Lazer Beam – Lazer Beam LP

It’s been a while since I covered a grunge group on these pages. Thankfully, grunge revival is a big thing on the underground scene, and there’re currently loads of outstanding bands roaming around. Surprisingly, most of these bands sound good or even better than the renowned act that shaped this particular genre from the mid-eighties to mid-nineties. No matter if we’re talking about proto-grunge, straightforward grunge, or some hybrid mixture, you’ll find the vast universe of groups who’re carrying the torch of this genre in these modern times. Lazer Beam is one of those artists you’ll instantly fall in love with if you’re die-hard fan of grunge music. After the series of singles such as Take Me Home, Don’t Tell, Liar Liar, Sink Or Swim, Sno Burn, Lazer Beam is more than ready to showcase their self-titled album to the broader auditorium.

Lucust French is the man behind this project, and he is mainly responsible for all the songwriting, composing, performance on this material. This material also includes a guest performance of Chris Hughes, who performed all the percussions. This particular debut full-length draws influences from the early nineties grunge scene, with subtle touches of grunge revival and contemporary alternative rock music. French assembled this material with so much sense for balance between the beforementioned elements, which are unquestionably defining the sound of Lazer Beam. You may hear how Alice In Chains, Kyuss, Slo-Burn, Unida, Queens Of The Stone Age, Soundgarden, Fu Manchu, and many others played vital roles in shaping the sound of this particular music project. French is leaving traces of his favorite groups through occasional resemblances with the renowned artists, but once again, this material sounds one of a kind.

Besides the dominant presence of grunge aesthetics, you may also hear some interventions of other ingredients such as southern rock, hard rock, and post-rock. These complementary subgenres of rock music are highlighting, decorating, and enhancing the grunge atmosphere and pushing these orchestrations on another level. You may hear how the fuzz distortion provides all the necessary dirtiness but also defines these colossal riffs. French thoroughly planned each segment of every composition included within this material. The song structures and arrangements are meeting all the standards of grunge sound. You may expect slightly calmer verses until the heavy choruses kick in, where the band bursts with ultimate power. The raging choruses are perhaps one of the secret weapons of this project, and each one of them sounds incredibly good. French keeps this material as catchy as possible, so there’s something hypnotic and addictive about the entire recording that will force you to listen to it over and over again.

This record comes on vinyl, compact disc, and at all streaming platforms. Head over to the Lazer Beam Bandcamp page for more information about ordering. You can also check out the album at Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and YouTube if you’re more into streaming music.