JEFFREY ALEXANDER AND THE HEAVY LIDDERS – Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders (2021, LP Arrowhawk Records)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Arrowhawk Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Deep Blue Vinyl, 200 copies

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Standard Black Vinyl

Release Date: 6 Aug 2021

The restless spirit of the Dire Wolves band leader, Jeffrey Alexander, is offering to the voracious greedy public another album release, this time under the moniker Jeffrey Alexander And The Heavy Lidders. The Heavy Lidders are Drew Gardner (electric guitar, vibraphone) and Jesse Sheppard (bass) – both from Elkhorn – and Scott Verrastro (drums) from the group Kohoutek (You can check reviews of Elkhorn and Kohoutek, here). Jeffrey is on guitar and vocals. Yeap! The album is full of vocals, and lyrics too, obviously! And I need to say that this is a total surprise considering the musical past of Dire Wolves, Elkhorn, and Kohoutek, hehe… “Jeffrey Alexander And The Heavy Lidders” is the follow album to a cassette-only release in October 2020 called “Blown Out Zone Out” (released on Baked Tapes). A general comment about these 2 albums is that “Jeffrey Alexander And The Heavy Lidders” is taking a 180 degrees turn from “Blown Out Zone Out”, the band takes another “direction”, a grounded one…

A few other musicians are taking part in the recordings of “Jeffrey Alexander And The Heavy Lidders”, it’s Marissa Nadler (backing vocals), Rosali Middleman (backing vocal), Pat Gubler (vox organ), and Ryan Jewell (drums, percussion).

Notes:  Recorded & mixed by Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia PA with additional remote tracking & tinkering at home, pandemic style. Mastered by Andrew Weathers at Wind Tide in Littlefield TX. All songs written by Jeffrey Alexander except A2 (Garcia/Hunter) and B3 (Clark). Front cover painted by Spencer Hicks in Oakland CA. Back cover photograph shot by Jesse Sheppard in Kingston NY. Sleeve & labels designed by Nate Marsden. Produced by Jeffrey Alexander and Miriam Goldberg.

The album consists of just 7 tracks, 5 original compositions plus 2 cover versions. It kicks off with “Beowulf’s Trip”, a jam-like laid-back tune with vocals and a psych-cosmic-universal late 60s West Coast atmosphere, a tune that acts as a trippy Grateful Dead tune… The presence of The Dead is all over on the next track too, the band here covers “Black Peter”, a Garcia/Hunter song (originally released in 1970 on Workingman’s Dead), a modernized version of a strange balladesque tune that it can be described as a late-night Americana-flavored song… “Herb Of Grace” is another slow number emerging an intense 80s Alt-Country feel… ‘A’ side closes with “Dark Ships In The Forest”, a rhythmic tune, very country-rock, I must say… Side ‘B’ starts with the Single “Carousel Of Flowers” – not with the meaning of the “Single” that we all know but it’s the first song that we’re allowed to listen to their Bandcamp until the release date and also it’s a song that has a youtube video – the track has a tremendous Neil Young and the Crazy Horse atmosphere that is mixed with an 80s indie-country-rock mood and if you add the heavenly sent Vibraphone and the super-cool guitar solo, then this is one of the songs that can make the younger generation go back… On “Audubon Trooper” the presence of Jerry Garcia is all over, a trippy Americana-Psych jam with a desert-rock feel… The album eventually comes to an end with another cover version, “Strength Of Strings” which was originally released on Gene Clark’s 1974 “No Other” album, and here it gets an amazing cool n’ trippy and absolutely fresh reinterpretation! A version, that can only make you wonder how a band like CSN&Y could have sounded today! As I told before, this is an album that can bring attention to the young generation of that magical American period 1969-1974, it can make all these youngsters go and listen to albums like “Manassas” or “Stephen Stills” or “American Beauty” or “Crazy Horse” or… Recommended! TimeLord Michalis

Tracklist

Listen/Buy through JEFFREY ALEXANDER Bandcamp

Get it through ARROWHAWK RECORDS Web