Album Review of Smear Merchants: La Habitacion 235

The record has been out over a week and its humbling to see how far it is traveling. From Mexico to France. Thankyou to Ruben Herrera from La Haitacion 235 and everyone for sharing our record! Here is the link to his site>>>https://www.lahabitacion235.com/musica/noticias/fuzz-evil-smear-merchants-la-transicion-que-conduce-a-la-libertad.html? #StonerRock #DoomMetal #SmearMerchants #AlbumReview #LaHabitacion235

English Translation:

Fuzz Evil – “Smear Merchants”; The transition that leads to freedom…

March 26, 2025 Rubén Herrera

This will be the fourth album for these Arizona artists, but it's our first exposure to the North American band, arriving on the Desert Records roster, as the best promotional showcase to unleash the instrumental exploration and vocals captured on an album like “Smear Merchants,” the latest from Fuzz Evil.

A renewal is the best sign of these guys' enthusiasm for their return. Above all, a combination of creations from shorter, more direct tracks to those longer productions where Fuzz Evil themselves showcase their best credentials, putting all the ingredients on the table for the ultimate feast.

The powerful narrative combination told in the new “Smear Merchants” is one of the flagships for enjoying the impact of these four boys from the North American desert.

Driven by this sonic transition, they break free from their sound, creating authentic epics in tracks like "Progression of the Black Sun," "How to Vibe Alone," and the title track itself. These three pillars are likely what sustain the centrifugal nature of "Smear Merchants," laden with an atmosphere filled with intricate elements and soundscapes open to that heavy psych so peculiar to the Arizona band.

Like many albums of their caliber, each listen to Fuzz Evil's new work is a fascinating adventure to be enjoyed step by step. The injections of intensity perpetrated by Fuzz Evil lead through a desert full of possibilities, of hypnotic gaps, to demonstrate exemplary development and unleash that rawness that has a negative side: a production so crystalline that it can sound somewhat tiresome. The latter, from my humble point of view.

What's undeniably true is their charmingly versatile fauna, amplifying all those desert rock nuances and going even deeper, making this experience vastly different from the many recent albums yours truly has heard.

I'm especially struck by the sweeping scope of "Smear Merchants," far from positioning itself within a specific genre and instead giving us what I consider the great crossover of the month of March, alternating all that space merchandise into a most moving aspect.

Fuzz Evil's impact is a given; it's what we call a revelation of the year around here. And as our first contact with the Americans, "Smear Merchants" impacts the surface of planet 235, leaving one of the great craters that go straight to the listener's soul.

Keep an eye on these guys, they're showing promise...