To the Center

To the Center
Studio album by Nebula
Released	August 24 1999
Recorded	April 1999 at Hanszek Audio in Seattle, Washington
Genre	Stoner Rock, Desert Rock
Length	47:51
Label	Sub Pop
Producer	Jack Endino, Nebula
Nebula chronology
Nebula / Lowrider (1999)	To the Center (1999)	Clearlight (2000)

To the Center is the debut studio album by the American stoner rock band Nebula. It was released on August 24, 1999, on Sub Pop. The album was later reissued in 2018 by the band's current label, Heavy Psych Sounds.

Background

To the Center was majorly recorded at Hanszek Audio in Seattle, the album was produced with Jack Endino. Guitar player Eddie Glass employed a Gibson SG. Jon Wright (Steel Wool, Leatherboy, Rodent Kontrol) contributed Fender Rhodes to two tracks while Mark Arm (Mudhoney) contributed lead vocals to the band's cover of "I Need Somebody" by The Stooges.

Sub Pop handled the original issue in 1999 while Sweet Nothing Records handled the UK release. In 2018 Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds would reissue To the Center among other Nebula releases, featuring two live bonus tracks on the CD and Digital versions.

To the Center was praised upon release and is cited among one of the band's finest works. Exclaim! wrote that Glass "transformed himself into a veritable guitar god almost overnight in an era wherein the slightest six-string noodling is waved off the road, considered indulgent." The Chicago Tribune thought that "acoustic guitars, sitar, [and] synthesizer give this Hendrix-like trio added texture." OC Weekly decided that "the band also gets a little groovy, pulling out the aural incense to jam on the Fugazi-like 'Freedom' and synthesizer-laced, Jefferson Airplane-ish 'Synthetic Dream'."

The Province determined that "this power trio seems to have blotted up its churn and burn from ancient Frisco acid rock band, Blue Cheer." Tucson Weekly deemed To the Center "an album which undeniably pushes the band to the forefront of its genre, whether or not you've got a bong in front of you."

Houston Press wrote: "On a song such as 'Come Down', Nebula actually does what few '90s bands have ever done, chemically enhanced or not: It achieves true heaviness. After the song's simple three-note syncopated intro doubles back on itself, Glass scratches his guitar pick down his strings before singing the hurried lyrics. And it's during those one and a half seconds, the time it takes for Glass's pick to travel a few inches, that Nebula is the heaviest band on earth. Not since Ritchie Blackmore's days with Deep Purple has the simple gesture of pick scratching been used so perfectly."

AllMusic called the album a "retro-psychedelic heavy rock platter, long on stripped-down riff muscle and surprisingly technically adept guitar jams."

Tracklist

All songs written by Eddie Glass and Ruben Romano except where noted.

• 1. To the Center (6:31)
• 2. Come Down (2:01)
• 3. Whatcha Lookin' For (2:37)
• 4. Clearlight (4:29)
• 5. Freedom (7:14)
• 6. Antigone (2:30)
• 7. I Need Somebody (4:18) (Iggy Pop, James Williamson)
• 8. So Low (3:45)
• 9. Synthetic Dream (4:28)
• 10. Fields of Psilocybin (2:15)
• 11. Between Time (3:22) (Randy Holden)
• 12. You Mean Nothing (4:21)

Personnel

Nebula

• Eddie Glass - Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Drums, Percussion, Fender Rhodes, Bolbatar, Vocals
• Mark Abshire - Bass, Audio Generator, Vocals, Design
• Ruben Romano - Drums, Percussion, Gong, Sitar, Vocals

Other Personnel

• Jon Wright - Fender Rhodes (1, 9)
• Mark Arm - Lead Vocals (6)
• Jack Endino - Engineer, Producer
• John Golden - Mastering
• Alex Obleas - Photography
• Jenny McGee - Photography

External Links

• Discogs
• Bandcamp via Heavy Psych Sounds