DEAD MEADOW
OLD GROWTH (MATADOR)
The fifth offering from these Washington, DC-bred/LA-based psychedelic merchants finds Dead Meadow much more refined, but without sacrificing the feedback-laden goodness and textures that made their previous efforts so tasty. Opener “Ain’t Got Nothing (To Go Wrong)” plays like toned-down Blue Cheer—sleepy but not drowsy, groovy but not too stoney. Compared to [...]

LONGMONT POTION CASTLE ‘6’ D.U.
Since Volume 1, the pseudonymous LPC—one man or more?—has made a name by calling hundreds of unsuspecting Americans, from G.G. Allin and Sidney Poitier to Barbara Walters, Radio Shack and Orange Julius, but Volume 6 marks the apparent last chapter in this 20-year saga of surrealist phone calls, B.C. Rich metal [...]

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE ‘SHELTER FROM THE ASH’ DRAG CITY
If you’re not sure what Ben Chasny has been doing with Six Organs of Admittance for the last nine years, “Alone With the Alone”—the first track on Shelter—provides some answers, with layers of open-tuned guitar that push through the boundaries of folk or rock to something [...]

WU-TANG CLAN ‘8 DIAGRAMS’ SRC/UNIVERSAL
GHOSTFACE KILLAH ‘THE BIG DOE REHAB’ DEF JAM
It would be hard for any hip-hop group to live up to the legacy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s first two records, and that includes the Wu-Tang Clan itself. New album 8 Diagrams—their first in six years—comes damn close to the imagination and urgency of [...]

MAJOR STARS ‘MIRROR/MESSENGER’ DRAG CITY
Mirror/Messenger is the second record by Major Stars since reconfiguring after the departure of drummer Dave Lynch and the addition of Casey Keenan (drums), Dave Dougan (bass) and Sandra Barrett (vocals). Like other Major records, it’s a three-guitar psych-rock assault, but like predecessor Syntoptikon, it puts Barrett on vocals instead of [...]

CAVE SINGERS ‘INVITATION SONGS’ MATADOR

Don’t expect a history lesson with Invitation Songs, as the American folk influences here are raw and muddled. However, do expect to be pleased. This album inspires euphoria, and it’s a pleasure to listen to—specifically, stand out tracks “Helen” and “Oh Christine.” Lyrics like “In my bedroom I seek a foreign [...]

SAUL WILLIAMS ‘THE INEVITABLE RISE AND LIBERATION OF NIGGYTARDUST!’ NIGGYTARDUST.COM
This Williams collaboration with Trent Reznor (and longtime Reznor cohort Atticus Ross) has as much buzz for its online distribution scheme—offering fans the option of paying whatever they want—as for the nature of the collaboration itself. But the Dark Prince of Industrial Pop’s pairing with spoken-word/hip-hop [...]

CITAY ‘LITTLE KINGDOM’ DEAD OCEANS
Combining the talents of composer Ezra Feinberg (Piano Magic) and Tim Green (The Fucking Champs), Citay’s newest Little Kingdom blends ’70s Thin Lizzy-inspired rock with tinges of psychedelia and a little Led Zeppelin. The result: extended, ethereal melodies that demand you close your eyes and imagine accompanying visuals. Perhaps a long [...]

TWO LONE SWORDSMEN ‘WRONG MEETING II’ ROTTER’S GOLF CLUB
Some know Weatherall as a British deep house DJ and the acid house producer responsible for Primal Scream’s Screamedelica; others as a dark electronic experimentalist or a curator of the early rockabilly scene with a string of musical aliases. In his latest venture, Weatherall pairs with fellow [...]

BOBB TRIMBLE ‘HARVEST OF DREAMS’ SECRETLY CANADIAN

Harvest of Dreams is 25 years old, but there are only a few clues: Trimble references SNL, plays the “You have dialed a number which cannot be reached . . . ” message, and uses steady open-chord over-chorused guitar through more than half the album. I think that was [...]