Witch

Paralyzed

[3/5]

Sometime in 2005, Dinosaur Jr. co-mastermind J. Mascis had an extended acid flashback to the early ’80s when he played drums for hardcore speed-dealers Deep Wound. Only instead of hammering out d-beats, he was laying down more of a kicked-back rock vibe and Kyle Thomas from Feathers was singing. And it actually sounded more like the ’70s. And there was definitely weed up in that piece. By the time Mascis came to, Witch had released their self-titled debut. Fast forward to 2008, and it seems there’re still a few active specks of lysergic dust lingering at the base of Mascis’ spine. On Paralyzed, Witch combine the occasional pass at Pentagram’s classic reverb ring with massive doses of bleary stoned-drone, moaning a few half-hearted shout-outs to a handful of vintage rock obscurities along the way. Mind-blowing it ain’t-but it still kicks the shit out of that last Dead Meadow album. (TEE PEE) J. Bennett