Gonzalez-
S/T 
(Buzzville) www.riffrock.com/gonzalez/
At first, I was kinda pissed that the guy who wrote their bio was ripping me off full tilt. Some shit about pinball machines and handlebar mustaches, you know. Then I got to the bottom and realized that I had actually written the thing myself, a couple years back. Obviously, this one's been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. Ex-punks gone groovy, Atlanta's own Gonzalez do the heavy southern boogie metal thing like they invented the concept, and they make the ol' dog do all manner of new tricks here, like turning Blondie's "Call Me" into a mammoth riff rock orgy. It's not the fancy stuff that makes these cats so lethal, though, it's their talent for writing actual, bonafide, honest-to-god songs, a rarity amongst the stoner rock crowd. No riding around on the fat turtle backs of Kyuss riffs for ten minutes at a time for Gonzalez, baby, they've got their own mojo to work. Super Rock riffs, arena-ready ego star vocals, and a sharpened pop-sensibility. You'd think they were fuckin' Thin Lizzy or something. Anyway, having already traded in my two cent's worth of frothy good words for a bitchin' 3/4 sleeve jersey during this record's conception (I don't work that cheap anymore, by the way), I reckon I'll just leave the glory praising for the other rock journo-types out there, but I can't tell you this much- I meant everything I said about this band. Gonzalez remain the absolute tits, and this album is a monster.