Chill! Far out! Psychedelic, dude!

Axxa/Abraxas is the project of Atlanta resident Ben Asbury, who clearly took after the psychedelic tendencies of fellow Georgians in the Elephant 6 collective. Unlike that group‰’s folksier leanings, Asbury prefers straight up psych rock, stuffing his songs with rambling guitar solos, humming organs, and some occasional white noise. Yet, as his Captured Tracks affiliation would suggest, Asbury doesn‰’t get too loud, and he generally keeps his material both melodic and light. Jarvis Taveniere of Woods provides production, which is no surprise; upon first listen, the similarities between the two projects are abundantly clear, even if you‰’re unaware of Taveniere‰’s contributions to the record (which was the case for me). It‰’s not a remarkable record, but Axxa/Abraxas has both catchy (“Going Forth‰Û) and jammy (“Beyond The Wind‰Û) material, and is wise enough to end before it wears out its welcome.

RIYL: Woods, Ty Segall, Olivia Tremor Control, Real Estate
Recommended Tracks: 2, 4, 8, 9