Fu Manchu’s The Return of Tomorrow brings up a lot of issues and questions for me. First and foremost- would we even have Stoner Rock without Fu Manchu? I honestly don’t think so.
Kyuss and Sleep tend to get most of the credit, while Nebula, Dozer, Truckfighters and hilarious get left out of the conversation most of the time. That is starting to change, with Louder actually posting a decent list of the top Stoner Rock albums three years ago. Fu Manchu was on that list, though it got a bit snarky.
I can’t blame the fine folks at Louder. They just had to come up with some keywords, make a list and move on. Get those clicks, dammit. Who cares if a few of the albums were “Stoner Adjacent?”
Fu Manchu’s The Return of Tomorrow
The biggest thing about The Return to Tomorrow is it’s not adjacent to anything. This is pure, straight-up, uncut Stoner. There’s not a lot of that today, as Stoner tends to dip into Doom, Sludge and Prog elements. But a band focused on the riffs, the groove, and more riffs without 10-minute epic tracks?
The longest song, Solar Babtized, clicks in at a mere 6:01. But that’s another thing about Fu Manchu- they tend to get to the point and avoid lingering there for too long. They have a highly refined ability to always leave you wanting more, which they’ve managed to do with every album.
That’s exactly what this album achieves, despite its 50-minute run time. Conceived as a double-album, Fu Manchu does get a bit more laid back on the second half with some beautifully stonerrific, psychedelic jams. What I Need is particularly satisfying near the end, with some tasty synth in the background as the tune creeps up on you like a fine edible (so I’m told.)
Fu Manchu accomplishes something that a few Stoner bands like Colour Haze have managed to do: produce a thoroughly modern album that can serve as the perfect introduction to the whole catalogue.
I think The Return to Tomorrow is one of the best Fu Manchu Albums ever released. Old fans will find enough to scratch that old-school itch while hearing new things from the band. New fans will dig the heavy riffs and relentless groove that lead them down quite the rabbit hole. Especially for fans of new bands like CLEEN, Juke Cove and Grey Giant, which we feature on our Your New Favorite Band playlist on YouTube.
Whether this new generation of Stoner bands are directly referencing Fu Manchu I can’t say. But the references are there, and I think that’s a point worth bringing up. Fu Manchu is older than Kyuss, Sleep or any of the other foundational Stoner and Desert bands. Along with Yawning Man, they were among the very first. You can clearly hear their influence in the music of Truckfighters, Dozer at at times even Kyuss.
So, take a deep breath, put this on your favorite delivery method of choice, and let Fu Manchu take you on a trip to the desert. Soak in the grooves and experience heavy that doesn’t always hit you over the head like a sledgehammer.
‘Cause this is Stoner, man.
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