Wished Eye

Psychedelic boogie jammers Dommengang eviscerate time and geography on their fourth studio full length Wished Eye. As with other albums, the material is strongly informed by raw psych rock of the 60s and 70s, but Dommengang molds their influences into strange new shapes that are hard to place on a generational time line. Just when one of their ragged burners starts to sound like the work of some overlooked 70s prog band, the arrangement shifts dramatically into something more modernized. The band moved their home grounds from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon before beginning the creative process for the album, and while the results arent quite the introspective and relaxed moods one might associate with the Pacific Northwest, theres an earthy quality to this set of tunes, like the band is digging deep into the dirt of their consciousness and pulling wild sounds out by the roots. Blasts of bluesy fuzz can be restrained and precise, as on the Hawkwind-meets-Sabbath "Blue & Peaceful" or frenzied and ramshackle, as with the wild-eyed rave up "Society Blues." On the latter, Dommengang layers walls of wah-wah guitar, searing leads, overblown drumming, and alien bass clarinet frequencies from Golden Retriever member Jonathan Sielaff. As often as the band recalls the proto-metal muscle of Blue Cheer or Black Sabbath, their nuanced approach often nods to more obscure influences, especially when they take the volume down slightly. The dreamy web of guitars that begins "Myth Time" dissolves into a mudslide shuffle groove decorated with smart guitar leads that recall British blues psych band the Groundhogs. The blissful glow of "Runaway" merges Popol Vuh softness with washed out jamming that reigns in the lawless expansiveness of Les Rallizes Denudes. Wished Eye is a little less boogie-oriented than previous Dommengang releases, instead fusing together blues flourishishes with more controlled composition at times and surrendering to the chaos at others. Its an album of complexly crafted songs that somehow never feels too overwrought and never loses its spirit of reckless abandon. ~ Fred Thomas