High Chair
Hey Mountain
(Kiyabisu Records)

The third release in a trilogy, High Chair’s new Hey Mountain Hey, continues in Billy Surgeoner and Rokiah Yaman’s psychedelic-prog approach.

“Stargazer” starts us off with its rising cacophony reminding me of Close To The Edge’s beginning. We get a few of those moments until we are into quick riffing sparkly sounding electrics and low rolling bass. The beat starts rather quickly as the vocals begin.

“Tree and Leaf” is something different, with its heavily plucked acoustics and soft percussion, harmonies and a sing-able chorus. While “E-ternal,” one of my favorites here, begins with a scratchy muted guitar and some flicking fast guitar noodling. Surgeoner and Yaman layer the spikey riffing, keeping all contained under the beginning vocals of the tune. Sure, the chorus opens up into louder strummed open chords and again a sing-able moment, but “E-ternal,” retains a sly claustrophobic vibe throughout.

A great loud, almost-steam engine-sounding snare and another muted electric begins “Breath of Life (Black Wolf Lament).” The harmonies here, the studied production (synth bass, swirly keys, that heavy beat) provide the perfect bed for slide guitar and a true psychedelic delivery. The weird lead is just icing on the cake for this tune just a hair past the halfway mark of Hey Mountain Hey.

We get some of the most straight-ahead (as straight ahead as these guys are going to get) guitar riffing with a splashy beat on “The Door Of The Law,” then on the last tune, “The Pollen Path,” we are treated to an almost all-instrumental, mining almost an Allman Brother’s-vibe with some positive chanting to end the tune and this wonderful album.