Aligned to a burgeoning Midwestern scene that in their home state of Indiana alone boasts heavy-hitting acts like Devil to Pay, ResinHit Records labelmates The Hedons, The Heavy Co., with whom they share past members, Bulletwolf, Goliathon and others, Lafayette double-guitar fivesome The Mound Builders mark their debut with 2011’s Strangers in a Strange Land. Their awareness of the genre in which they reside is evident in everything from the Kyuss-style riffing of “Hessians of Stone” to the post-Sleep lyrics of “Spacevan,” but perhaps the single most prevalent influence throughout the album’s nine tracks/37 minutes is Alabama Thunderpussy. Strangers in a Strange Land, as much as it basks in stoner rock’s many lyrical and stylistic conventions, has a more Southern bent to it than some of The Mound Builders’ Hoosier contemporaries, and vocalist Jim Voelz – despite the occasional scream – keeps a burly inflection in his approach bound to be recognizable to anyone experienced with ATP’s Johnny Throckmorton-fronted era. In part because of that band’s cohesiveness and scope, nothing The Mound Builders does feels especially out of place, but Strangers in a Strange Land ultimately suffers from a common affliction in its mix that holds back the listening experience.

I say it all the time. When it comes to mixing heavy rock records: Vocals down, bass up. Bassist Robert Ryan Strawsma is already competing for prevalence with the considerable lead guitar of Brian Boszor and “Ninja” Nate Malher’s rhythm playing, but where his tone should hold down the groove on the chugging later cut “White Horse,” the tone is too clean and too thin to really do so. Likewise, Voelz’s vocals are so forward as to dominate the songs where the instruments should, and like a lot of albums – especially a lot of first albums — Strangers in a Strange Land takes a metal mix and imposes it on heavy rock, whereas one of the key differences between the two is how they’re best presented mix-wise. The Mound Builders’ punk influence is done a disservice, but the tradeoff is the album is bound to find some more sympathy from a headbanger contingent, as the Orange Goblin-style gruffness of centerpiece “Ironhide” is given further sharpness, but I still can’t help but feel that the dueling lead lines that persist would be better met if they were also bolstered on the low end more thank they are. Couple that with a thin snare sound for drummer Jason “Dinger” Brookhart (not to be confused with former Black Pyramid guitarist Andy “Dinger” Beresky), and it becomes even clearer that the production of Strangers in a Strange Land doesn’t serve the songs as well as it could. Granted, if they recorded it in a tin can, I don’t think it would stop “Winding River” from kicking ass, but there’s a lot of The Mound Builders’ first record that doesn’t leave the impression it should, and it being a debut, it’s even more pivotal that the band learn what works and why for their next time out.

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After garnering a welcome reception with a digital Bandcamp release during the summer of 2011, Indianapolis heavy punkers The Hedons repressed their excellently-titled debut EP, Earth on My Nerves, on CD via ResinHit Records as a precursor to their forthcoming first full-length. The trio stand in league with the current crop of up-and-coming Midwestern straightforward heavy rockers – bands like The Heavy Co. and Devil to Pay – but set themselves apart on Earth on My Nerves with a song like “Intergalactic Prism” or “Helluva Ride,” which takes head-down trad punk drive and thickens it tonally. It’s a fairly well-known adage that stoner rockers are often just grown-up punkers, and if that’s the case with The Hedons haven’t totally grown up yet. The six track/21-minute release showcases clear ideas and a genre-minded approach, but still retains a garage-style edge that comes through a rougher digital production, the limitations of which are mostly heard in Jace Epple’s drums. Epple’s playing is markedly suited to The Hedons’ sound, which veers into space rock and more weighted grooves on “Swimming the Witch,” but the cymbals sound thin and compressed as compared to Jeff Kaleth’s guitar, which is more open on that track than anywhere else on the EP.

But they’re a new band putting out their own material – ResinHit Records is a project of Kaleth’s to help promote fellow Hoosier artists – so it’s hard to hold sonic issues against them even if they do affect the listen. Earth on My Nerves still gives a solid impression and idea of what The Hedons are about, offering a glimpse of their appreciation for punk’s formative elements as filtered through grunge and desert rock’s budding tonal burl. Bassist Robert Ryan Strawsma, who also joins Kaleth on vocals, provides much of the ground for the band’s genre blend, taking the warmth of stonerly bass and the pacing of punk and making it organic and clear. The band’s overarching lack of pretense in what they do makes Earth on My Nerves a quick listen, but from “Big Bang”’s motoring groove and dual vocals, it’s clear right away that The Hedons have potential working in their favor, and among the influences they draw from punk seems to be the notion of not taking themselves too seriously, from which “Intergalactic Prism” – if there’s such a thing as space punk, this is it – greatly benefits. “Atomic Blue” continues the momentum “Big Bang” established as the opener, keeping an awareness of genre but making the meld seem natural anyway, which actually gives the EP something of a European feel, and though “Intergalactic Prism” seems to have a riff in common with Tool’s “Part of Me,” The Hedons are working in a completely different vein, as the second half of the track shows with a swirling guitar break that seems to meander to the point of oblivion before drawing back in for a final chorus.

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