Featuring members of the Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, Run Westy Run, and Wilco, Golden Smog has in the past felt like a typical side gig: for die-hard fans only. Not anymore. Weird Tales is inspired

Weird Tales

Featuring members of the Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, Run Westy Run, and Wilco, Golden Smog has in the past felt like a typical side gig: for die-hard fans only. Not anymore. Weird Tales is inspired top to bottom, whether on the four-song streak of ragged rock that fronts the disc or the singular moments that follow, like the strangely soul-funky "Keys," Jeff Tweedy's Woody Guthrie-ized "Please Tell My Brother," or Kraig Johnson's "Making Waves," a crushing story of suicide behind the bathroom door. Including new Smogger Jody Stephens (ex-Big Star drummer), Weird Tales is an emotion-rich trip of Midwestern rock tones, loaded with both individual spirit and collective vision. If they keep this up, we might have to start calling them a real band. --Neal Weiss

Weird Tales