Given how prolific and ubiquitous the very realms of stoner music have become in the recent decades, it’s not hard for a new band to step into the light out of virtually nowhere and plant a decent foothold for themselves as they move forward. Talent, however, is not something that comes at the very snap of our fingers, as we’re all aware. It must be honed, tempered, and taken great care of should any fruit be born out of its labors and strife. When Bort first came to my ears four years ago, I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard with their follow-up a year later immediately raising the bar, and it’s now been the last three years that I’ve patiently waited to see how Bort would hone their own talent. Now, with their third album, it’s clear to me that Bort was never a name that deserved to be doubted.

With how expansive and all-encompassing the stoner scene has become in recent years, it can be all but effortless to let any number of bands fly under your radar or become simply forgotten as you’re left drowning in thousands of other names, but Bort has remained one name that I simply refused to forget. I’ve never been able to help feel since their sophomore album that Bort had so much more up their sleeves than what they were letting on, and it’s with virtually given aspect of “The Wreck of the Hesperus” that I’m able to joyously witness such expectations come to glorious fruition. Whereas many in the scene tend to rely on nothing but riffs, Bort manages to rise above such an easy endgame despite the fruits that can come from such labor. It’s throughout the seven tracks that Bort manages to craft a fluid, evocative experience that sets apart this record not only from the band’s own discography up to this point but apart from what much of the rest of the scene is doing as well. With what feels like without even breaking a sweat, it’s right from the beginning that “The Wreck of the Hesperus” shows us that Bort has grown immensely in the three years since we last heard from them with all that they’ve brought forward here showing their growth in tremendous fashion. Whether it’s in the form of expanded, gorgeous songwriting, powerful riffage that can seamlessly give way to beautiful melodies, musicianship whose quality simply cannot be denied, or the sheer passion that can be tasted in every given note of this album, Bort has crafted something undeniably delicious with all that is “The Wreck of the Hesperus” with even the tiniest moments of this album having immense impact and weight to leave one hell of an impression.

Given the sheer growth that Bort has shown in such a relatively short amount of time, I don’t know how I could’ve ever possibly came away from this album and not be pleasantly surprised by what has been put forth for this is far more than another album destined to be lost in the endless haze of this still-growing scene. There’s real magic to be had within the confines of “The Wreck of the Hesperus”, you need just to allow the tides to wash over you as they ebb and flow to Bort’s whim.

“The Wreck of the Hesperus” releases on June 3rd!

LISTEN to the advanced track, “Permanent Failure”, on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Bort on Facebook here.