Mystery Dudes
Exit Through the Wormhole

Norwegian mystery dudes come up with a debut that sees them exit through the wormhole at a mountain of chill, can it be more exciting? Probably. But the artwork is excellent, that alone makes this a nice vinyl record to have. It starts quite brilliantly as well, and all this wormhole thing, can it be a parable? I read that the band “hailing from the far-out corners of Norway’s wasteland, the hard-hitting power trio made Oslo their home base” and it gets me thinking; isn’t all of Norway a wasteland? I have been there many times (I live pretty near the border) and never really seen any trace of civilisation there.

I think living in a more uncivilised place might be why Norway can offer quite a few very exciting artists, and artists that stand out from the masses. Mystery Dudes have their moments, but don’t stand out much from the general idea of the stoner rock genre. It is heavy, but they infuse with psychedelic elements, with progressive touches, and a few more things. It feels familiar, but also fresh, especially that brilliant opening track. The singer is good, though his English leaves some to be desired at times (probably like my own), the style is powerful, the energy is good, the variation good enough, and the playing time is sensible. Quite an accessible album, but is it good?

Yes, it is good, even great in its best moments. The biggest issue is that it starts with such a great track, such a tone setter and symbol for the album, and then there isn’t too much to carry the momentum set with that opener. The rest of the tracks have good moments but aren’t interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout. I can hear that they have a lot of potential, and some great ideas but they fail to convey that fully due to the song writing not being quite as great as their musical qualities and ideas. Still, Exit Through the Wormhole gives us one excellent song, and it gives us a band to keep our eyes open for as it is very likely that they will offer something very special in the future.

If you like the stoner rock genre it is probably worth having a look at this one, I think Mystery Dudes make a good album but can’t help thinking that they should have made a great one.

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