Eight Bells

Portland-based psychedelic improv rock ensemble SubArachnoid Space are not a "jam band" in the pejorative, trustafarian-hippie sense of that term. For one thing, the members don't attempt lame funk or sing quirky songs (indeed, they don't sing at all). For another, there's a decided darkness about their music, as befits a group named for the part of the central nervous system that separates the blood from the brain in the cerebral cavity. This stuff is meant to be heard late at night, maybe on headphones with all the lights off. While earlier records (the ones with founding guitarist Mason Jones still in the band) were drifting and spacy, this album, which is dominated by the instrumental voice of Melynda Jackson, frequently heads into hard rock/metal territory -- the last three or so minutes of the 13-minute "Hunter Seeker" are positively Led Zeppelin-esque. Drummer Lauren Newman pounds the band forward in a way that seems almost oppositional to the effects-pedal-heavy guitar sounds; "Akasthesia" absolutely rocks in an almost Blind Idiot God style. This is definitely not the same SubArachnoid Space of earlier releases like These Things Take Time and Almost Invisible. It's a much tougher instrumental rock band, probably more likely to appeal to fans of the Fucking Champs or Dysrhythmia than, say, Ozric Tentacles. Phil Freeman.