Heavy Meadows

Heavy Meadows should count their blessings for having a singer with such unique vocal character. Though the other musicians are equally skilled at their chosen instruments, it's the voice of Virgil Muir that makes their full-length debut a true standout. Like a more animated Nick Drake fronting a jazz-hued stoner jam (Gomez, anyone?), Muir's physically restrained timbre helps the group escape the horrible stigma left by many a jam band before them. As you can predict with any band in that genre, Heavy Meadows are a band likely to rely on a small group of cult followers to carry them the rest of their career. This surely isn't everyone's cup of tea (your average listener may find the songs a bit longwinded) but there's definitely a niche of dreadlocked "feelers” just waiting for a record like this one.