Dora Flood -- Dream Out Your Window (2008)

Dora Flood -- Dream Out Your Window (self released)

Along with Donovan’s Brain, Dora Flood is one of the most reliable psychedelic rock bands in America. This California band consistently puts out quality releases of dreamy rock, and this disc is no exception. Compared to more recent releases, this album is probably a wee bit more traditional, as the band doesn’t throw in any cross-genre wrinkles. This is pure, unadulterated psych-rock, the way Syd and The Pretty Things, and Tomorrow, and (insert name of favorite ‘60s psychedelic act) intended it.

One thing I like about Dora Flood is how the band spins its web and then adds something to spice things up. For example, “Mantra” sets a hypnotic Eastern styled groove, with appropriately spacey vocals from Michael Padilla. In the midst of this, some twanging, rocking guitar comes in, the song takes a brief melodic swoop, and then the groove picks up with guitars buzzing from speaker to speaker. It gets a bit funky and the track is all the better for it.

“I’m way beyond depending/on a nuclear assault.” This is the tag line of the chorus of prettiest song on the album, “Suspended”. Padilla plucked the melody out of the ether, and the guitars and keyboards create a warm bath of sound. Imagine all of the texture of the swooniest My Bloody Valentine song with the guitar feedback removed. This song is a highlight in the Dora Flood catalog.

Along with those two great songs, other highlights include the haunting closer “All”, which is space rock at its best, the gentle jangle of the opener “Never to Forget” and “The Message”, which centers on a menacing guitar riff which builds up with the keyboards into emotional swells and squalls.

So it’s yet another enjoyable album from Dora Flood. They make it sound easy, but it can’t be easy to keep putting this much good stuff out.