Lo-Pan have been about as close to a sure thing as you can get in the world of hard rock over the last decade. Get Well Soon is their seventh album, and by now we all have a pretty good idea of what we’re getting into. No, Lo-Pan aren’t about to mess with the formula by throwing in blackened or shoegaze influences. This is, much like their past releases, an honest-to-goodness rock record elevated by wrench-in-the-spokes songcraft and captivating vocal performances.
After sixteen years, it’s hard to expect an old dog to learn new tricks. But as you may have noticed over the last decade, Lo-Pan aren’t averse to change. Lineup shifts and stylistic changes have built upon their standout 2011 release, Salvador, leading to 2019’s Subtle, their most experimental effort to this point. That album saw the band gradually branching out from their hook-laden stoner rock roots, offering something a touch more sophisticated and with more intrigue than your standard stoner doom fare.
Opener “The Good Fight” kicks off in a way that had me thinking Lo-Pan were taking up their space rock in their latest edition, with a sort of King Buffalo-meets-Irata vibe. It oscillates between effect-heavy layers of guitar in the pre-chorus and chorus, offset by dialed-back, rhythm-heavy segments. It’s undeniably Lo-Pan, but the message is clear that this Columbus quartet is on a mission to push their sound further into uncharted waters. That ebb and flow runs throughout the record, both thematically and sequentially. Follow-up “Northern Eyes” builds on the atypical song structures explored in Subtle, but this time with more of an alt-rock feel, rounded out by nautical riffage and a pleasantly aqueous guitar solo.
“Wormwood” follows in their wake, amping up both the tempo and chaos. There’s a distinctly Tool-esque feel—not just in Jeff Martin’s vocals, which carry an MJK-ish quality I hadn’t noticed before—but also in the instrumentation. The layered vocals and the pre-chorus build into a chorus that lends dimension, texture, and frenzy—a satisfying contrast to the off-kilter buzz of the primary riff. Similarly, the odd-time groove of “Rogue Wave” digs deeper into prog metal territory, culminating in a whopper of a guitar solo that crashes down like, well, a rogue wave. Similarly, “Harper’s Ferry” returns to a chunkier sound with a non-standard grooves that once again nods to that Tool influence.
That’s not to say Lo-Pan have taken a sharp turn into prog metal. There’s still plenty of enormous stomp riffs, meaty chugs, and deceptively limber grooves to be found here. Eight-minute closer “Six Bells” might just be one of their best songs, period, and probably most representative of their “same, but different” feel here. Built on a syrupy stoner groove, it leaves plenty of room for massive vocal moments, a meditative but heavy riff, and a trippy atmospheric break leading to a huge payoff. It’s a far cry from their more straightforward beginnings and a testament to just how far they’ve come.
So on one hand, Get Well Soon is an unabashedly hard stoner rock record. On the other, this alt-prog undercurrent gives it a unique edge. As someone who feels Tool could have done just about anything except barf up the same album three times over two decades, it’s a treat to hear echoes of that all-but-forgotten Undertow and Opiate rawness. Even better, Lo-Pan aren’t trying to merely replicate that sound. Instead, they’re refining their own bright, groovy, and finessed style—integrating a complementary flavor that sets them apart from their peers. More please!
Get Well Soon is available in flat and digital formats April 4 via Magnetic Eye Records.