Against Nature know the score. The Baltimore trio have put out at least 15 full-lengths since 2005 on guitarist/vocalist John Brenner’s Bland Hand Records imprint, the latest of which is Stone Over Stone, and they’ve given them away for free the whole time. Physical CDs are pressed sometimes in limited numbers with accompanying artwork from Brenner – joined in Against Nature by bassist Bert Hall, Jr. and drummer Steve Branagan – but by and large, they just home record albums and put them up on the label’s website for those who find them to enjoy. Music for the love of music. It’s a beautiful ideal to work from, and Against Nature’s songs, humbly-toned, classically-styled and engaging, are perfectly suited to it. Stone Over Stone collects five solid traditional rockers and one more extended jam into about 29 minutes’ worth of material, paying homage to the LP ethic of old in the album’s relatively short runtime.

One thing about Against Nature’s material in every iteration I’ve heard (and at this point, I’ve heard a few): influences at work can vary by record, but in both tone and Brenner’s voice, Against Nature are distinctly themselves. Some material is more active, some more passive, but all of Against Nature’s work – and indeed this applies to Stone Over Stone as well – is completely lacking pretense and operating on a “what you see is what you get” level. Brenner is an accomplished solo guitarist, and he shows that off a bit later into this record on “Clod” or “Walking on Stilts in Sand,” and Hall and Branagan are as tight as ever in the rhythm section, the latter injecting some rocking fills into “Clod” that are as driven as anything I’ve heard from Against Nature in a while. The production style is the same as it ever was in its smooth but still home-recorded warmth, and though that can lead to some of the albums having a similar feel, the trio actually works in some different avenues on each record. It’s not quite a thematic concept, but the drive behind Stone Over Stone seems to be to capture a more spontaneous vibe. The seven-minute closing jam “Off the Cuff” is a big clue in that regard, but it’s true for some of the other songs as well.

Opener “Astrid” is definitely working within a structure, but the atmosphere of the track itself is groovy, laid back and enjoyable both superficially and the deeper you dig. Brenner works in some dynamic soloing, and his rhythm tone is an immediate reminder of what makes Against Nature such a satisfying listen in the first place. The production doesn’t really let the material shine the way it might live, but then again, if albums like Stone Over Stone weren’t made the way they are, they probably wouldn’t be made at all, so it’s a tradeoff, and the hooky chorus of “B-Side” has a certain on-the-turntable appeal sounding the way it does that makes me think Against Nature would lose something with an overblown recording job. “Momenta” is more of a rainy day song, but it’s one of those ‘70s rainy days where the sun seems to be shining anyway, and it works well leading into the Thin Lizzy-styled “Walking on Stilts in Sand,” which has Hall’s best walking bassline on the whole of Stone Over Stone in its verses and a “da da da” vocal from Brenner following his own guitar for the chorus. “Momenta” has its appeal in breaking up the album stylistically, but “Walking on Stilts in Sand” gets my vote for the highlight.

The aforementioned “Clod” is about as close to “stoner rock” as I’ve heard Against Nature get, and by that I mean that it’s riff-based and formed with a considerable influence from the ‘70s masters. I’d have loved to hear some organ under it and have them go full Deep Purple, but I guess when you’ve already got two more records planned for this year, there isn’t much to be done in terms of fleshing one song out. Nonetheless, it’s always the case that the more I listen to an Against Nature album, the more I like it, and that goes for Stone Over Stone too. I’m not a big jam-band fan, at least in the modern designation of the term and the practitioners thereof, but “Off the Cuff” – started by Hall and Branagan laying down a groove which Brenner soon joins in on – sounds like its name and like it was fun to make, and I think that’s always half the point with that kind of thing. If you’ve never heard Against Nature before, Stone Over Stone would make a good place to start for its memorable songs and excellent guitar work, and if you’re a fan, then you know what you’re in for by now. This won’t be the last we hear from them in 2011, but as the craft is always of a superior quality, it won’t be the last we want to hear either. Admirable in both their mission and their prolific output, Against Nature might be heavy rock’s best kept secret.

Against Nature, “Walking on Stilts in Sand”
Walking on Stilts in Sand

Against Nature/Bland Hand Records

Tags: Against Nature, Baltimore, Bland Hand, Maryland

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.