Review Summary: Colour Haze rocks again.
Colour Haze have cocooned themselves in the past decade, exploring variations of their own music without new external interferences. I understand why, as they have helped define an entire generation of psychedelic stoner rock in Europe. Perhaps uninterested in shifting the current sonic flavors, the band continues nevertheless to offer solid LPs on a regular basis. The downside to this mindset is that they have become a bit hit-and-miss overall. The songs are always cut from the same cloth, only a number of them boasting that spark to stand out from the rest. As expected,
Sacred falls into the same category, however, the heavier approach makes things more enticing. Of course, the quartet still enjoys creating lush sound scapes with meandering leads over labyrinthine grooves. This is the also first taste of the record, the lovely instrumental “Turquoise” cruising gently forward until “Goldmine” kicks in with those classic Kyuss-with-a-twang riffs Colour Haze developed so well. “Avatar” continues with straightforward, dance-ready grooves * la Brant Bjork amid contrasting, low key verses. These shorter songs keep things smooth and fun.
Meanwhile, centerpiece “Idiologigi” shares fuzz-drenched guitar leads over tight bass and drum interplay, before the harder hitting verses take the wheel. Halfway through the 9-minute epic, the guys break into a hypnotic jam, entering Motorpsycho territory. A round of noisy solos follow, leaving the core instruments to do their thing beneath. It’s a nice detour from the rest of the album, which doesn’t really deviate from the usual path. Usually these longer tunes have prolonged build-ups, but I’m happy Colour Haze preferred to add more riffs instead. Thankfully, the same energy is sustained over the last couple of tracks as well. It is overly familiar territory, yet hearing the band cranking the volume further animates the music. The production is still a tad congested, despite being a part of their trademark sound by now. Even though
Sacred is not among their strongest material, it displays a rejuvenated side of the group, a needed feature 14 records into their discography.
