Dark Meat

Dark Meat’s Universal Indians gives a glimpse into what it may have sounded like had Neil Young put together his own Broken Social Scene. This stomping, shambling psychedelic rock ensemble are a similarly barely contained apocalyptic orgy of sound. Dedicated to the Holy Ghost of gritty jazz improviser Albert Ayler, the album pays tribute with sputtering slices of ragged and aggressive free-jazz improvisation surging amidst the relatively tight Southern rock framework of central songwriter and bandleader Jim McHugh. Though McHugh gets most of the writing credits, his extensive musical family is vital to the colossal sound achieved. Clarinets, flutes, strings, multiple drummers and percussionists, keys, full sax and trumpet sections, didgeridoo and a whole mess of chanting, ranting vocalists swirl and gurgle around blistering bluesy guitar leads, all of it channelling a cathartic spiritual exorcism of psychedelic bliss. Three live bonus tracks, including the title track (a specific jazz freak-out tribute to Albert Ayler), give a deeper glimpse into the manic intensity the Dark Meat Vomit Lasers Family Band cook up regularly.