Dead Meadow - Dead Meadow
by Richard Lewis
published: 30 / 6 / 2013
Label:
Select Label
Format: N/A
intro
Richard Lewis reflects on much acclaimed Washington DC psychedelic/stoner rockers Dead Meadow's 2000 eponymous debut album, which has just been reissued
With the band’s sixth LP, the bizarrely titled ‘Warble Womb’ being readied for release, a timely reissue of the eponymous debut by DC psychedelic/stoner rockers Dead Meadow demonstrates what all the fuss continues to be about. Originally issued in 2000 on Tolotta Records, which was founded by Fugazi bassist Joe Lally, the redux version is being handled by indie set-up Xemu and Cargo in the UK. Truly under the radar upon its appearance, in an era when rock music was so dire people almost began to take Marilyn Manson seriously, Dead Meadow’s live reputation and the exposure gained through album opener ‘Sleepy Silver Door’ being featured on ‘The Wire’ (‘Meadow leader Jason is the nephew of show creator David Simon), has seen the group’s popularity slowly blossom. Recorded for a few hundred dollars in the band’s rehearsal room, the straight ahead, almost live production plays to the band’s strengths, the trio creating rolling, mesmeric vistas of sound from the simplest bass riffs and spare guitar motifs. The band's arranging skills (which juxtapose atmospheric material like the concise ‘Dragonfly’ alongside XL riff monsters like ‘Lady’ and album closer ‘Rocky Mountain High’) and Simon’s nasal but tuneful vocals set the group apart from scores of other prog/garage practitioners. The heat-hazed ‘Greensky Greenlake’, which is built around a squelching wah-wah pedal riff and low-lying synth murmur, provides ample proof of the breadth of the band’s ambition, as it welds together prog and psychedelia together whilst avoiding slipping into over-indulgence. The centrepiece of the LP, planet-sized epic ‘Beyond the Fields We Know’, meanders into territories originally charted by mid-period Floyd and Led Zeppelin in their more expansive moments, the nine and a half minutes underpinned by Steve Kille’s brilliantly inventive bass playing. Penultimate track ‘At The Edge of the Wood’, a three-minute acoustic interlude provides a welcome counterpoint away from the heaviness found elsewhere, indicative of the unplugged moments that cropped up on the band’s subsequent albums. With half a decade passed since the release of ‘Old Growth’, the present offering is an excellent introduction for those unaccustomed to the group’s charms, setting the scene for their next instalment, due later this year.
Track Listing:-
Band Links:-
http://www.deadmeadow.com/https://www.facebook.com/DeadMeadowOfficial
http://www.songkick.com/artists/471526-dead-meadow
Picture Gallery:-
live reviews |
Firebug, Leicester, 2/10/2013 |
Anthony Strutt is excited by American three-piece Dead Meadow's psychedelic blues in a deafening show at the Firebug in Leicester |
Babylon, Ottawa, 3/7/2004 |
soundcloud
reviews |
The Nothing They Need (2018) |
Washington DC’s psych rockers Dead Meadow breeze through album number eight like nothing has changed at all |
Warble Womb (2013) |
Old Growth (2008) |
Dead Meadow (2006) |
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Dennis Tufano - Copernicus Center, Chicago, 19/7/2024
Elliott Murphy - Interview
Wreckless Eric - Interview
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #16: Living in the Minds of Strangers
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #17: Tom Robinson
Norman Rodger - Interview
Chris Spedding - Interview
Penumbra - Interview
previous editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPIn Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #5 - ‘We all have good intentions/ But all with strings attached’: Music and Mental Health Part 2
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Allan Clarke - Interview
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Beautiful South - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Madeline Bell - Interview
Jimmy Nail - Interview
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
most viewed reviews
current edition
Groovy Uncle - Making ExcusesBill Wyman - Drive My Car
Hawkestrel - Chaos Rocks
Philip Parfitt - The Dark Light
Ross Couper Band - The Homeroad
Deep Purple - =1
Jules Winchester - The Journey
Popstar - Obscene
Splashgirl and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - More Human
John Murry and Michael Timmins - A Little Bit of Grace and Decay
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart