I hate it when people say, “Wow, small world!” No, brother: It is a HUGE world, and we probably won’t see each other ever again. Having lived in seven-odd states, I deal with this problem of impermanence so much it’s ridiculous. Point being, hearing kids playing music prominently influenced by bands I remember listening to in my youth is like the missing-people-huge-world thing in reverse; it’s like making a new friend you never knew you needed. The Family Stoned represent something special, particularly to those reared on Pacific Northwest indie rock. “High Time Woman II” is an extremely confident ballad, out-of-tune vocals or no, a high-school prom number from a wedding band in the sky. Fuck, that’s lame. Sorry. Now that I’m embarrassed, I’ll have you know “Rituals” is a real corker as well, albeit in a more Meat Puppets-y way. Uptempo and… shit, The Pretenders and J Mascis maybe? I need some fuckin’ sleep.
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