Dave Chamberlain

An indie-rock-flavored heavy-rock response to the reams of stoner metal bands that sprouted up in the late nineties, Dead Meadow shows itself one of the great rock `n' roll bands in the States today with its fourth record, the double-CD "Feathers" (Matador). The idea of heavy rock here comes with a caveat; Dead Meadow doesn't put a pedal to the metal and they're not the same kind of bludgeon as High on Fire. But the band does play guitar rock, based in the low end, and absolutely rife with psychedelic imagery passed along through extended, spacey bridges, displaced vocals that sound set back from the rest of the music and an almost reluctant natural ability to unload rock `n' roll fury at will. "Feathers" comes off as the band's most subtle work to date, allowing for more deliberate tension building, a construction which, on most of the tracks, never culminates in the expected bombast. These guys are too smart for that, and if even one song from "Feathers" unloaded in Orange Goblin fashion, it would make for major disappointment. None do, though, and the meandering hallucinogenic paths that Dead Meadow takes us on rank as the singularly most satisfying slabs of smart rock you're bound to hear this year.

Dead Meadow plays April 1 at the Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western, (773)276-3600.

(2005-03-29)

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