Album Details

• Artist: No Doctors
• Album: Origin & Tectonics
• Label: N/A
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2007-12-04

It's taken me quite awhile to get a grasp on just what No Doctors are all about after having recieved a copy of their new Origin and Tectonics record just last month. After a dozen or so continuosly less-confusing spins, I feel I've finally figured 'em out. No Doctors are quite unique in my experience, combining bits and pieces from a myriad of bands in rock history. Part stoner-rock, part jazz fusion, part classic acoustic baladeering (think Neil Diamond backed by Kyuss with a horn section), Origin and Tectonics acts like a pile of rubble that represents all the major steps in avant-garde music from the past 30 years.

That's quite alot to say for a relatively unknown bunch as No Doctors, but they deliver on this album in spades. Every other song is a standout and the album starts on a good note with "Yerba Buena" and it's feel of a more white-knuckled Bauhaus. "Rumble Ring" features nifty vocal melodies during the chorus, and tends to churn up a little more dust than the rest. "Invisible Clopes" is a loosely-tied ensemble of horns, smooth drum patterns and melodic riffing, which would approach QOTSA territory if not for the band's insistence on making sudden, lurching turns in directions you don't see coming. If I didn't know better, I'd say "Yardin" was a tribute to Neil Diamond, the chorus and overall sound of the acoustic jam sounding like some of his more popular songs. The big-impacts of Origin And Tectonics have to be "Tuning The Sundial" (especially the closing quarter and it's sinister feel) and the anthemic, terrificly written "Lost in the Fog". 

I am not 100% sure just who would dig this: the closest I can come to a fair comparison is Queens of the Stone Age, but that represents a small portion of their overall sound. This album has been an adventure, one that seems to end all too soon but still leaves you pondering another listen, not sure if what you just heard was amazing or a blur. After the confusion fades, fans of...uh...rock music...should find a diamond in the rough here. 

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