''WARBLE WOMB''
NOVEMBER 25 2013
71:38
1 - Six to Let the Light Shine Thru/6:04
2 - 1000 Dreams/4:29
3 - Mr. Chesty/5:03
4 - I'm Cured/6:32
5 - Warble Womb I/1:56
6 - Yesterday's Blowin' Back/5:04
7 - One More Toll Taker/2:51
8 - Rains in the Desert/5:32
9 - Burn the Here and Now/5:18
10 - All Torn Up/4:59
11 - In the Thicket/2:57
12 - Copper Is Restless ('til it Turns to Gold)/4:18
13 - Warble Womb II/2:20
14 - This Song Is Over/9:37
15 - September/4:03
REVIEW
By Fred Thomas
With their sixth studio album, Warble Womb, stoner rock/neo-psych institution Dead Meadow stretch out in every possible direction, reuniting their original lineup with the inclusion of drummer Mark Laughlin and laying down over 70 minutes of sprawling psychedelic trip-outs and gentle rain-soaked acoustic mysticism. A good 15 years into their craft, Dead Meadow aren't making the same Sabbath-worshiping riff ramblers that they were in the early 2000s, and even from the first stumbling, swampy grooves of album opener "Six to Let the Light Shine Through," it's clear that the band is building its psychedelia on a more patient, nuanced subtlety than the thick walls of noise of earlier days. That's not to say that Warble Womb is un-heavy. Blasts of slow-motion guitar sludge like "Rains in the Desert" and "This Song Is Over" are blurry and confusing affairs, but the tones are distinct and considered rather than just brutal volume shrapnel. What's more immediately apparent is Dead Meadow's embrace of thoughtful acoustic guitar-based compositions, as well as an increased experimentation with dubby production. "One More Toll Taker" is an airy duet between organ and folky guitar that calls to mind Ghost's eerie sunrise ceremony-like meditations, while a few songs later, "Burn the Here and Now" shimmers with a lush, cinematic palette of desert sky guitar tones at a narcotically slow pace. "Copper Is Restless ('Til It Turns to Gold)" rides a pseudo-reggae bassline and is the band's closest flat-out attempt at dub amidst the incredibly varied set of songs. Epic, lengthy, and ambitious, Warble Womb is so slow-moving and resilient in its vision that it never feels too heavy-handed or like it's really even attempting anything overt. The songs dissolve into each other even at their most desperate, with clunky experimental interludes making a lot of sense when used to separate Dylanesque classic rockers like "Yesterday's Blowing Back" from glowing psych pop nuggets like "Mr. Chesty." While it's not necessarily Dead Meadow's masterwork, it shows a band growing into its sound and mellowing nicely without sacrificing any of its radiance by exploring less extreme territories.
BIOGRAPHY
By Rick Kutner
Dead Meadow's unique marriage of Sabbath riffs, dreamy layers of guitar-fuzz bliss, and singer Jason Simon's high-pitched melodic croon have won over psychedelic pop/rock and stoner rock fans alike. Although the band's members met while attending all-ages shows in and around Washington, D.C.'s punk/indie scene, the trio draws more of its sound from such classic rock legends as Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath. The trio formed in the fall of 1998 out of the ashes of local indie rock bands the Impossible 5 and Coulour, with singer/guitarist Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin. The three members set out to fuse their love of early-'70s hard rock and '60s psychedelia with their love of fantasy and horror writers J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft.
They released their six-song debut album in 1999 on Fugazi bassist Joe Lally's Tolotta Records and a joint vinyl release on D.C. indie label Planaria Records. In 2001, the band released its second and third albums, Howls from The Hills and Dead Meadow, on Tolotta. Within a relatively short period, the D.C. trio received offers to tour with everyone from local D.C. hipsters The Make-Up to seedy psychedelic rockers Brian Jonestown Massacre; eventually, they landed the opening slot for high-profile indie veterans Guided by Voices. The group was also invited to record live for longtime cutting-edge British radio personality John Peel for BBC Radio One. Got Live If You Want It! arrived in 2002; that year, the band lost Laughlin and found a new drummer in Stephen McCarty.
The band moved to Matador for 2003's breakthrough Shivering King and Others. Cory Shane joined the band in time for 2005's Feathers. Their fifth studio album, Old Growth, followed in 2007. In 2010, Dead Meadow released Three Kings, a live album and concert film in the tradition of The Song Remains the Same. Later that same year, an Australian tour was announced that would include original drummer Mark Laughlin, eventually developing into a full-on reunion tour of the U.S. and Europe and Laughlin's permanent return to the band as 2011 began. The group spent a long, patient time self-producing and recording 2013's epic double-album-length release Warble Womb, the first Dead Meadow album made by the all-original lineup since 2001.
