As many other blogs and heads in the know have recently pointed out, Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders’ latest album, the subscription-only Planet Lidders, is a true tour de force of all of the band’s greatest strengths.

Alexander’s subscription service is certainly something all psychedelic music fans should consider taking advantage of, as it brings you killer exclusive releases, such as this excellent example of prime Lidders action. However, this album will also eventually see a digital and cassette release via Worried Songs come September. So non-subscribers should mark their calendars.

While most of their previous albums focus on either just songs or jams, this record might present the best sampling of both sides of the supergroup’s sound.

“Plastistone Circle” is a twenty minute epic filled with molten riffage that is beefed up by the skronking sax of underground legend Jeff Tobias. The band lurches and churns like a giant fierce reptile twisting around its prey in a tight death roll, while Drew Gardner’s sparkling hammered zither lifts the jam into the starry ether.

Next is the raw and ripping “Crystal Microphone,” which finds Alexander swirling his fuzz and acoustic guitars about Gardner’s smoky acid blues licks. The track features melty tremolo bends and a loose hazy groove that is made all the more dazed and dreamlike by Alexander’s reverb soaked vocals that bubble up throughout the mix.

The following cut, “Mt. Airy Mind,” is a calm after the storm of the previous two barn burners. It’s a brief acoustic excursion with Alexander singing gently about nostalgic times gone past, while Gardner builds a glassy and celestial backing with his vibraphone, of which he used recently to great effect on Elkhorn’s incredible On The Whole Universe In All Directions. With additional color added to the proceedings via some reserved electric slide, the song has the atmosphere of a breezy sunny day spent outdoors.

Closing the album is a lengthy, mind-bending interpretation of CSNY’s “Almost Cut My Hair.” Every bit as good as their “Dark Star” cover from a few years back, this adaptation chugs along slowly like the great behemoth jammer it is, giving each member a chance to flex their improvisational muscles. With Jesse Sheppard’s sludgy bass lines and Scott Verrastro’s primal drumming creating a thunderous rhythm for Alexander and Gardner to weave their feverishly jagged guitar lines over, this is the Heavy Lidders firing on all cylinders. My one complaint is that this track could have easily stretched out for an additional ten-twenty minutes, but perhaps we could be treated to that in person on their next tour. (Fingers crossed).

This is the kind of transportive sonic alchemy that can check off all of the right boxes for acid rock fans everywhere. Don’t miss out.

-KH