If your first thought when someone mentions a Norwegian band involves snowstorms, corpse paint and grim-looking men disappearing into dark forests, Masheena are here to send you in a completely different direction. Their road leads straight into a sweaty rock bar somewhere between the golden age of the ’70s, the Californian desert and a tube amp that's working overtime.
What makes "Let The Spiders In" so appealing is that it never sounds like a band trying to recreate a bygone era. Plenty of groups borrow from classic hard rock, stoner rock and blues these days. Masheena sound like they simply belong there.
That feeling hits almost immediately. "Been Waiting", "Going To The Mountain" and "One Eye" roll out of the speakers with the relaxed confidence of musicians who know exactly when to push and when to let a riff do the talking. Nothing feels rushed. Nothing feels forced. The grooves are allowed to breathe, the melodies stick around longer than expected and before you know it you're reaching for the volume knob.
And that's really the story of this album: riffs, groove and songs. Lots of them.
"In Her Eyes" is a perfect example. What starts with a bluesy sway slowly grows into one of the album's finest moments, wrapped in layers of fuzz, melody and pure atmosphere. Elsewhere, "A Game You Don't Want To Lose" and "Life Is But A Sin" lean into heavier territory, proving that Masheena can hit hard without sacrificing the warmth and movement that define the record.
Then there's "Riffy". Any song carrying a title like that had better deliver, and thankfully it does. Gloriously. It's the kind of track that reminds you why rock music was never meant to be overanalysed. Sometimes a great riff, a killer groove and a band locked into the pocket are all you really need.
The best thing about "Let The Spiders In" is that it feels lived in. You can hear decades of record collecting, gigging and music obsession flowing through these songs. There are nods to Clutch, Kyuss, Led Zeppelin, Sabbath and plenty of others, but Masheena never disappear beneath their influences. They take those ingredients and cook up something with its own flavour.
By the time "You Owe Me" storms in and sends the album out in a cloud of dust and ringing ears, there's only one real conclusion: Masheena have made a rock record that understands one simple truth. Great songs don't need tricks. They just need heart, groove and conviction. "Let The Spiders In" has all three in abundance.
-Helge Neumann
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