Dead Meadow

The centerpiece of Shivering King and Others is, naturally, a song called "Shivering King," which marches along to a swampy acoustic progression with a distinguishing, focused aesthetic. "From deep beneath a disturbing dream/Awoke the shivering king/The wise of the land/All were at hand/Can they explain what it means?" asks vocalist...

August 14, 2003

Audio By Carbonatix

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The centerpiece of Shivering King and Others is, naturally, a song called "Shivering King," which marches along to a swampy acoustic progression with a distinguishing, focused aesthetic. "From deep beneath a disturbing dream/Awoke the shivering king/The wise of the land/All were at hand/Can they explain what it means?" asks vocalist Jason Simon, his voice cloaked, as always, in echo as he tells a story of rings, kings and robes, straight from an alternate Lord of the Rings soundtrack. "Babbling Flower" speaks of monsters ("Babel, confusion, disbelief/Sliding across the floor to me/Watching with fanged teeth"), while "The Golden Cloud" further describes the murky landscape. Ultimately, the most distinctive thing about Dead Meadow is this Tolkien-inspired abstract personal mythology (the only other contemporary equivalent that comes to mind is Yume Bitsu's preoccupation with their mothman story). Meadow's gloomy lore shines dimly through even their most furious riffs and heightened reverb symphonies. It drips out of every lyric and springs from every busy effects pedal. It gives this D.C. trio a rare focus on Shivering King and Others, peppering their solid psychedelic jams with a tad of concept. Not a problem at all.

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