DEAD FEATHERS

All Is Lost RIPPLE MUSIC

Psychedelic Chicagoans go for the mantric slow build

For many retro-psych bands, the steepest pitfall is the drive to recreate the sound of their influences without injecting any of their own personality into the music. With their fulllength debut, Chicago’s Dead Feathers navigate this precarious line with striking dexterity, conjuring an absorbing collection of bluesy 70s psychedelia powered by the bewitching vocals of Marissa Allen.

It’s a slow-burner, with the heavy, driving tracks like Horse And Sands packed into the middle, while the front and back smoulder with languid psychedelic jamming and slow, ruminating blues like Smoking Gun. Druggy fretwork abounds but it’s Allen’s soulful croon that invests the material with vitality. Not as immediate as their 2016 EP, All Is Lost

will nonetheless reveal its subtle charms through multiple listens. ■■■■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: Witch Mountain, Black Math Horseman, Horseback

JOE DALY