Dead Meadow
Shivering King and Others
Matador
Dead Meadow has the makings of a great “buzz” band, latest in line as the “saviors of rock and roll.” I’m not sure if they’re that good, but they’ve got a few things going for them. First the Loch Ness-sized riffs that are churned out at The Melvins’ sludge rolling pace. Throw in a good bit of eccentric dark psychedelia (a la Soundgarden’s Superunknown) and murmured nature-centric vocals, and you’ve got the first two-thirds of the album. There’s a noticeable shift in instrumentation from the title track onwards when the band truly comes into its own. “Shivering King” has the same Olde English folk feel Led Zeppelin based half of their career around. Think American druids from the Ozarks trying to raise Nature’s king with moss covered acoustic guitars and ancient hymns. It’s pretty awesome stuff.
The whole album is a treat in the sense that Dead Meadow’s music is informed by as much grunge and riff-heavy rock as the garbage kept simmering at the modern rock radio stations. Dead Meadow might not go all the way to alleviate the horror wrought on the masses by the bastards of grunge, but it’s a big step in the right direction.
Matador Records: http://www.matadorrecords.com/ • Dead Meadow: http://www.deadmeadow.com/
