The week, The Sonic Sofa travels to Mexico City for desert rock band Electric Mountain’s second full length release. The power trio burst onto the scene in 2013 with their classic rock influenced stoner rock sound, infused with plenty of high octane desert riffs. They put on a loud, headbanging show and have shared stages with Elder and Blackwater Holylight. Electric Mountain released their Self-Titled debut album in 2017. After a two-year hiatus, they’re back with their sophomore full length, Valley Giant, and it is well worth the wait.

Valley Giant was released in May on Electric Valley Records. It features beautiful extraterrestrial landscape art by Adam Burke of Nightjar Illustration. The album is nine tracks, clocking in at 46 minutes, though some streaming platforms include a tenth track, The Man. Throughout the record, the musicians blend a riffy blend of desert rock guitars and melodic vocals with a growly, driving rhythm section. What makes the album awesome are all of the extended, stoner rock turnarounds and classic rock breaks. It opens with short, heavy-blues intro, The Great Hall, and is a non-stop action ride until the lengthy and spacy closer, A Thousand Miles High. Filled with headbangers from start to finish, the album only slows down for a slight breather on the acoustic, At Last Everything, which also features some tasty vocal harmonies and hand percussion.

1. The Great Hall (Intro) 2:38
2. Outlanders 3:53
3. Morning Grace 5:14
4. Void 4:09
5. A Fistful of Grass 6:32
6. Desert Ride 5:00
7. Vulgar Planet 5:09
8. At Last Everything 4:31
9. A Thousand Miles High 8:41

Guitarist/vocalist Gibran Pérez pumps out the jams with fuzzy, heavy-blues riffs, and scorching solos infused with plenty of wah-pedal and phaser, and caps it off with clean, melodic vocals, that I felt like were reminiscent of early Sabbath, and possibly even Corrosion of Conformity. Drummer Max Cabrera keeps things solid and driving with some absolute balls to the walls drum beats and fills. Listen to the end of Outlanders for some Bonham-esque fills, and check out Desert Ride for some driving, desert rock drum-power. Jorge Trejo’s bass tone really stands out on the album, with a beefy tone, often spaced out with heavy wah-pedal action. Check out Morning Grace for a fat, fuzzed out bass tone, and listen for some compelling leads during on A Thousand Miles High.

You can find Valley Giant on Bandcamp. The digital album can be downloaded for $7. It is also available on CD for $7.50 as well as beautiful transparent purple or plain black vinyl for $23. Check out Electric Mountain’s social media for news and announcements.