Stöner may reunite desert rock pioneers Nick Oliveri and Brant Bjork, but also serve as a cautionary tale for expecting greatness based purely on pedigree.
Between the fuzzed-up blues of 2021's Stoners Rule and the hypnotic grooves of the following year's Totally…, the band found a comfortable spot that, while placid, still delivered 70s-style good-times.
Boogie To Baja shows little of that. Of its five tracks, only two feel like more than half-baked clichés – Night Tripper Vs No Brainer and the title-track both delivering the ethereal jams that made the desert rock scene so beloved.
These are counteracted by uninspired instrumentals elsewhere; the City Kids cover (likely meant as a salute to Motorhead) is somehow more lethargic than even the Pink Fairies’ original, while the befuddled instrumental opener plays out like a Cheech and Chong skit, forgetting that the other iconic stoner pair at least had Earache My Eye to showcase their prowess.
