Dead Meadow

The aural companion to their concert film of the same name, Three Kings finds Washington, DC psychedelic hard rockers Dead Meadow performing a hometown gig at the last date of their five-month tour in support of then-latest release Old Growth. Fuzzy and shuffling, much of the band's sound and style on this 14-track compilation feels loose and trippy, reminiscent of a stateside counterpart to Canada's East Coast-based groove rockers Elevator. As far as live recordings go, Three Kings is spectacular, sounding as if it were recorded in the centre of some long-lost Jimi Hendrix jam session at Electric Lady Studios. Wah-pedals are used with reckless abandon, slinky drumbeats plod along with comfortable patience and the bass, as usual, holds down the entire effort. Imagine Nebula, Orange Goblin and Fu Manchu getting so high they dropped their beefs to hammer out tunes from the first Black Sabbath album and you've pretty much got Three Kings, a space/stoner rock exploration rich with blues and downplayed pop hooks.