If the title "Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky" didn't give it away, Earthless are one of those bands who sound like they treasure their bong as much as they do their original pressings of Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer LP's. Three songs, 46 minutes and a logo font that reeks of turn of the 60's, all signs point to this album being a pretentious classic stoner rock snorefest and yet it surprisingly isn't.

Sure it's basically a long-winded jam session where three dudes go off on a psychedelic hard rock trip that sounds like Black Sabbath when they were starting to get over the blues. But the shocker here is that rather than drone on, this largely instrumental release has enough balls and haze layered onto it to make it more than just background music.

This is of course largely due in part to the guitar work which consistently surges forth with wailing solos and soulful riffs while the loose, yet ever so significant, rhythm section warmly builds the grooves. The undeniable show stealer though is the lively (though admittedly linear) cover of "Cherry Red", originally done by 60's/70's blues rock outfit The Groundhogs. Complete with vocals, the closing cover caps off the effort with a bang and will more than likely have most listeners and aspiring guitar heroes skipping to it first before burnout sets in from the 40 minutes that precede it.