Burn Thee Insects - "Droid Intelligence" (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 22/11/2015

Label: Twin Earth Records

The album starts with "Hydroponics," a killer track that pulls out all the stops. This song sets the tone immediately with a rough and tumble riff and monotone vocals. In a nutshell, this is the Burn Thee Insects sound. "Concrete Pillow" carries the torch of the opener into some heavy plodding, reminding a bit of Mars Red Sky, an influence that rears its head again in the slower "Through the Fog.”  The riffs that Burn Thee Insects bring to the fore are compelling enough that even though we are four months removed from the release date; it’s still worth noting that "Droid Intelligence" exists and that it is recommended by us here at The Sludgelord.

“Droid Intelligence” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Hydroponics

2). Concrete Pillow (Pretty Comfortable)

3). A Dinner with Faontaine (Darkest Wheel)

4). Distorted Seclusion

5). Through the Fog

6). Slow Cookin’

7). An Insignificant Planet of Yellow

8). A Prescription to Burn

9). A Swarm of Bees

The Review:

Burn Thee Insects is a father-son duo from the Arizona desert that lays down a psychedelic blend of sturdy, fuzz driven stoner rock. For the most part "Droid Intelligence" is an entertaining listen, initially drawing in listeners because of its unique sound. The guitars pack a hard punch as they buzz and fizzle like setting a flame to the wings of insects. The vocals lay low, hinting at a Layne Stanley influence but come across sounding more stoned, almost to the point of boredom. This is by no means a slight; in fact this sound works very well for Burn Thee Insects in that they don’t fall into the overdone post-grunge category.

The album starts with "Hydroponics," a killer track that pulls out all the stops. This song sets the tone immediately with a rough and tumble riff and monotone vocals. In a nutshell, this is the Burn Thee Insects sound. "Concrete Pillow" carries the torch of the opener into some heavy plodding, reminding a bit of Mars Red Sky, an influence that rears its head again in the slower "Through the Fog.” As is the case with many debut albums though, "Droid Intelligence" is a little front-loaded, having a few of the latter tracks miss the mark that the opening three hit so well. But the noisy closer "A Swarm of Bees" brings the album to a righteous finish because of the energy it possesses. Hopefully this is an element that Burn Thee Insects will explore further on their next album.

This album snuck in during the twilight of 2015 so it’s been kicking around for a little bit. The timing of this release coincided neatly with what music sites refer to as ‘closing out the year,’ which probably meant that the album landed at the bottom of a lot to-do lists, like mine. But the riffs that Burn Thee Insects bring to the fore are compelling enough that even though we are four months removed from the release date; it’s still worth noting that "Droid Intelligence" exists and that it is recommended by us here at The Sludgelord.

“Droid Intelligence” is available here

Band info: facebook