Dead Meadow have been around for almost 3 decades in the psych world. As one of the formative bands that pulled the subgenre into its post-Brian Jonestown Massacre neo-golden age along with The Black Angels, Moon Duo, OSees, and Black Moth Super Rainbow, they’ve been a mainstay with a stellar discography that exemplifies what’s great about the genre with silky transcendental psychic trip tunes that can levitate the listener to a relaxed state of colorful subconscious.
Voyager to Voyager operates on similar and familiar principles, and what fans have come to expect. The Washington DC trio of Jason Simon, Mark Laughlin, and Steve Kille use their magic to continue their 70s scuzz of a detailed journey which meanders, sidewinds, and cursives throughout the listener’s psyche. It gently engages and softly pulls you in, never lets go, as you fall through the kaleidoscopic descent into light heavy musicianship that refuses to shift outside of the slacker day glow of its chill tempo flow. Today, we’re thrilled to premiere the album in full a day before its official release on March 28.
The jam-locked tempo enables the strengths of Dead Meadow to flare underneath a production that emphasizes the bleed and blend of the slow swirl charm that’s underlined their 10 album run. The slower intoxicated dragged out moments scratch a particular psychic itch for the ones who cherish this genre, and don’t shy away from the necessary indulgence that could indoctrinate more fans and followers. The tenderness to their specific song craft is abundant, with no side steps, or new experimentations, but plays out like three people who love doing what they do together. That chemistry is incredibly important when working together to form a cohesive vision. The intuitiveness of their delivery only shines a light on why they were considered giants within the genre.
Album opener “The Space Between” initiates the specific state of mind that is requested to continue the rest of the 41 minutes of daydream Dead Meadow lays out for introspective internal discourse. “Not The Season” draws in some slacker inspiration, and plays it out comparable to Kurt Vile or Courtney Barnett, with a sunny dreamy haze. “The Wave Away” and “A Question of Will” hit this similar vibe with some exceptions of 70s jam glitter dashed into the latter. “Dead Tree Snake” takes a different turn, yet down a familiar avenue that boasts Dead Meadow’s penchant for executing psychedelia in slowtime and ease.
The standout amongst the 42 minutes of 8 tracks is album closer “Voyager to Voyager”. Operating on a doomier riff, Simon’s guitar work bounces around various textures and shifts like a pinball amongst the backdrop of Laughlin’s janky percussion that sounds like it found the middle ground of coming or going, almost sounding like it could break completely down in a janky way that clears space for details to take root, and explore various paths before looping back around, and shifts completely into darker territory as it transitions into a soundscape before reinventing itself into sunnier and familiar territory. This transition is done seamlessly, and leaves you breathless at how smooth they pull it all off. It’s an expounding take that defies the laws of physics with how effective they pull it off.
Overall this is an incredible album that shows why Dead Meadow have been one of the leading bands at the forefront of psychedelia. It becomes an even more essential listen considering this is Steve Kille’s final recordings for the band before his departure from this realm at the tail end of last year. As a sonic eulogy, it’s breathtaking, and sincere. As a Dead Meadow album, it’s a standout amongst standouts on their back catalog. As a psychedelic record, it’s an essential that should land on AOTY lists, and rounds out another amazing Heavy Psych Sounds release. Pay the due respect to Kille, may he rest easy now, by streaming Voyager to Voyager in full above, & give them a follow on their socials below. After all that; tune in, chill out, and take it easy.
