Fu Manchu - Daredevil (1995) [Remastered 2015]

Borrowing a phrase from This Is Spinal Tap, the sonic evolution of Southern California stoners Fu Manchu throughout the '90s can't even be charted. In fact, in dinosaur terms, 1995's Daredevil finds them sun-bathing on the beach of a primordial ocean, still wondering whether leaving the water was such a good idea in the first place. Before this review gets too weird, let it be said that this album was certainly their most focused effort to date, thanks to the infectious classic-rock riffs of tracks like "Travel Agent" (excellent groove) and "Coyote Duster" (great guitar solo). Unfortunately, the remaining songs tend to be indistinctive and repetitive -- no thanks to their inexplicable titles and nonexistent choruses. But, not all albums are about hit singles, and as a whole Daredevil provides a great background noise for, well, getting stoned.