Brant Bjork: Black Power Flower

Former Kyuss sticksman puts the heat on to simmer

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It must be pretty cool being Brant Bjork. Not only has his musical heritage as the drummer in Kyuss made him a cult figure in the desert rock scene, he does what the hell he likes, whether that’s recording numerous albums with Fu Manchu and Mondo Generator or jacking music in to flip pizzas.

Brant’s approach to music has always been organic and intrinsically fluid, mixing heavy grooves with unfurling psychedelic sounds inspired by the desert and a non-hesitant approach to experimentation through funk, punk and rock’n’roll. Black Power Flower is Brant’s eighth solo album (or 10th if you include his stuff with The Bros) but solo in the loosest sense. This time round he’s shacked up with a new entourage, the Low Desert Punk Band: a new band with old-school roots. Black Power Flower sees the multi-instrumentalist go for a snappy, classic rock vibe, albeit with that staple Palm Desert fuzz and smattering of punk (Brant’s mainstay growing up). It’s not going to set the world on fire, but there’s a discernible heat from the desert that only a man like Brant can cook up.

Via Napalm

Holly Wright

With over 10 years’ experience writing for Metal Hammer and Prog, Holly has reviewed and interviewed a wealth of progressively-inclined noise mongers from around the world. A fearless voyager to the far sides of metal Holly loves nothing more than to check out London’s gig scene, from power to folk and a lot in between. When she’s not rocking out Holly enjoys being a mum to her daughter Violet and working as a high-flying marketer in the Big Smoke.