Floating Widget

Floating Widget, a new outfit hailing from Montreal, have created a record that from start to finish is a tribute to the early days of riff heavy stoner rock. Even the title, Praises to the Riff Monolith, conjures up religious symbolism revolving around the beauty of the riff and the stoned euphoria that it can produce. While absolutely nothing original is explored here, minus the fact that the band sings in both English and French, Floating Widget have created a collection of riff heavy rock’n’roll that will satisfy the head bangers from the onset. Every song dotting the album is similar, abandoning harmonics for distortion while centring on deep, aggressive and demanding drum rhythms. While lovers of revolutionaries Fu Manchu and Kyuss will eat this record up, flailing their hair in appreciation of the band’s competent and consistent hard edged stoner rock, Praises to the Riff Monolith seemingly drags on with monotony, circling around the same loud riff, hi-hat and bass laden drum work and aggressive screamo-style vocal styling. The beauty of bands like Fu Manchu and Kyuss was that their style incorporated alternative influences within the stoner rock realm, and Floating Widget just aren’t there yet. The potential is there, but more time is needed for the band to find their sound within the scene. Still, if you are a stoner rock junkie, I would suggest giving Montreal’s hazy rockers a shot, but if you are learning about the style, go pick up some of Fu Manchu rather than a band that has mastered the art of tracing.