OPM: Stoners’ Delite

Lennart Östman – “Foreign Ports”

A bright and engaging electronic exploration that incorporates elements of chamber music, IDM, and film/games soundtracks to excellent effect. Cheery, upbeat and emotionally engaging, “Foreign Ports” defies easy genre categorization but is nonetheless quite easy to listen to. 

Crafted with entirely soft synths, it has a sound that’s somehow modern and classic simultaneously – the sounds are familiar in form, but sizzle with a futuristic edge and presence. Great stuff, would make for a fantastic main theme to some indie game!

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DigitalDruid – “Do You Dream in Color?”

A slinky and exotic sounding guitar-led instrumental that would sound right at home playing in a smoky tent somewhere in a moonlit desert. A shuffling, laidback beat keeps the music moving forward, interspersed with some weird rhythmic noises that add another layer of interest to this downtempo vibe. 

The real hook in all of this is the repetitively hypnotic guitar lines that weave thru the whole thing, binding it together and holding your interest tight – right up to the all-too-abrupt end which not only leaves you wanting more, but wondering what just happened.

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b psycho – “Canopy”

A hard-hitting hip hop instrumental with an intriguing lo-fi aesthetic. It’s on the minimal side – not much more there than some trap-inspired hats, trashed-out boom bap, shards of strings aliasing up top and a few distorted samples flitting thru the mix. 

That minimal approach meshes well with the gutter aesthetics and musical tension it builds, tho, and the track comes together well and doesn’t feel like it’s missing a thing. All in all a tight and moody slice of instrumental hip hop.

TempKnight Harrison – Sermon for Sinners

Stony hip hop with solid beats and tight raps, straight out of Sin City. This Las Vegas-based, weed-loving producer and emcee tackles topics both typical (“Good Weed”) and topical (“When the Poles Melt”) with equal aplomb over the course of these 9 tracks. His generally laidback rapping style is not flashy but gets the job done and showcases the lyrical stylings that oscillate between celebrating booze to bars about DNA and evolution. 

The beats themselves are solidly constructed and kind of old school to my ears (though I am admittedly a dilettante), with a few intriguing surprises here and there. Standout tracks include the aforementioned “Good Weed” thanks to its fun and funky vibe, and the closer, “Sad Girl Summer,” which builds off a woozy sample and a tight vocal to great effect.

(Listened to the whole album)

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Lethal Sister – Demon Tapes

A three-track EP of contemporary stoner rock – heavy, heartfelt and swaggering from beginning to end. If you’re missing that classic bluesy, blowsy, muscular riff rock topped with an impassioned, maybe slightly haunted vocal, this might well scratch your itch. 

These tracks are dark, smokey and brooding in all the right spots, recalling bands like Queens of the Stone Age or Screaming Trees in all the right ways. The guitars squeal, chug and scream at the right points, the bass and drums thump along behind, holding it all together, and the vocals set the whole thing off the way they should. Hard to imagine what else you could ask for!

(Listened to the whole EP)

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A parting note: If you’d like to support my efforts to expose cool independent music to a wider audience, you can contribute to my year-long fundraiser via Ko-Fi. Alternately, you could always buy some of my music…