CIRCLES AROUND THE SUN

Guitarist Neal Casal and keyboardist Adam MacDougall (bandmates in the Chris Robinson Brotherhood) along with bassist Dan Horne and drummer Mark Levy recorded seven instrumentals for Let It Wander earlier this year at Castaway 7 Studios in California.

Let It Wander signals a new beginning for the band as they move beyond their original musical mandate of evoking the spirit of the Dead and fully embrace their own personality. “More than anything, what you hear on this album is a band growing into its own sound,” Casal says.

The songs on Let It Wander are focused and filled with imaginative musical turns. Horne and Levy form a veritable groove machine that knows intuitively when to tighten up and when to stretch out. They expand and collapse the rhythmic pocket around Casal and MacDougall, who pass melodies back and forth in an elaborate game of musical tag as they take turns adding color and shade from a seemingly endless kaleidoscope of cosmic sounds.

Among the album’s highlights is “One For Chuck” featuring a surprise cameo by Chuck D. The charismatic leader of legendary hip-hop pioneers Public Enemy happened to stop by the studio while the band was listening to a song they’d just recorded. He raved to the band how much he loved the music, so they asked him to record an intro. He obliged, and they dedicated the song to him.

1. “On My Mind”
2. “One For Chuck”
3. “Immovable Object”
4. “Halicarnassus”
5. “Tacoma Narrows”
6. “Electric Chair (Don’t Sit There)”
7. “Ticket To Helix NGC 7293