Since it's socially acceptable these days to listen to just about anything while toking up, bong- rock has become less something you listen to while stoned than something you play while stoned. That's why we have things like Sleep's album- length epic Jerusalem and bands with names like Bongzilla. But is it really good entertainment if the band is just as baked as the audience? Wouldn't it just turn the whole thing into a real- life sequel to Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke?

It's not like anyone smokes out and listens to Sabbath anymore, anyway. And yet the concept is still burned into our collective subconscious: the minute you hear a band playing big, slow- moving, sludgy rock, you can't help but think, "Heh. They're soooo stoned." Which is a bit unfair to Fatso Jetson. The only outward clues of their particular musical and herbal proclivity is the title of their album, and the label it's on. But listen to Toasted and you'll need to buy new speakers, because your old ones will be completely clogged up and dripping sticky resin all over your nice clean rug.

Yes, Fatso Jetson play stoner rock-- or "desert rock," as I'm sure they'd prefer it, since they come from the same Palm Desert scene as Kyuss. They've got the big, hulking guitars, churning out riffs which can only be described as "burly." They've got a sly sense of humor, as evidenced in song titles such as "I've Got the Shame" and "She's So Borg." They've got vocals, at least whenever guitarist Mario Lalli feels like snarling or yowling something into the microphone. But what makes Fatso Jetson rise above the stoner nonsense is that they fucking rock.

On "Magma" and "Swollen Offering," their stomping riffage comes on like the urban descendant of defunct swampwater bloozrawkers Mule. "I've Got the Shame" barrels through blues and punk like regular rock n' roll never happened, and "Rail Job" kicks out the rockabilly jams with serious freak fervor. Stoned or straight, it doesn't matter-- Fatso Jetson can still rock, and they won't let you forget it. Even though you might have already forgotten everything else. Curse you, short- term memory loss!

-Nick Mirov