Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: It?s something of a surprise to see formidable Dallas riff-rocking trio Wo Fat release their third full-length album via Nasoni Records. Their last album, 2009?s excellent Psychedelonaut, was issued via Texas imprint Brainticket, and not that the new record, Noche del Chupacabra, doesn?t deserve the wider distribution that a release through Nasoni will get it, it?s just an odd fit.

Nasoni, more known for releasing ethereal Euro-prog and the space-flavored psychedelia of Vibravoid and Sula Bassana, rarely touches anything this outwardly heavy (though they did release an Alunah 10?, so it?s not entirely unprecedented), but then, Wo Fat do seem to be branching out stylistically from the genre-based straightforwardness of Psychedelonaut and their 2007 debut, The Gathering Dark. Plus, it leads one to all kinds of speculation about future tour potential ? i.e., maybe Wo Fat wanted better European distribution since they?re planning to go there ? but that?s completely unsubstantiated, so I couldn?t say one way or the other.

Whatever the case, if more people get exposed to Wo Fat and the Dallas scene in general as a result, that?s not going to be a bad thing, since along with the likes of Lo-Pan (now on Small Stone) and Black Pyramid (MeteorCity), Wo Fat have the potential to be forerunners of the next American generation of heavy rock.

That?s what comes through most about Wo Fat on Noche del Chupacabra. Three albums in and this five-track collection has the energy and creative feeling-outness of a debut. In a good way. It isn?t that Wo Fat ? guitarist / vocalist Kent Stump, bassist Tim Wilson and drummer Michael Walter ? sound like they don?t know what they?re doing. Quite the opposite. They proved on several infectiously memorable songs from Psychedelonaut that they were more than capable songwriters with a strong grip on an intended (and achieved) aesthetic. With Noche del Chupacabra, they?re merely expanding that sound, refusing to get formulaic, challenging themselves.

Continue reading: Wo Fat, Noche del Chupacabra: The Shape of Riff to Come | The Obelisk.