You?” is the rarely attempted stoner ballad. I don’t care if Hvillum is Diamanda Gal?s, no way she’s saving that one.

Granted, even if we’ve all heard this sound before; fewer and further between are the bands we’ve heard do it from Denmark with a female singer. Whether that’s enough to carry Fuzz Manta over as something more than paint by numbers European stoner rock depends on the listener, I suppose. If you’re one of those people who just can’t get enough of the riffs you’ve heard a thousand times and if it’s stoner, you like it no matter what, then you’re going to like Smokerings just as much as you’d like anything. If you’re a little more discerning, there probably won’t be as much here for you. They can’t all be In Search Of.

Fuzz Manta on MySpace

Bad Deal Records

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