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 BIO | ALBUM REVIEWS | LIVE REVIEWS | INTERVIEWS |
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| Album Reviews |
 NEBULA - CHARGED TimeOut New York, Issue 293, May 3-10, 2001 by Mike Wolf In the '70s and '80s, every high school in America had a place where the burnouts could cop a smoke of something between classes. That spot at my school (go Falcons!) was called "the pit," a name that didn't really describe the insane appeal the patch of trampled mud held. It was hallowed ground, for on it trod those who were so much cooler than the rest of us were allowed to be. They would never amount to anything; we'd be forced to amount to something. Looking at Eddie Glass, Ruben Romano and Mark Abshire (totally rad burnout names), the three dudes who make up Nebula, you just know that they ruled righteously over their respective pits. But even if the band members look like go-nowhere types, Charged, the L.A. trio's second album of dynamically heavy rock, is more than just a killer collection of psychedelic riffs: It might be the pinnacle of stoner achievement. It's a call to revolution, as apolitical as it is irresistible. It is what rock music is supposed to beÑit makes you want to be bad. Sell everything you own and drive to Mexico. Ditch the car. Fuck everything. Right on. Each of the three guys in Nebula sings, but it's pretty impossible to tell one cool, gravelly sneer from another. Glass's guitar and Abshire's bass lock into a buzzing, fiery bliss, and drummer Romano sends the collective mass hurtling ahead. What lies ahead doesn't really matter, because Nebula capturesÑor perhaps, is caught inÑthat most aggravating of all gray areas, bordered on one side by "Dude, we gotta do something!" and on the other by "Dude, there's nothing to do!" Charged's song titles demand some kind of action: "Do It Now," "This One," "All the Way." But what? Perhaps the answer is in "Ignition": "I am here / With nothing to do / Looking for something / Something to do / When I hear this voice / Speaking in my head / And it says 'Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!' " And if Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! means nothing to you, then not even rock & roll this perfect can save your sorry soul. back to album reviews |
NEBULA - CHARGED Kerrang! KKKK "Far Beyond Stoner: LA Three-piece Turn In a Retro Rock Classic" by James Sherry Right from the moment stoner rock started to become a scene in its own right, rather than just a convenient way to describe a couple of bands, Nebula have always stood mountains above all the other originality-free, Kyuss wannabes snapping at their feet. Having all cut their teeth as former members of fuzzy rock'n'roll kings Fu Manchu, 'Charged' sees Nebula finally breaking free from any real association with their former band by making an album that frankly pisses all over the Fu's last 'King Of The Road' opus from a great height. The beauty of this shit-kicking little three-piece is the scope of influences and range of sound that they manage to incorporate into their collective noise. Even their debut album 'Let It Burn' featured instruments and sounds far beyond the traditional stoner rock fuzz and this, their third full-length album, sees them take these good time vibes many steps further with a mass of moods, sounds and genuine grade A psychedelia. Kicking the album off like a starter gun at a race track, 'Do It Now' was a recent Karrang! 'Single Of The Week' and blasts this album into life in a flurry of crazed wah-wah guitar from ax-wielding front man Eddie Glass, backed up by some thunderous drums from Ruben Romano. And from that moment on, 'Charged' is packed full of musical light and shade from the mellow 'Goodbye Yesterday' to the raging power of 'Giant', which actually sounds like latter day Black Flag and shows that although there are times when Nebula like to get their incense sticks out, there's also a heart of pure hard core punk beating in this band's rib-cage. And best of all, when Nebula decide to recreate the scuzzy denim and scraggy hair of '70s rock, few have done it better than on 'This One' where in one song, these guys manage to sound like a mutant mish-mash of Led Zeppelin and Free without the slightest hint of irony or kitsch. And it works a treat. So in all, 'Charged' is the absolute end of the line in stoned retro rock. It won't get any better than this. back to album reviews |
NEBULA - CHARGED NME by Kitty Empire This is one of those records that makes you want to throw out every other record you've listened to, grow your hair to your elbows, and start all over again. It's rare for the low-end mantric rumble of stoner rock to throw up a tune that doubles up as iron-clad pop genius. Queens Of The Stone Age do it off and on, but mostly, peyote logic doesn't lend itself easily to the construction of the perfect three-and-a-half minute single. Now Nebula - stoner's muso intelligentsia - have thrown off the long-winded soloing shackles that so often bind their kind, and cracked it. 'Do It Now' adds the sputtering punk motor of the Stooges to stoner's traditional mix of Sabbath and psychedelia, and floors it. It's the sound of gasoline fumes, of guitars so furry they could be shot and mounted, and axe hero Eddie Glass sneering "Do it now" like a pusher in a hurry. It's totally perfect. Single Of The Week in 1973, and doing it now, too. back to album reviews |
NEBULA - CHARGED Kingsize, April 2001 **** by Phil Alexander Before Dave Wyndorf discovered his inner bullgod, Monster Magnet used to make albums as thrillingly amped-up as this. Devoid of posturing and with a contemptuous disregard for any kind of commercial consideration, this ten-track affair is stripped down, spaced out and in places gloriously gonzoid. Thunderous opener 'Do It Now' is proof enough, highlighting Nebula's ability to draw on both the primal prot-punk energy of the Stooges as well as the elephantine power of vintage Sabbath. When the threesome of guitar-wielding frontman Eddie Glass, drummer Ruben Romano (one of the few tub-thumpers to own a huge gong) and bassist Mark Abshire rock hard, they leave most of their so-called stoner rock peers choking on their dust. The wah-wah splattered 'Beyond', the driving 'Giant' and the psych-blues of 'Instant Gravitation' are as far from spliff-induced musical lethargy as you can get. This time around however, Nebula have also had the good sense to take their foot off the gas and veer from relentless fuzz into more reflective territory. Road weary ballad 'Travelin' Man's Blues' boasts a slightly southern-fried feel, while 'This One' comes on like a spaced-out version of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Thankfully, despite these mid-paced moments, Nebula manage to avoid lapsing into a stodgy morass. Ultimately, 'Charged' underlines Nebula's growing confidence and their ability to eclipse their more earthbound contemporaries. It also reveals the three-piece to be one of the few bands capable of jamming with both the Black Crowes and Mudhoney, without seeming out of place with either. Which is a righteous and, appropriately, stellar achievement. back to album reviews |
NEBULA - CHARGED Revolver Magazine, Issue #5, May/June 2001 by Michael Azerrad Reigning royalty of stoner rock, Nebula collapses a long lineage of heaviosity in its gravitational pull: Blue Cheer, the MC5, the Stooges, early Sabbath, mid-Seventies hard rock, sludge-era Black Flag, and mentors Mudhoney. With gnarly power-trio riffology topped off by valley-dude vocals, the band's third album is one of those records that will seem loud at any volume. For those of a certain age, the music will be all too reminiscent of peachfuzz mustaches, really lame weed, and totally cherry Camaros blasting Montrose eight-tracks. Everyone else can happily crank up the volume and break out the model glue. back to album reviews |
NEBULA - CHARGED New York Press Vol. 14 Issue 15 by Joe S. Harrington I guess the new "rock underground"Ðyou know, the one LeeKing and Richardson are always writing aboutÐis for real. Bands like the Hellacopters and Gluecifer are doing an update on the piston-pumping Detroit assault; Nashville Pussy and Honky are riding the redneck stomp and reintroducing cowboy hats to the vernacular; the Black Halos are flamboyantly falling face first into the drunken gutter like the original glam-punkers. Meanwhile there are hundreds of hairy-headed swamp/scuzz rockers walkinÕ round in any town nowÉ ItÕs just like the early 70s. These are the "rock" fans, and they constitute an increasingly visible entityÐtheir movement intersects with a variety of other musical styles as well, but what they really represent is a basic adherence to the lifelong ethos of rock: they have long hair, they do drugs and they form bands and hit the road. These guys consciously see themselves in that tradition, too. The other night I was talking to a couple of dudes who were members of a local swamp-rock band, and they were drunkenly singing the praises of Sir Lord Baltimore, and ainÕt that a kick? Who wouldÕve thought thereÕd be any legacy for that kind of thing, the first wave of heavy metal? The rock fans are establishing a canon; itÕs one that doesnÕt include Elton John but does include Mštorhead, etc. ItÕs the anti-"classic rock"Ðwhat I call the real history of rock. In this latter category, Nebula is king. As this new album proves, their deity-like stature within the movement is justified. Charged is quite simply an ass-kicker all the way throughoutÐa desperate-sounding caterwaul that combines the jet-fueled pace of Raw Power with the swampy depths of Blue Cheer and the best grunge bands. Recording for Sub PopÐwho are more or less the catalysts of the movement in postmodern termsÐNebula are of course no strangers to the swamps. On this album, the bluesy riffs may be simplistic, but the level of intensity is primal and the band is totally "together" on even their looser extrapolations. As far as post-everything stoner blues goes, Charged might be the overachieving pinnacle of the genre (that includes even Monster MagnetÕs experiments). The opening stompdown, "Do It Now," is Hellacopterean anthem-rock that literally explodes out of the box. They pay homage to "Train Kept a-RollinÕ," which is surely their right, being descendants of the same tradition. "Beyond" starts out with a Blue Cheer intro before stampeding into a neatly carved heavy metal riff a la ZZ Top. As IÕve been saying for a long time, the rock fans of this new generation look back at all manifestations of aggressive hard rockÐ60s, 70s, 80sÐas punk-by-proxy just by dint of it having guitars (an anomaly in the digitized Britney Spears era). ThatÕs why legitimate "hard rock" bands nowadays acknowledge the influence of both Kiss and the New York Dolls. ThatÕs the tradition Nebula falls into, with a lot of West Coast "stoner" attitude thrown in. But NebulaÕs coming at it from the megalomaniacal hallucinations of Black Sabbath, Hawkwind and Monster Magnet, as opposed to the tripping-on-my-own-shoelaces splat of Nirvana and Love Battery. "TravelinÕ ManÕs Blues" could be a riff off an old Jethro Tull album. "Instant Gravitation" shows their acute riff marksmanship once more, and places their music firmly in the tradition of such other savage power trios as Mountain (and way better than Grand Funk). "This One" starts with the riff from David BowieÕs "Janine" before submerging into more kozmik blues. "Ignition," true to its name, is a spark plug of, once again, Hellacopters proportions, with some seedy space wank thrown in. "Shaker" is more Blue Cheer. "Goodbye Yesterday" starts out with some Led Zep acoustic-strum as the band angles through their usual revo-rhetoric before bursting into another blues hump. ThereÕs a Stooges quality to this one also that marks it as an ass-busting classic. But the best cut is the grand finale, the aptly titled "All the Way," which is a thunderstruck swampfest of Sabbathean proportionsÐa fitting end to this nonstop hell ride. Let it burn. back to album reviews |
NEBULA - CHARGED KNAC.com, April 04, 2001 **** by S. L. Duff Nebula may not be everyoneÕs cup of strychnine, but judging from their continuing devotion to guitar pedal stompage and power trio superiority, one can imagine thereÕd be little to surpass the fun of rummaging through their vintage record collection. I mean, the most modern reference I can come up with to put these jams in context is Mudhoney, who made a career out of re-examining Blue Cheer of all things. LetÕs face it, though, either ya got it or ya donÕt, and amidst the resurgence of all things Ô70s (and in many cases here, late Ô60s), Nebula presents its archeology with more flair, musicality and forward momentum than most of their competitors. TheyÕre certainly not shy about coming out swinginÕ right off the bat. ÒDo it NowÓ is a reasonable clarion call for the remainder of the disc, and puts the accelerator to the floor with the track that probably is the most Mudhoney-infused thing here. They even work a few bits of ÒTrain Kept A-RollinÕÓ into it. "Sweet Justice," as Managing Editor Frank Meyer might proclaim. Alongside a record collection that is bookended on one side by primal power-trio-trippinÕ from Grand Funk to Cream to Mountain and completed on the other side by rad primal garage punk from the Stooges to the Dead Boys, the Nebs other boss collection is their stomp boxes. They got Ôem all: every type oÕ fuzz, wah, phaser, flanger, and the not-often used Octaver, which drops the guitar down a full octave and practically turns it into a synth. Check the wacky funk blues on ÒBeyondÓ: Now thereÕs a guitar that crawling back into the primordial ooze. Tasty. Like the best strike force, this threesome knows when to lay low. On ÒTravelinÕ Man Blues,Ó they do a semi-acoustic (with drums) number that recalls Zep circa LZ II & LZ III, a move most bands just canÕt pull off. Speaking of Zep, the Rhodes piano intro of ÒInstant GratificationÓ reminded me of ÒNo Quarter,Ó until the landscape erupted volcano-style into a mega Mountain-style jam. Is it a coincidence we hear these reference points? DonÕt think so, and nothing wrong with it anyway. Power trio heavy stomp was always cool, itÕs just not an easy thing to get right, but Nebula is at the top of the class. The punky end of things we eluded to earlier rears its peanut butter covered head on ÒIgnition,Ó which puts a Mid-West angle on things that is undeniable, with a Stiv-Iggy vocal spit nÕ attitude that rocks like mad. Never letting the roller coaster ride come to an end, the fellas get into an Eastern groove with bongos and acoustics on ÒGoodbye Yesterday.Ó Funny thing is, this is a band that has no intention of saying goodbye to yesterday. With album two, Nebula has gone beyond the competition and captured the modern power trio crown. Check this one out if you like it bluesy, heavy, psychedelic and more than a little bent. back to album reviews |
NEBULA - CHARGED Earpollution.com by Dan Cullity Having proved themselves more than just your average stoner rock band with 1999's To the Center, Nebula return, a reputation for flailing away in the spirit of the Stooges and Mudhoney in tow, with Charged, their second full-length release on Sub Pop. It's a revamped version of the sunburst sŽance/garage riff locomotive vibe offered up in 1999. Charged finds the band reconnecting with the smoking essence of stripped down, do-it-yourself rock 'n roll, delivering the goods with thick, indulgent guitars, raw, tossed-off vocals, and some impressive, space-filling drumming via the mighty cymbal and snare peppering of Ruben Romano. They've taken another big step in distancing themselves from the shadow cast by former brethren Fu Manchu, cementing their own identity while perpetuating the tradition of the jamming power trio. The first cut, "Do It Now," serves as Nebula's manifesto, with a frenetic pace driven by Romano's relentless punk-flavored beat and singing guitarist Eddie Glass' hang-your-head-out-the-window-of-a-drag-racer riff. Glass succinctly paints the picture with the lines: "Electric guitars, crashing drums / When you hear it you know it's come / Train kept rolling all night long." On To the Center, Nebula pursued a dichotomy of trance-inducing space jaunts and greasy, low-slung punk metal. Only on "So Low" were the two melded into something similar to what takes shape on Charged. The warm rolling tones of "Travelin' Man's Blues" and "This One" pervade even the harder tracks, as Glass' syrupy riffs and Romano's adventurous stick work coat any sign of the sloppy abrasiveness that invaded parts of To the Center. Glass has made huge leaps in his ability to carry out a groove. He still plays with the freewheeling abandon and blues-stung attack of Nebula's previous efforts, but on Charged he lays down a much steadier foundation of song-driving rhythms that draws more out of his slippery-fingered leads than ever before. It seems as though Glass will always be playing catch-up with his vocals while his guitar repeatedly steals the show, but there are signs of change in songs like "Beyond" and "This One," as he eases into a deeper, fuller tone, picking different spots in which to sing rather than simply following the lead guitar line with his voice. His burnt-out delivery finds a home beside the organic strumming of "Goodbye Yesterday," a song that features deft use of a repeating one note keyboard line that enunciates the electric push that emerges after the chillin'-in-the-flatbed feel of the intro. Charged is a perfect companion for when you're rollin' down the highway, the blazing summer sun drawing the wavy haze off the blacktop. back to album reviews |
