The riffage may be full Iommi, but the songs move with purpose and intent. This Austin duo makes a glorious psychedelic stoner noise, all in service of what might be called an indigenous opera. The songs, generally sung in Spanish, are focused on pre-European contact America. And they rip.

Gran Moreno El Sol (self-released)

This is the first part of a dual release, as La Luna drops later this year. But as an introduction, the eight songs here are freakishly catchy (considering their musical roots). Heavy, kintetic and full of fuzz, few bands have rocked liked this in years.

I know, we're in the post-rock era. Gran Moreno doesn't really care. This sort of unabashed brain-bashing riffage should never go out of style, especially when played with the flair exhibited here. Even without the intriguing message of the songs (which I'm grasping just a bit), the music here is some of the most compelling I've heard in a while.

Again, it's the style. These guys just stand up and start blasting. They're skilled enough to drop in plenty of subtlety, but they're not afraid of volume. I suppose this is a throwback, but Gran Moreno's approach is fully forward-thinking. I can't wait to sample part two.

Jon Worley