With their origins in the chilly Russian climes of Saint Petersburg, The Grand Astoria are bound to bring something unique to their take on stoner rock, and sure enough, with their appropriately-titled second offering, II (R.A.I.G.), they do just that, eschewing a fuzzy sound for a harsher, noisier distorted jamming that occasionally goes full-cosmic. While some of the material on last year’s self-released self-titled effort seemed punkish, II comes from a less hurried place and shows The Grand Astoria as unafraid to experiment within their sound, adding samples or feedback to the mostly instrumental material as a way of engaging their audience.

Immediately noticeable about II is the way it’s organized. In terms of track length, the five songs that comprise the album would make a ‘U’ were you to graph them. Opener “Enjoy the View” reaches furthest at 14:50, then the cumbersomely-named “The Inner Galactic Experience of Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath” (Plath was referenced on the self-titled as well) clocks in at 7:40. “Visit Sri Lanka” gives a Siena Root-esque moment of Subcontinental Asian influence at 2:44, then it’s back to the longer material with “Wikipedia Surfer” at 9:02 and closer “Radio Friendly Fire” at 12:18. What was behind The Grand Astoria arranging the tracks this way I don’t know, but II does have a rich and smooth flow to it and “Visit Sri Lanka” breaks up the surrounding tracks in a way as to make the second half of the album as refreshing as the first, so no complaints.

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To anyone who’d argue that the “stoner” sound is belonging to any one region or locale — i.e. the Palm Desert in California or the Southern US — first, you’re just wrong, and second, take a look at an act like The Grand Astoria, who call St. Petersburg in Russia home. They bill themselves as a stoner punk band, and in their more active, upbeat material like “Evolution of the Planet Groove,” I can hear it especially in the vocals of guitarist Kamille Sharapodinov, whose singing style might seem awkward with the music until you recall how many stoner rockers are just punkers who grew up.

That said, of the tracks on their MySpace, I prefer the grander, more instrumental and jammy vibe of “The Man. The Sun. The Desert,” which, although not without its moments of hesitation, has a more graceful flow and when Sharapodinov does offer vocals, they’re more subdued. The build up on that track, bolstered by the guitar work of Igor Suvorov, the bass of Farid Azizov and Nick Kunavin‘s drumming, leads to more straightforward thrash riffing and screaming solos sure to satisfy anyone looking to add a little metal into the mix.

These multiple personalities play out even further on “The Art of Communication with Aliens,” which takes the riffing to yet another level of noisy crunching heaviness. Fortunately, for anyone who’d want to experience The Grand Astoria‘s self-titled, self-released album, they’ve made it available free of charge. I know I’ll be checking it out, as it’s always interesting to hear what those from another culture bring to an established sound — and since you don’t hear much about the Russian scene, it could be an eye-opening experience. Here’s looking forward.