This Philly power trio contains Ted Leo’s bass player and was once described as “neo-stoner.” Now, I’m not sure what that means, but if neo-stoner is to stoner rock what neo-conservatism is to right-wing politics, chances are Stephen Harper has a secret mancrush on these guys already.
Or maybe neo-stoner has something to do with their song lengths; six of the nine tracks here are less than three minutes long, perhaps a bit of their pop-punk roots peaking through. But Hound start things off with one of the longer songs, “Emotional Collapse” clocking in with just over four minutes of the type of skater/stoner punk that The Shrine does so well, albeit with a bit more of a psych-rock feel. They even throw in some boogie-woogie piano for good measure as they take off toward Hawkwind territory.
Elsewhere, their attack is more compact, with “Mortality Jam” serving as a decent heavy, uptempo blues with Dave Wyndorf-style vocals. “Walkin’ the Fine Line” channels the throwback garage punk of MC5 or The Stooges, once again with those space-rock vocals buried in the mix. “Super Junkie of Being Free” sounds like they were smoking hash with Wyndorf based on its title, but it’s actually a two-minute, high-speed chase with punky stop-start verse riffs and a chorus that maybe brings Motorhead to mind. They even throw in a coupla Sabbathian doom riffs on “Stone Carvin’ Man,” the heaviest cut on this platter.
While they might not be top dog, Hound is just as good as any of the stuff you see getting to Tee Pee these days. I wouldn’t skip ‘em if they brought their act up here, put it that way.
