Hold tight, we’re off on a trip! Cosmic jazz, deep psychedelia, free improvisation and more all come together with startling impact on Liquid Donnon – the new album from Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders.
A SPIRITUAL TRIBUTE
Convened in 2019 when the Philadelphian frontman returned to the East Coast, Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders are: Jeffrey (guitar, vibes, vocals and more), Drew Gardner (guitar), James Sheppard (bass) and Scott Verrasto (drums). The band have built an enviable reputation for themselves with their adventurous brand of music, which takes dusty folk, cosmic jazz, free improvisation and indie rock and blends those disparate styles into something entirely unique. Something uniquely heavy-lidded.
Perhaps the best clue to where Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders have been – and to where they’re headed – is provided by Liquid Donnon’s poignant cover photo. It features the album’s namesake, the man known as Donnon. Sadly now deceased, Donnon was Jeffery Alexader’s best friend and the pair’s relationship dated back to their punk band days of the 1980s. The cover photo was taken at a Grateful Dead show at Rich Stadium in Buffalo in 1989. Donnon’s spirit is all-pervasive here. Indeed, the album has been described as: “…a spiritual tribute to [Jeffrey’s and Donnon’s] shared past, seamlessly weaving the free-form jamming, psychedelic rock and exploratory nature of the friends’ early live music experiences into Jeffrey’s current music.”
PSYCHEDELIA, JAZZ AND A DASH OF ZAPPA
The agenda is set from the very start. Indeed, if The Heavy Lidders can be said to have a signature style, that style is probably captured in From Loch Raven to Fells Point, the album’s opening track. The music occupies the middle ground between the dreamy psychedelia of ’67 Haight Ashbury and the more harmoniously adventurous aspects of Zappa’s creations. The fluid guitars visit territories seldom trodden by mere mortals, whilst James’s bass and Scott’s drums plough a separate furrow altogether. Dreamy and captivating, it’s the type of music that, if it appeals to you, it will appeal strongly.
Jeffrey lets loose on vibes as guest saxophonist Tacuma Bradley honks toots and howls his way through the 10 minutes of free-form jazz that goes by the name of Calliope Wailer. James’s bass contemplations are an artwork of their own and Drew’s guitar solo once again takes us to places that we’ve never before visited. And it’s all done in such a subdued, controlled and remarkably melodic way!
DEEP PSYCHEDELIC SATISFACTION
Tightroping – by some distance, the shortest track on the album – is a showcase for the intimate, dreamlike, wordless vocals of guest Christine Carter. Her vocals are, alternately, breathtakingly sweet and starkly anguished. Jeffrey’s mellow vibes are accompanied by swishes of cymbal, resonant notes of bass and yet more of that exploratory guitar. It’s intriguing and it’s – ever so slightly – unsettling.
The second of two singles to preview the album, Critical Masses is one of those songs that grows with every successive listen. Jeffrey’s and Drew’s guitars weave tightly around each other as they each alternate between riffs and meandering solos. James’s bassline could – almost – be described as ‘funky’ and Scott, on the drums, does exactly what’s required of him. No more, no less. Jeffrey’s vocals are low in the mix and the combined effect of all this is a feeling of deep psychedelic satisfaction.
MUSIC FOR THOSE OF FREE-THOUGHT AND ZERO PRECONCEPTIONS
And psychedelic satisfaction is also the end product of Reservoir Drop > The Summer Song, Liquid Donnon’s high-powered closing track. The guitars wha, grind and roar, the bass rumbles and the drums thunder and crash. Midway, the tempo slows as keyboard – is it a Farfisa, or is it a synth? – makes an appearance. And when Christina returns with more of her wordless wails, I’m reminded of Careful With That Axe, Eugene – reinvented, perhaps, for a less-certain world. Add the song’s anthemic coda to the mix, and we have a genuine epic. Have you taken your psychedelics today, Mr Leary?
Liquid Donnon is a fine album – music for those of free-thought and zero preconceptions.
And, Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders will be arriving on this side of the pond in August for a string of dates to promote Liquid Donnon. You can catch the band at the following venues:
Watch the official video to From Loch Raven to Fells Point – the album’s opening track – below:
Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders: Website