God Luck And Good Speed

Nearly five years after their second CD, Sixteen Tons, vanished like so much bong water down the toilet (carelessly flushed by the folks operating now defunct independent label, Berserker Records), North Carolina's Weedeater wisely hooked up with Southern Lord, and finally re-emerged from out of the fragrant, billowing clouds that inspire their name with a hell of a comeback album. In fact, it's a good bet that their predominantly baked fan contingent would likely bestow 2007's God Luck and Good Speed with the highest honor of "real good shit." Tightly rolled and full-to-bursting with coarse, crusty, stoner sludgecore of the highest market value, the album's impressive opening triple threat (the suitably earth-shaking introduction of a title track, the uproarious speed-blast of "Wizard Fight," and the groove-driven humor of "For Evan's Sake") surf on surging waves of feedback, their tendrils even forming dirty electric causeways between them for an extended, uninterrupted buzz. Then suddenly, all is quiet for the one-off austerity of "Alone" featuring only a banjo, an acoustic bass, and vocalist Dave "Dixie" Collins replacing his trademark croak with a drunken baritone like Tom Waits on the bayou. (Curiously, this track alone was recorded by Corrosion of Conformity's Mike Dean, while the rest of the album was produced by indie staple Steve Albini.) Punishing, viscous volume and distortion are resumed by subsequent aural bulldozers like the instrumental "$20 Peanut," the doomy but somewhat dull "Dirt Merchant," and oddly named epic, "Weed Monkey" (all interlocked by even more feedback, naturally); and to emphasize their Southern allegiance, Weedeater wheels out an aptly sludge encrusted cover of Skynyrd's "Gimme Back My Bullets." Final verdict: the wait was worth it: God Luck and Good Speed isn't perfect, but it's quite assuredly Weedeater's best album yet. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|