Dead Magick

This unique group invites guests like Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe onboard for stints of recording studio magick. Key member Jón Audarson (a.k.a. Nonni Dead) is a visual artist who also runs a clothing label and record company called Dead in Reykjavik, Iceland (Quentin Tarantino featured some Dead clothing in his Grindhouse film, Death Proof). But the music! Should you find more beautiful, entrancing, unsettling, zen-inducing, rocking music than Dead Magick in the near future, we’d be surprised. Longtime fans swear that repeated listens to “Dead Mantra” are practically a daily necessity (the mantra translates to “He who fears death cannot enjoy life”). It's a powerful piece of work, somewhat in line with Wooden Shjips' sound but more visceral. There's plenty of Can and ‘60s psychedelia woven into Dead Skeletons' drum-heavy, drone-prone music, with hints of ‘80s goth (“Live!”) and rays of light and beauty (“When the Sun Comes Up”) balancing the darker powers (“Yama”). Sublime.