Texas Platters

Primordial Undermind

Thin Shells of Revolution (Emperor Jones) For anyone who's heard Austin psyche-jam scions Primordial Undermind at the height of their free-noise lunacy, as on last year's abstract Beings of Game P-U, this album is going to be a surprise. PU mastermind shredder Eric Arn, who abstained from the mic on the last disc, returns with a tuneful, incense-and-paisley cover of the Dillards' 1964 insurgent bluegrass chestnut "There Is a Time," which is indicative of a more controlled, tuneful direction. Not one to tip his hand, Arn then follows with "Theme From Serpent," a reinterpretation of the silent-film score to the 1971 avant-garde classic. Beginning with four minutes of droney wash, the newfound double-barreled percussion attack of Matt Martinez and Jared Barron lead a detour through a mystical drum circle somewhere deep in the heart of darkness. "WWod?" is more representative of the Undermind's 15-year career arc, the clairvoyant woodwinds of Otis Cleveland peppering Arn's wobbly march into dementia. "Akaknow" offers an accessible, rock-steady Neu! tempo before lifting off into hyperspace powered by Vanessa Arn's triwave picogenerator, and the patchouli-scented "Stagger the Heart," like the Dillards cover, is cut with some wicked Electric Prunes juice. "Ten Toes, One Soul" even has a patient, school-dance melody to it, though don't expect the Westlake prom to be the launching point for a new generation of triwave picogenerator players. Eric Arn and the Undermind have put together another quality mindbender, a concisely trippy work recommended for anyone interested in pursuing new and more colorful methods of rock. (Primordial Undermind's CD release is Tuesday, Oct. 14, at Room 710.)