Masters Of Reality singer Chris Goss is honored as the godfather of stoner rock. His band, in which he is the only constant, pioneered in the 1990s with lingering guitar riffs hidden beneath the dust of the California desert. In recent years, family man Goss has chosen to put his music in second place. That is why his albums sometimes take a while. Goss split this new album in two. And indeed, the
… first five songs (Pine) sound a lot darker and more experimental than we are used to from Masters Of Reality. Only the strong opening song King Richard TLH is an old-fashioned nasty desert rocker. In the second half (Cross Dover) the group sounds more melodic than ever. A fine example is Dreamtime Stomp, a psychedelic glam rock stamper. Good songs alternate with lesser brothers. Pine / Cross Dover has therefore become a hit and miss album, but one that deserves to be heard. (PdK)more
