Short on bullshit and long on charm, Portland’s Devil Riding Shotgun are the most straightforward band I’ve heard come out of Oregon in years. As a hotbed for the ambient and post-whathaveyou, the Pacific Northwest has thrived creatively, and this trio — guitars, bass/vocals and drums — are neither hyper-intellectualized nor aspiring to influence via avant garde pretense. Not that the cover of their self-released five-song self-titled EP would lead me to think otherwise, with its devil-horned-girl-on-car motif, I just didn’t think there was much traditional stoner rock being made out that way. I was a fool, apparently.

Devil Riding Shotgun is loaded with bass-heavy grooves, standout solos, blues-tinged vocals and quality flow. Neb Fixico, who originally formed the band in New Mexico before moving to Portland with himself on bass and vocals, is the driving force behind most of the material, his molasses-thick tone providing the heft that propels EP-closer “Fetish” from the “it’s alright” to the “fuck yeah” echelon of cool. There’s a crisp metallicism in the guitar work of Brian Hunter, and though he’s outmatched tonally by Fixico, the soul and fleetness of finger he shows soloing on second track “My Breath” — the longest cut on Devil Riding Shotgun at 5:54 — argues heavily in his favor. While we’re arguing, I’d push for more of Brad Lewellyn’s bass drum on that song and elsewhere. Though his cymbals are present enough and cut through, the kick is a barely-audible pulse throughout “Who Am I.” It’s an interesting choice on the part of the band, and it definitely adds to the laid back feel of Devil Riding Shotgun, but a little more oomph in there wouldn’t hurt either.

Read more »