Lapsed

Without the decidedly screwed-up and reverb-murky mix that echoes across vast expanses of Lapsed, Bardo Pond's third album could at times pass for Sonic Youth's second cousin or Dinosaur Jr.'s strung-out sister. To some ears Bardo Pond's free-wheeling psychedelia is nothing more than wankery, but, for those with an appreciation for sonic experimentation and noisescapes, Lapsed delivers a smothering wall of distortion, feedback and ethereal vocals. Bardo Pond craft sludge more pungent and thick than the dregs in the bottom of a hippy's bong. --Adem Tepedelen