Album Review: Blue Heron – Everything Fades (Blues Funeral Recordings)

A sun-blasted slab of pure desert rock, ‘Everything Fades’ is the brand-new album from Blue Heron. Out on September 27th, 2024, via Blues Funeral Recordings.

It’s been a little while since I’ve had the joy of hearing Blue Heron’s heavy, fuzz-laden, desert rock sound. 2022’s Ephemeral was a great album and expectations are bit higher now, but when you know how to make desert rock as groovy as Blue Heron do, that’s hardly an issue.

Case in point, the trippy vibe that oozes out of Null Geodesic. The sounds shimmer like the sun over a hot desert, and subtly, it shifts with the arrival of attention-grabbing gruff vocals. Then, boom, the instruments come crashing in and the strong whiff of stoner rock is there for all to enjoy.

Whereas that opener was a bit weird, the following title track is substantially groovy and rocky in hard and heavy style. There’s a rawer tone here, but again, it’s impossible to ignore the heat of the sun beating down on the mind. Blue Heron really do embody the desert and it’s tracks like this, the following melody-laced Swansong and the lethargic We Breathe Darkness that prove it unequivocally. Blue Heron expanding on the sound and style to show they are so much more than a one-trick pony.

Which they really are and the second half of the album showcases even more of that variety and experimentation with aplomb. First, with Dinosaur’s riffs and the thrilling sound of moody groove, then with the erratic psychedelic instrumental sound of Trepidation, before Clearmountain brings the heavy, Blue Heron making the dry heat almost unbearable. Yet, as is always the case, they have the hooks to quench the thirst and ensure this is a journey all will keep on enjoying.

It is coming to an end though, and the penultimate offering of Bellwether serves as a final showcase of weighty heaviness that sates all appetites for even more dramatic desert rock sounds. Here, Blue Heron use melody to create anticipation and pay that off with a crashing heaviness that veers into metal locales. It’s a huge track and means the short bit of instrumental groove that is Flight of the Heron feels like something of an ‘easing out’, except for the notable fact that it’s quite energetic.

Overall though, this is a crowd pleaser, and not just for a desert rock crowd either. Blue Heron’s great run of releases continues with another mighty banger.

Blue Heron – Everything Fades Track Listing:

1. Null Geodesic
2. Everything Fades
3. Swansong
4. We Breathe Darkness
5. Dinosaur
6. Trepidation
7. Clearmountain
8. Bellwether
9. Flight of the Heron

Links

Bandcamp | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Blues Funeral Recordings