ALBUM REVIEW: Steak – Steak
Having emerged on to the UK stoner rock scene with their debut EP in 2012, STEAK’s star has been slowly rising ever since. Specialising in KYUSS-infused desert rock, the London quartet became renowned for their explosive, energetic live shows and uniquely British swagger. Fifteen years and three full-length albums later, STEAK have expanded both in terms of their sound and their size. 2022’s acclaimed Acute Mania saw them introducing a more progressive and experimental side to the tried and tested desert rock formula and, more recently, they have added Tom Cameron to their lineup on guitars and backing vocals.
The release of their self-titled new album, then, very much marks the beginning of a new phase for the band and the excitement and energy that this has generated is noticeable from the very first seconds of opening track Cometh. In just the opening few bars, two things are immediately clear: that STEAK have continued to mine the progressive vein that first appeared on Acute Mania and that the addition of Cameron has done wonders for their already incredible sound. Blending a classic, rumbling fuzz-rock groove with soaring vocal harmonies, this is an all-encompassing piece of music that is impossible to listen to only once.
Luxury Junk is a dark seething piece of stoner rock, its KYUSS-esque verse riffs underpinned by the powerful rhythm section of bassist James Cameron and drummer Dean Deal, who consistently drive the music throughout, the bass in particular noticeable here for the way it moves around the main riffs, creating a stronger, more intriguing groove. There is a classic heavy rock foundation underneath STEAK but these opening two tracks highlight how the band has taken something wonderfully familiar and turned it into something completely their own. The closing two minutes of Luxury Junk almost becomes a whole other song in itself, Chris Haley’s vocals soaring high over the frantic coda.
Did we mention choruses? Because if you want choruses – big choruses – to go with your head-shaking stoner riffs STEAK have got them by the bucketload, like on Aether and Two By Two. Dust has a chorus so big it will actually grind you into the titular substance. The four-to-the-floor verses on this one break open into huge singalong grooves, with Haley’s vocals once again giving the music totally its own vibe, the band easily avoiding becoming just a tribute to their influences. Haley’s voice adds a whole level of attitude to the songs, unlike the more traditional blues-influenced vocals associated with this genre. There is something about the vocal delivery on the album that’s reminiscent of THE VERVE’s Richard Ashcroft or even OASIS’ Liam Gallagher, again helping add more of a British feel to a genre more often associated with its origins on the American West coast. This is particularly the case on the two minute blast of Knucklehead, a song you can’t help but think that Nick Oliveri would love to have written.
The album closes with the seven and a half minute epic Short Arms, which swirls brilliantly around Deal’s off-beats and ghost-notes, while reverb-heavy guitars and a constantly moving bassline add an air of mystery and weirdness. Aside from Cometh this feels like the most ambitious song on the record and it’s great to have these two pieces bookending the album, introducing listeners to this new version of the band’s sound and finishing it off with a signpost of perhaps what’s to come in the future. There is something hugely satisfying in those massive multilayered harmonies that opened the record reappearing again five and a half minutes into the final song.
It’s not difficult to imagine these songs filling venues considerably larger than STEAK are currently used to, and you can only hope that this album catches the attention of the audience it deserves. It is a brilliant blend of classic stoner rock, expanding progressive psychedelic influences and good old in-your-face British attitude that needs to be experienced in its glorious entirety. Many, many times.
Rating: 10/10
Steak is set for release on October 9th via Stickman Records.
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