The Psychedelic Swamp (Digital Download Card)

Back in 2001, The Psychedelic Swamp seemed an appropriate name for the debut cassette from psychedelic pranksters Dr. Dog, but some 15 years later the title seems even more fitting given that the band decided to revisit, rework, and re-jigger the entirety of the album to create a brand-new album for 2016. It's not quite right to say Dr. Dog cover themselves here. Rather, they reconnect with the ideas originally essayed in 2001 and approach those ideas with the skill and panache they've developed in the ensuing 15 years. Because Dr. Dog rely on texture and feel as much as they do songs, this isn't a bad idea at all: they're able to execute ideas they were only able to hint at when they were a young band. Some songs do have hooks that sink in quickly -- the shambling glam of "Dead Record Player" and garagey stomp of "Badvertise" announce themselves, but so do the woozy "Engineer Says" and electro-country of "Good Grief" -- but the real pleasure of The Psychedelic Swamp is hearing how Dr. Dog slide from these extremes, sometimes lingering in the netherworlds and sometimes dodging detours but never ever acting like they're in a hurry. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine