Loose Sutures – Sado Sex for Dummies
Release Date: 26th May 2023
Label: Electric Valley Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Garage, Grunge, Stoner Rock.
FFO: Black Spell, Saint Karloff, Peth.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Calling “fuzz” a genre seems a little bit odd, as fuzz tends to be a guitar effect that seems to overload the front input of the guitar with extreme distortion. When I was learning guitar as a teenager, I had all kinds of fun pedals and effects, from overdrive, to boost, to distortion, to reverb, delay, phaser, flanger, looper, as well as a few various others. In all my journey to learn about the nature of the “perfect” guitar sound, there never seemed to be a shortage of guitarists who could name about 15 different fuzz pedals, why they were different, and why someone needed a huge amount of them.
I always knew that it seemed to draw out the opinions of my guitarists. I personally love the people whose entire journey to create sound leans towards the heavy, wobbly, high-scooped, lofi fuzz as the basis of the guitar and bass tone. It tends to make the music a little “muddy”, somewhat “soupy” or even thick, as some describe it, like a full spoonful of peanut butter on the roof of your mouth. Loose Sutures bring a blend of the erotic, as well and the tonally-muddy in their 2023 release Sado Sex For Dummies, set to debut on May 26th, 2023.
Obviously, one of the things that you might think when you get into the “fuzz” genre is the garage rock, grunge-y tone that bears an angsty, noisy and in-your-face attitude. There’s a blend of the punk rock and hardcore influence with southern groove metal, extra emphasis on the bluesy/southern US vibe. A super groovy track is He’s My Friend featuring the overdriven, scratchy vocals of Nick Oliveri (Queens Of the Stone Age, Mondo Generator) which reminds me of some of the rock n roll-inspired bands like Bloody Hollies, leaving memorable hooks to stick in one’s head for hours.
If you’re into bands like The White Stripes and Peth, this should be on your listening rotation. There’s more than enough tracks to make you want to light up and relax into the fuzzy cloud. On the other side, Loose Sutures provides enough energy to make you want to get up and move a little bit, even if the riffs are pulled right out of some of the O.G. songbooks. The fuzz brings a new character to the whole equation, something which is rarely done with effects-only. If anything, I liken it to the effect of reverb to turn a shitty alternative track into a shoegaze anthem. Loose Sutures seems to play jump rope with that line on a number of tracks, narrowly-missing becoming “cheesy” at most points.
At only 8 tracks, Sado Sex For Dummies isn’t very long, but seems aptly-created. By the end of the 8th track, I was generally-satisfied, not really needing any more. I think that the effect of the buzzing growl ends up being somewhat overstimulating after some time. That’s only my experience, but I think it bears noting that most listeners are probably going to have this on as a background track. At most points, I can absolutely hear this being on repeat on the overheads in a smelly record shop, giving the entire atmosphere a “dank” taste of southern, grunge-y stoner rock. The best track is undoubtedly He’s My Friend (feat Nick Oliveri) which I had on repeat several times.
Compared to the prior releases, I find Sado Sex For Dummies to be slightly darker than, but on the same level of energy and expression. I don’t think that I can spend more than 50 minutes listening to it without the help of a mind-altering substance, probably proving that I’m not the biggest stoner rock fan. Nevertheless, Sado Sex For Dummies checks all the boxes for an enjoyable Stoner/Fuzz album that I feel could go in a working rotation for its atmosphere and multiple earworms. Be sure to get on the vinyl, as this feels like the perfect record to spin in analog. 
(2.5 / 5)
