"Somewhere in the evolution of rock there lies a fine, rarely-explored crevice hidden between hard rock and grunge metal, a crevice that is dark yet colorful, like oil on water. Deep within that crevice, but easily found due to their sheer volume and dynamism, is the local four-piece with the aptly pornographic name Dirty Sanchez & the Pancho Villas: apt because there is little more in the spirit of all things '70s porn than the basswork of Nathan Rudolf. In fact, Rudolf brings the embodiment of funk into this hard rock band in the way that he will, at times, sit in hard against the solid, driving rhythms of drummer Erin Stagg, but at other times, will play what lead man Jon Ivey refers to as "out of the pocket," and it's when he's "out of the pocket" that this band sets itself apart from regular mile-a-minute pre-grunge hard rock, exploring more of the stoner-rock stuff like Kyuss. Ivey's vocals are the next stand-out feature of this band, mixing up the high and rough-riding styles of Robert Plant and Ozzie Osborne with a darker charisma somewhere between Jeff Buckley and Peter Garrett. After experimenting with several shifts, the band has taken on guitarist Jon Guthrie (Michael Guthrie Band, Chop Top, ex-Community Chaos); Ivey says the lineup's solidified and, with Guthrie's inclusion, brought the band an even more distinctive "edge, energy, and power." The Pancho Villas' long overdue self-titled full-length debut (recorded with the old lineup) was set for a release months ago, but circumstances have delayed things somewhat. Dissatisfied with recordings more than a year old, the band's new lineup has been recording both old and new material, with an eye on a mid-March release." [Ben Gerrard, Flagpole Magazine]