Instant Boner – High Place Phenomenon

Artist: Instant Boner

Album: High Place Phenomenon

Label: Independent

Release Date: 25/09/2020

Country: Greec

Next up we take a look at Instant Boner (turst me once you listen to this album their band name will make sense) and their full-length offering High Place Phenomenon, which was independently released on September 25.

If you’re not familiar with Instant Boner, the band hail from Thessaloniki, Greece and play a blend of heavy psych, jazz fusion, funk, blues, as well as prog and stoner rock. The band formed back in 2013 and released their debut EP Perfect Sunday the following year. They followed this up with their second EP Outburst in early 2016. This will be the band’s first full-length album and they’ve perfected their craft leading up to its creation.

The band is Marianthi Goula (vocals), Johnny Mavridis (bass), Paris Parasidis (guitars), Triantafyllos Xiros (guitars), Orestis Exintaris (saxophone) and Vagelis Tompros (drums).

The album kicks off with High Place Phenomenon, the second longest track on the album, coming in at 10:39. The song kicks off with some jazz fusion, an element that is used heavily on this album. This song has some solid saxophone segments that add a wealth of depth and character to the release. There’s plenty of prog elements on this track, with one part of it even reminding me of Rush around the 8-minute mark. Marianthi’s vocals perfectly suit the music, they have an epic sort of quality to them and her Greek accent adds an extra layer of character and uniqueness to the overall sound of the band. The track reaches a crescendo as it approaches it end but fades out on a relaxed piano segment.

Track 2 Big Bang is much more bluesy and features some heavy stoner rock influences, but there’s almost a level of funk present here. The saxophone is always such a welcome addition to the track, adding that little something special to the formula. The songs chorus “power to the people, stick it to the man, we’re gonna be your nightmare, the riot has began,” makes this track a little bit of an anthem in some respects. The song takes a really jazzy direction around the 2:20 mark and remains on that path for a solid minute, featuring some great bass and sax work. We end again on a stoner rock segment with two more choruses.

Track 3 Desert Hill is a little heavier right off the bat, but immediately shifts into a full funk segment, which as a massive funk fan I genuinely enjoyed. There’s some killer bass work, funk guitar and sax work going on here and I love it. Most of this track is funk focused, but we get a section that is very much of a country nature in the middle of the song which really mixes things up. We then shift into a much more stoner (almost doomy) section towards the end of the song.

Track 4 Mid Air is a much more slow paced, soulful track. You won’t find any stoner rock or prog elements here. Just some powerful vocals over some relaxed guitar work and soulful sax. This is almost like the album’s breather, but at the same time its a very moving piece of music.

Track 5 Inside Your Head is a very bass driven track, with the guitars taking a bit of a back seat for large portions of the song. It makes for an interesting listen, especially when the sax kicks in in parts. Following the halfway mark in the song we get into psychedelic territory with some trippy, spacy soundscapes that shift eventually into some fuzzy, downtuned guitar work bringing the track home.

The final track on the album Perfect Sunday, revisited runs for over 21 minutes and is by far the longest on the release. This is a reworked and extended version of the track by the same name from their debut EP of the same title. The first 3 minutes of the song are instrumental before the vocals join the mix. Things initially start off slow and peaceful but the around 3:45 or so we explode into powerful vocals and stoner rock swagger and rhythm. The track really begins to pick up pace shortly after. Then all of a sudden, we shift back to psychedelic, spacey, relaxed soundscapes again. Which continue through to around the 17:20 or so mark where things get heavy once more. Which continue almost to the end of the song but are switched out for a relaxed segment to end both the song and the album with.

Overall, this is a real piece of art and some truly inspiring music. If you want to be transported to another plane of existence or just have a somewhat esoteric experience listen to the final track on the album in full. If you want a fully varied and engaging experience listen to the full album, it’s well worth your time and honestly this band deserves an and all praise and attention it receives. They’ve also fully earned that band name, because it pretty much is the effect that this release has on the listener.

Listen to the full album below:

Bandcamp:

Spotify:

Apple Music: