Dead Meadow
Old Growth
Matador
After recording their first album in a Washington D.C. garage, Dead Meadow have a career behind them that brought on glowing regard from the music press and a fan base devoted to their sound. Always willing to experiment and bring their music into new directions while still retaining a familiar sound, Old Growth, the group’s fifth album, contains some of their finest music to date.
Old Growth has a mellow, fuzzy vibe that is seemingly more down to earth than their previous record (more earthy than spacey). The rhythm section glides smoothly while guitarist Jason Simon churns out some of his finest melodies and riffs. While the previous album, Feathers, experimented with the blissed out surrender of shoegaze, Old Growth is bluesy and graceful.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre, another band that stands side by side at the helm of today’s psychedelic scene, are a definite influence on the way Old Growth sounds. More than ever the tracks are actually songs as opposed to sound scapes. The way the songs feel and the way they’re constructed show definite influence from Anton Newcombe’s band of rock and roll renegades. This influence clearly comes the album’s producer, BJM organist Rob Campanella.
Those who love Dead Meadow for their creativity, ingenuity, and psychedelic sound will find more of the band’s brilliance on Old Growth. It’s hard to imagine any fan of Dead Meadow or anyone with a taste for psychedelic rock not loving Old Growth.
