Minotaurs - Weird Waves (2016)

Weird Waves, Nathan Lawr's third album under the Minotaurs moniker is self described as "apocalyptic-psychedelic afro-folk epic" and I dare you to find the lie. There are elements of everything you'd ever want to listen to in just the opening track ("Underground Age") alone and the album gets better and better from there.

The whole album sounds like sitting in on a epic jam session but the songs never get noodle-y or bogged down in technical musicianship that lacks soul. In fact, it's quite the opposite, the subtle but highly skilled playing hinging on a deep understanding of musical grooves only serves to propel the album and the listener forward.

The space aged opening of the title track invokes the past and the future at the same time. "Blind Luck" featuring Jonas Bonetta (Evening Hymns) is five and a half minutes of the best kind of sinister. "Gold Rush Lady" featuring Tamara Lindeman (Bruce Peninsula, The Weather Station) might be the most gentle of the handful of songs on Weird Waves and it's still a total jam and the funked up jazz influences on "Echoes" are all but guaranteed to brighten up your day and get your back end in motion.