Dora Flood: We Live Now

The latest album from heady, groovy, psychedelic-tinged rockers Dora Flood has them again in a head space few bands can match and most should appreciate. The group’s sixth album is a roots-tinged one that sounds like it could have been the answer to The Black Crowes’ “Amorica. A gem like “Phoenix Rising” is one of those shoe-gazing affairs driven by great guitar work that is buried well within the overall sound. Things heat up with the equally pristine “Everywhere We Go” that has a trace of The Dandy Warhols or Brian Jonestown Massacre in it. Not everything turns to gold though, as “Feels like Yesterday” has Dora Flood hitting the cruise control button once too often on this meandering, mid-tempo joint. When the guitars are given their space, the songs seem to soar, even with an average tune like “Revelation Blues” creeping around nicely. The bluesy, murkier side of the group has rarely been seen this much using “Atlantis” as a measuring stick. But Dora Flood can also nail a Beatles circa Sgt. Pepper number like “Humble High” out of the park and excel just as well with the dreamy, er, “Daydream”. The band is at its height with the acid-rock of “Faith and Devotion” that sounds like a melding of Sabbath and the Fab Four.