Customer Reviews

Feathers

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

SpacemenSabbathRideZeppelinVerveFloyd. There. Now that the mandatory nod to this album's stylistic forbears is out of the way, we can move on to just how phenomenally _good_ it is. While looking at various reviews of _Feathers_ recently, I was struck how no two reviewers seem to agree on which song is the "highlight" or "centerpiece." That's telling of the kind of depth and consistency that this disc possesses--any one of about five different songs on it could have been the keystone of a lesser release.

On _Feathers_, Dead Meadow accomplish the rare feat of taking readily-identifiable influences and crafting something satisfyingly new out of them. It's not really revivalism, nor is it tongue-in-cheek; it's deep, sincere, and massively heavy work in the grand (and surprisingly vital) tradition of dark psychedelia. Having never heard them before, I was expecting at best a worshipful cultist's recreation of Sonic Boom's guitar tone or Blue Cheer's production values, but instead I got..well, listen for yourself. The record needs little further cheerleading.

As an aside, I see little basis for some people's grousing about how DM have "sold out." It's just the kind of I-was-there-first sanctimoniousness that happens whenever a cult band threatens to break out with a broadly appealing album. I haven't heard a lot of earlier Dead Meadow, but what I have heard sounds rather brittle, aimlessly repetitive, and undisciplined compared to _Feathers_.

Anton Newcombe introduced me to Dead Meadow 2 years ago, and they now fall within my top 5 bands of all time. With the addition of a 4th member, DM have re-done some old favourites, and expanded exponentially with surprisingly beautiful songs like "at her open door" and "don't tell the riverman". They have stepped back from the heavy fuzz guitars in favour of layering, an unexpected and welcome change.
I don't label my music, and I have little idea what "stoner-rock" means to the masses. This is music that makes you stare hypnotically at their psychedelic bass drum as it throbs your skull and you sway in time. If that's what you want, buy this. And if you ever get a chance, see them live to get the full effect.

More of the same - hypnotic soundscapes swirling around in your head, nasaly vocals accompanying them. The line-up has changed a bit with the trio now becoming a quartet, as the band added a second guitar player. This only further texturizes the music and makes it all that much more of a great listen. If you like Dead Meadow, no doubt about it, you'll like this release. If you've never heard them before, what are you waiting for?

1 complaint: 2 of the 9 songs were previously heard on their other records. "Heaven" from their previous album, and "Sleepy Silver Door" from the self-titled release were redone.

In the year 2005, I listened to approximately 150 or so new albums. And this, without a doubt, held my attention for the longest time, and I found myself coming back again and again to it.

I won't make comparisons to other bands, because everyone else can do that. This album is very atmospheric, at times it holds doom over you. It's psychedelic, no doubt about that. Laden with slow riffs and heavy drumming, but it still has its buildups, one or two catches & hooks, and its feakouts. Not to mention the singer's mastery of the wah pedal. The musicianship of each member shines here, and they even dust off the acoustics on a few tracks and show off some lap steel on one of the tracks.

Highlights include, the very first song, Let's Jump In, which from the first 10 seconds you can tell is going to be a dark trip down the rabbit hole. The second song, Such Hawks Such Hounds, has some really good drumming on it (marching band perhaps?), and a chord progression and lyrics that will draw you into an Edgar Allen Poe scene. They redid the song Heaven for this album, and this version is much more listenable. The single off the album, At Her Open Door, probably stands out the most and is the easiest to swallow (check out the music video on their website, DeadMeadow.com, it's pretty good). Sleepy Silver Door also makes an appearance at the end of the album, after a few minutes of some odd jug-sounding tribal-esque drumming (60's anyone?), then it breaks into the old psychedelia again for the nearly 14 minute closer. Get out the rolling papers and get ready kids.

A new drummer joined the fold and they added a second guitarist. That being said, this album is different from their previous releases, but it still runs down the same vein and if you are a fan of their older stuff, you won't be disenfranchised by this.

It's good. I'd recommend you double your listening pleasure with marijuana, but it's already stoner enough that you won't have to if you don't swing that way (it's okay, you'll find out one day). I read somewhere that this was Matador's slowest selling album, and I can't believe that. Be one of the few elite and own this album, it really is timeless and will go great next to your favorite records from the 60's and 70's.

I said I wouldn't make comparisons, but I have one question for you... "Are You Experienced?"

If I may ask this question: "What is wrong with a band who wants to refine/adjust their sound, especially when it becomes an extension to their already great music?" My answer is: "Nothing". This album is excellent, and I've been a long time DM fan. The band is tighter, and more melodic than ever before with this new release. And while I love Shivering King (check my review), I love Feathers equally as much. It's solid. It grooves, it rocks. What is wrong with that? So it sounds "softer" (which is not the case). This album proves just how great DM really is. I'm sorry folks, they've improved! Each and every DM album is great, and this one is no exception. Get over yourself about it not being DM, it is DM. Ya know, some people criticized The Beatles (and countless other bands) when they grew their hair out and dropped the bubblegum pop songs for something more? Put all the petty preconceptions aside and ask yourself if you really love music, and then get this album, and enjoy it.

Dead Meadow has obviously put a lot of effort into making a great sounding album. This should be played full blast, listened to while goofy. I was stuck on a few songs and just kept repeating those (the first three) but the album kept unfolding and I realized that it's solid throughout. There are some amazing solo's. Heaven and Sleepy Silver Door are from other albums, Heaven is basically re-written though, and I can't see how anyone could complain about Sleepy Silver Door with the treatment they give it here. It is an amazing epic closer with one of the best solo/extended jams ever. I'm serious, I mean ever. Their last album was great, but not this good. I'm now going to make sure I don't miss a Dead Meadow release.

Profound and awesome! Good, good rocking tunes with a different angle this time. Rather than repeat the same formula they took a lighter, more spacious tone on this one with emphasis on twang and vocal delivery. It's Dead Meadow with a slightly different sound and it still blows away nearly all of the musical flotsam which clogs the airwaves these days. "Heaven" is a new take on one of their best songs. Get this, love it. One of America's best bands straight from the nations capitol Washington D.C.! Music for a spiritual adventure or a soul quest. For fans of Led Zepp and/or Tom Petty.

Dead Meadow has lost a bit of the "edge" on this release that they had on their previous releases. The fuzzy, psychedelic guitars and Black Sabbath-like riffing is mostly absent. There is some of that still left in some of the tracks, however. Trying to be more commercial, perhaps? To me, several of the songs sound very similar to the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Anton Newcombe must have been very influential. Their live album "Got Live If You Want It" (Same title as a Rolling Stones live album) was released on Anton's record label. This one is still a decent record, though. The second half of Tract 7 (Eyeless Gaze) could have been a Dark Side Of The Moon outtake! (Well, almost). The last track has the "classic" (already?) Dead Meadow sound but I found a mp3 of the same song (not the same recording, however) a few years ago.

I like Dead Meadow alot. Their sound is unique and is a great throwback to the old psychadelic bands of the sixties and seventies. The guitar rifts and drum beats are phenomonal.

I saw them recently live and was floored at how great they sound. Some bands never sound so great live, but not Dead Meadow. It was like being high without substances. It was psychadelic, funky, inspiring and fabulous. Another plus is that these guys are really nice. They came out into the audience and visited. They were real friendly and outgoing.
I recommend this album and if you get a chance, see them live. You will not be disappointed.

I wanted to advise you not to take the 30 second samples you can hear on-line as representative of the whole album. Like LPs used to be more often than now, this deceptively low-key disc is meant to be heard as a whole. I had resisted buying this for a while since I was not bowled over by the snippets. The 10 tracks for the most part remain languorous, but not enervating. They are very much suited for a morning after the night before mood.

The last song, for example, takes its sweet time stretching out; the one before gives a bit of industrial whir; track 5 reminds me of Led Zep III's folkier moments; track 2 of the blur of folk and rock in late 60s Britain, and other songs have hints of very early Verve, Brian Jonestown Massacre, and a blend of shoegazer's trippier incarnations into a lethargic but slowly endearing slumbering charm that the band brings to these largely narcoleptic tunes. The mix, therefore, of newer bands influenced by psychedelia with original era groups that mixed this with more of a sludgy, hard rock but not necessarily loud rock edge, especially from the first part of the 70s, makes this not an exercise in nostalgia but a mature, and professionally prepared presentation of tunes that only at first glance seem simple. It takes a few minutes, not a 30-second sample start, for most of the tracks to begin to sink into your synapses. The wait's worth it.

The care in crafting this album will make me search out other Dead Meadow efforts; I know this is considered their "breakthrough" album if only relatively speaking. It's the first time I heard of the band. I get the impression that they may have tamped down the spark of previous albums here, but this slow burning collection does, as I've explained, work well as a whole. The balance of vocals and instrumental sections provides more depth to the songs, and they simmer rather than boil.

P.S. A well-matched counterpart from 2005 also would be the self-titled Black Mountain CD, which also blends newer and older neo-psych with similarly percolating early 70s folk and rock and even a bit of experimental flourishes.