At The Dojo US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: You can trace the roots of Fu Manchu back to the disaffected wastelands of mid-1980s US suburbia. Specifically Palm Desert, California - at the time, a quite unlikely focal point of a loose 'scene' defined by interferential rock & roll, drawing lines between early grunge, psyche, punk, metal and blues, the movement gave us Masters of Reality, Sleep, and, of course, Queens of the Stone Age. Stoner-leaning Fu Manchu were very much at the centre of that, and are now ready to celebrate 30 years since they emerged from the dry heat and bong water of the period, they've been putting out episodic 10" vinyls on limited pressings to mark the occasion. Musically, this is familiar territory, as hard and gnarly as it is exploratory, funky and infectious, which can only be a good thing when you're celebrating a big one.