VELVET THUNDER

Spoiler Alert! – This Homegrown is NOT the American ska/pop/punk band of the same name from Oramge County, California – these boys are much more interesting! They hail from the heart of Gothenburg’s thriving heavy rock scene and have been steadily carving out their place among Scandinavia’s most exciting heavy psych outfits (of which there are a few). Known for their groove-laden, mind-bending jams and free-flowing psychedelic energy, the quartet now take a bold new step with their upcoming self-titled album, out now via Majestic Mountain Records.

Formed in 2018, this Homegrown quickly earned attention with their fuzz-drenched sound, equal parts psychedelic exploration and hypnotic groove. Their early work, including the debut EP Berget Gråter (2023) and full-length Himalayaz (2024), showcased a raw, vocal-driven approach with guitarist Cedric Bergendal handling the mic.  But for their new album, they’ve decided to ditch vocals entirely and, quite honestly, they don’t need them (and coming from me, that’s certainly saying something!).

On Homegrown, the band’s instrumental chemistry does all the talking. Every riff, groove, and drum fill feels alive, radiating energy and atmosphere in equal measure. The result is an album that’s massive yet meditative, steeped in the fuzz-soaked traditions of classic stoner rock yet pulsing with the free-flowing spirit of psychedelic prog-jam culture.

“A thick, heavy elixir that’ll blast your soul straight into the endless prog cosmos,” the band says modestly of their new effort!

That confidence comes through loud and clear. Recorded with unfiltered intensity, Homegrown captures the band at their most instinctive and inspired, a transcendental journey powered entirely by their instrumental chemistry.

Frihetsvisa gets the monster moving (apologies for my anglicised version of some of the track titles – I have no idea what they translate as either!) – you’re hurled straight into a Hawkwind-like vortex of heavy psych, a pounding rhythm, with some mesmeric fretwork immediately catching my attention. Honestly, the shimmering twin-attack of Cedric and Marcus is a thing of Axe Excellence!

Well and truly hooked, I’m next dealt a burst of a tasty percussive intro that heralds Haxjakt i Snetakt, launching into a hypnotic, spacey rhythm that reeks of the 70’s yet is as fresh as the new day. Again the guitar work is frenetically scorching along inside a kind of pacey, jazzy, psych-rock that is completely compelling – and the interchangeable bursts of lead licks – of which there are many – is utterly addictive.

Huldran continues the same sense of entrancing, shimmering heavy psych, a riveting beat providing the platform for yet more musical exploration of the heavens undertaken by means of two electric six-strings! There’s so much use of many pedals here, combined with so many tones and effects these these drag out of their instruments – this is Space Rock in its highest form!

The musical demonstration (for it is genuinely that) goes on, each track spinning its own web of intrigue and wonder in this bluesy, psychy, world that this excellent production team have captured. Adams Apple is a slower, echoing, blues-soaked “two guitars plus bedrock” number that could so easily be early Wishbone Ash. Gorgeous stuff. Mylingen continues my musing about the mighty Ash, a really slow, beautifully clear opening spell oh-so-gradually bringing in additional layers, then getting seriously heavy.

Ringforsens Ora is a bit of an epic, clocking in at just under nine minutes when the rest of the album sits around the five-minute mark. More wonderful percussion gives a tribal effect that is a perfect extended vehicle for the two plectrum protagonists to work around. The sheer variety of notes, licks, riffs and chords that these two conjure up leaves one happily, dreamily, absorbing a sort of Definitive Distillation of Psychedelia (not sure about the “jollified chanting”, mind – sounds like a spaced-out Father Christmas going on a Bender?!).

Den Hornkronte is THE weirdest combination of sound – a couple of banjo notes as intro, a sort of scream, then an insidious riff over pounding drums, again sounding quite tribal before the two guitars manage to sound like a Scottish bagpipe band whistling away! At just on three minutes, Ganglat til Karinberglet is the album’s shortest track, another hypnotic arrangement managing to make the guitars sound like banjos again on top of a sort of “waltz” feel. The whole thing is endearingly wacky!

Ringopolskan takes us back into slow spaced-out blues territory, beautiful notes cascading from one guitar whilst shimmering rhythm chords come from the other. The whole is again so redolent of early Wishbone Ash for me (who are right up there in my All-Time Top Three bands, so this is as big a compliment as I ever get to dish out), the sound again is crystal clear, the blues-soaked vibe immersing me as it builds and builds. Bongo drums again adding further interest to the arrangement (a regular occurrence in this wonderful “song-set”), before the crescendo finish.

The set sadly comes to an end, in this case a track called Talisman, that is a heavy blues work-out straight out of the pages of the 70’s. Fans (like me) of other Scandinavian Heavies like Siena Root, Heavy Feather et al will adore this number! I don’t know whether you’d call it jazz-influenced, blues-influenced, psychedelically influenced – whatever – the result is a glorious melange of melodic space-rock, truly stratospheric guitar work from both gentlemen, pin-point percussion and hypnotic basslines, this is a very special record from four very special musicians – and what’s more, it really didn’t need any vocals!

After years of sweaty, high-energy shows across Sweden alongside acts like Endless Boogie and Öresund Space Collective, Homegrown have built a reputation for turning live stages into volcanic experiences. Now with their self-titled release, the band cements their status as one of Scandinavia’s most magnetic instrumental acts, no words, no filters, just waves of heavy sound rolling straight from amp to audience. I’m going to have to seriously consider getting my mitts on their entire back-catalogue – Wonderful work, chaps!