Brant Bjork – Bougainvillea Suite
Release Date: 28th October 2022
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Bandcamp
Genre: Desert Rock, Southern Sludge, Psychedelic Rock.
FFO: Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Stoner, Cream.
Review By: Paul Franklin
Despite the laid-back persona, one could never accuse Brant Bjork of being lazy. Along with all his other bands/projects, this is the fourteenth solo album from the prolific desert rock icon, and it sees him embrace 60’s rock and soul influences.
So They Say is groovy baby! Tie-dyed in the spirit of the peace and love era, awash with jangly guitars and soulful vocals, over a shuffling drum beat and some funky Hammond organ. Whereas Ya Dig grooves harder with some nice fuzzed up guitars.
It’s a shame then that the rest of the album is not up to the same standard. The remaining six tracks are the sound of a musician treading water (quite an achievement for a man who has spent the last quarter of a century associated with deserts). The repetitive stoner jams that play out across the likes of Trip On The Wine, Broke that Spell and Let’s Forget are all too familiar to anyone who has listened to any of Brant’s previous output. Some of them sound as if they could have come directly from one of the albums released by his band Stöner, and having that band’s drummer play on all the tracks here just strengthens that uncanny feeling of similarity.
After 25 years in the game, these kinds of tunes are bread and butter for someone like Brant Bjork. Hell, there is even a track called Bread for Butter, which, even with a smear of jam from fellow desert rock veteran Nick Oliveri can’t excite the palette.
The press release for Bougainvillea Suite asks you to imagine a gathering where the likes of Cream, Sly & The Family Stone and Steppenwolf are jamming in the Mojave Desert with some fine wine and marijuana. Only problem is you’re the designated driver.
(2.5 / 5)
