Assuming Apollo was your first interaction with stoner rock, from the fade-in of the thick bass and fuzzy guitars the opening track tells you just about everything you need to know. For the uninitiated, Nebula has been around since the late 90s after the founding members left Fu Manchu. Apollo marks their fourth full length and, to put it simply, it's one fun ride. After the swirling solos of the opening track, the CD locks into a pretty steady groove for the next several songs. On one hand, it'd be easy to complain that it's repetitive; on the other hand, it's easy just to get caught up in the flow and chill out to the music. The music takes a breath at the intro to "Future Days" first with the sounds of animals at night, then builds up through a unison riff between sitar, guitar, and eventually bass before getting back into the energetic groove. "Future Days" has crisper guitar distortion than some of the songs, but really this is all about the fuzzy tone that cries out "I belong in the 70s!" I guess whether that's a good thing is really up to you, but in my opinion, this is how music with that retro sound should be done. There are a few other places where the music slows down, such as the droning instrumental "Trapezium Procession," but for the most part it's one long groove.
And that's really all there is to it. This isn't by any means high art, but who cares? Apollo is full of upbeat riffs and grooves, fuzzy guitars, solos hearkening back to when the pentatonic scale was all you needed and it was done right, and just a general I-don't-care,-let's-chill-out attitude. If you're into stoner rock, you probably already have this, and if not then you should go get it now. And for that matter, if you think Queens of the Stone Age is where it's at, or if you're into classic rock, this is as good an introduction as any. Pick up a copy and zone out on the groove, you can thank me later.
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