Old Growth
On first listen, the fifth album from Washington band Dead
Meadow seems a bit of a fizzer. Rather than some blasting
charged-up psych rock, it opens with the laconic Ain’t Got
Nothin’ (to Go Wrong), with Jason Simon singing “silence is
golden”.
It takes a few listens to properly reveal itself. The rhythms
ebb and flow, Mellotrons drone and melodies weave in and out in the
style of shoegazer outfits Ride, Jesus and Mary Chain, Comets on
Fire and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Since its last album, 2005’s
Feathers, the band have moved to LA and returned to being a trio
after the departure of guitarist Cory Shane.
They recorded Old Growth live over two weeks in an isolated
farmhouse-studio in rural Indiana, which they believed was haunted.
This may add to the ghostly, dreamy atmosphere on the album, which
is accentuated by producer Rob Campanella’s rich, reverb-heavy
guitar mix. The highlight comes with Till Kingdom Come, a
seaside sonic adventure reminiscent of the Drones’ Sharkfin
Blues. Apart from that, it doesn’t really get out of third
gear but it’s not without its charms.
