Review: Humulus ‘Smuggler’s Cave’
Writing reviews these days feels like a lot of effort. What with work, life admin, painting up mechs for Battletech, spending time with the kids and let’s be frank, laziness, it needs to be something really tempting for me to (figuratively) get off my fat backside and email The Shaman for a promo to review.
It’s certainly possible that drinking too much coffee on that particular day contributed to me picking this record up for review. However, the main reason I wanted to hear Humulus latest album was because of the fond memories I have of reviewing one of the band’s previous albums back in the halcyon days of early 2020. Yes, just weeks before the pandemic, I can clearly remember a younger, slimmer, but still bald me really digging The Deep (their third album) on earphones as I walked to Hounslow station. My memory is less clear on why I was in Hounslow at the time.
Anyway, Humulus are a trio from northern Italy and have been doing their thing for nearly fifteen years, which is pretty impressive in my book. It also seems that they’ve been busy since I last heard them: they’re still a three-piece but replaced their singer/guitarist in 2022 and released their fourth album, Flowers Of Death, in 2023 that completely passed me by. Now signed on to Californian scene behemoth Ripple Music, they’re back with a fifth LP called Smuggler’s Cave. Before we proceed, there’s just one thing: I’d love to let that strangely placed apostrophe pass, but I’m a small, petty man.
Anyway, what can you expect from Humulus? Well, their sound is very much based on classic, melodic stoner rock with creamy smooth fuzz and big choruses, but with enough great tunes, twists and turns to help them stand above the pack. They’ve also streamlined their sound a little since I last heard them – The Deep was dominated by two sprawling tracks that ran for over a quarter of an hour each, whereas everything here is just that bit more focused.
sure to get your foot tapping while visions of blasting into the cosmos float through your head…
Now, if I had to pick a fault, it’s that I feel the album opens and closes with the weakest songs. Standing In The Sun is a decent enough tune to open proceedings with, but while it has plenty of chugging groove, it doesn’t really do it enough to distinguish itself from many, many other stoner rock tracks you’ve heard over the years.
That aside, the bulk of the album is excellent. They properly hit their stride with the second track Rise And Fall, where the addition of some spacey guitar over the top of the growling fuzz makes for an awesome track that’s sure to get your foot tapping while visions of blasting into the cosmos float through your head. Pines maintains the momentum as they switch from a swinging stoner-rock verse to a jangly, psych chorus that’s as effective as it is unexpected. I really enjoyed the crunchy outro on this one too.
Next up is the title track, Smuggler’s Cave, and every time it starts, I think it’s going to be the semi-obligatory Planet Caravan style interlude. It’s not that I hate Planet Caravan, but it’s a device that’s used far too often in stoner doom circles for my liking. Thankfully, it evolves into something much more interesting – building from the mellow verses into a soaring chorus that could sit comfortably on lots of early ’90s grunge albums.
Cemetery Vision is another one that had me harking back to the ‘90s, as Humulus step up the gnarly distortion and deliver the heaviest track on the album. Even then, they find time for a little diversion as, around the middle section, it transcends into a mellower, more tuneful aura.
Blue Wizard, as you might hope from the name, takes you definitively back to traditional stoner rock waters (probably best not to imagine what that water might look like) and would sit comfortably on any number of great records from Sweden from the turn of the millennium. As I mentioned earlier, album closer Cursed Man isn’t one of my favourites. There’s nothing wrong with it on its own terms, but it just doesn’t grab me in the way most of the rest of the album does.
It’s never good to end on a complaint, especially when the bulk of the record is so good, so let’s back up a bit. Smuggler’s Cave is an excellent album that feels much more mature and rounded than the last Humulus record I heard. Definitely worth checking out for anyone with even a passing interest in stoner rock.
Label: Ripple Music
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Liam Blanc
