BALA

Maleza CENTURY MEDIA

Spanish duo ratchet up the stopstart groove machine

Stoner rock’s always sat in a particular pocket, right next to the grinder. This Galician two-piece bake a few grams of that scene’s fuzzed-up tone into their third album: a taut, 24-minute exercise in percussive groove and grit. Think COC’S Southern-fried guitars filtered through a woozy alt-rock filter to begin with – then you’ve got stuff like X, which flits from 90s grunge melodies to heads-down, staccato hardcore quicker than losing your phone in the pit. Anxela Baltar’s shrivelledup screams lead the charge as she fills up her riff quota, and as if drummer Violeta Mosquera fears being sidelined, Una Selva’s intro sprints along with an unnecessary, but much appreciated, flurry of fills. Bala are onto something. ■■■■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: Mantar, Pissed Jeans, Barren Womb ALEC CHILLINGWORTH