Strange Cousins From the West

The first Clutch studio release in over two years, Strange Cousins from the West is their ninth studio effort; their second recorded with producer J. Robbins at his Magpie Cage Studio in Baltimore, MD; and their first original studio release on their self-owned label, Weathermaker Music.

Took a while for me to get into this one, and that threw me for a loop after the last coupla slabs of immediate, delectable, relentlessly-catchy CLUTCH stoner swamp groove. "Strange Cousins From the West" is an altogether slinkier beast, taut and sparse, with a lot of sinewy funk and dirt-floor blue...

They've metamorphosed from stoner rock weirdos to practitioners of a mighty cool blend of blues, rock, and metal, developing a reputation as one of the...