Search - Hermano :: Only a Suggestion

John Garcia Lives On

Tom Chase | London | 04/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Garcia is rightly heralded as one of the finest voices in rock n roll. You could put his voice over any old piece of guitar driven rock and it would be enjoyable. However, any old piece of rock the rest of Hermano is certainly not. With "Only A Suggestion" Garcia carries his career on in style from the glory days of Kyuss, and the brief excellence of Unida and Slo Burn. At just under 30 minutes it is a short, sharp and very sweet little album, almost a lengthened EP. It f*cking rocks too.



Understandably Mr. Garcia steals the show. His voice is just so engulfing, ranging from softer, dreamy vocals to that trademark aggressive and gritty delivery that makes a decent riff a great one. And a decent riff Hermano execute regularly, for example"The Bottle", which is everything a fan of riff-rock could possibly want. The lead riff is catchy and powerful, and Garcia's vocals are raspy and exciting, all compounded by the band's confident writing with various tempos and riff changes.



The central piece to the album is the flooring "Senor Moreno's Introduction/Senor Moreno's Plan" Starting with a mysterious introduction a faint piano theme slowly builds into an adrenaline racing riff that swaggers throughout the song. Of course, all of this is complemented by John's perfect vocals. "Landetta (Motherload)" is another wonderful highlight to the album, the opening and verse is rather tedious at first; not really going anywhere. This is until an absolutely monumental chorus floors you with John relishing the huge riff, blurting out "you hit the motherload!" "5 to 5" is a short and fun piece with a catchy guitar lick and "Nick's Yea" is a slightly more experimental way to finish the album, sounding more like a Queens of the Stone Age song, except with John's more energetic delivery to give it extra gusto.



For any fan of John Garcia's past works, this is simply a must-have. It encapsulates everything good about the riff-rock or stoner rock (whatever name you may call it) genre. Great riffs, great vocals. Give it the devils horns.



For fans of Kyuss, Unida, Lowrider, Karma to Burn...

"

Jahn Garcia Lives

M. Prator | Woodland, CA | 06/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am a huge fan of John Garcia (especially Kyuss and Unida), and was excited to hear this album. It is good, but not great. While Garcia's singing holds up, musically this band is not on par with his previous outfits. Still, a good listen."

Man, it just rocks...and hard!

Jon L. Bullard | Okla(boring)homa | 10/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've listened to a lot of "stoner rock" and this is some of the best. I just hope these guys continue to make music. Kyuss will always be my favorite, but these guys are like the next generation of Kyuss. If you like Kyuss you should not be disappointed."