Dead Meadow have long been a big tease of a band. They have a great sound. You want them to be killer and release great albums. But they haven't quite. Dead Meadow release solid albums that sound similar to their other solid albums. There may be some relative variance in direction or quality, but their albums are fairly interchangeable sonically. This wouldn't really be a problem if all of their albums were excellent, but they all have a similar problem: there are a few standout tracks, a few other solid numbers, and a whole bunch of filler. The other issue is that Dead Meadow don't really vary much within their sound of bluesy, fuzzy, midtempo shuffle rock with some bitchin' guitar solos. The stuff decidedly rocks in small doses. However, after a few songs, it all starts to blend together. Their previous album, Feathers, was their best, but even so still had a number of dull points. Old Growth is another in the list of solid but unremarkable Dead Meadow albums. I suppose that's not an embarrassment musically, but they seem capable of so much better. Unfortunately, the problem with Old Growth is exactly that it does not demonstrate enough growth.
The album starts strongly enough. "Ain't Got Nothing (To Go Wrong)" features one of the things that Dead Meadow do pretty well on occasion—unleash some seriously powerful riffs. "'Till Kingdom Come" features a darkness and urgency that much of their other songs lack. "Between Me and the Ground" is more bluesy than heavy, but its chorus is catchy enough to carry off the trick. Unfortunately, the quality of the album sags markedly in the second half, and tracks like "The Great Deceiver" and "Hard People/Hard Times" feel repetitive and leaden. The change-up on the latter part of the album is "The Queen of All Returns," which strangely sounds like a rip-off of "Big Brat" by Phantom Planet (an inferior one at that). The main stylistic difference between Old Growth and its predecessors is the prevalence of folky acoustic songs. Yet even this development is hit and miss. "Down Here" is an engaging number. "Seven Seers" is an Eastern-tinged, Zeppelin-esque number that works to a degree because of its dissimilarity to the rest of Old Growth. However, "Keep on Walking" feels castrated compared to their other material, something like Cat Power's recent forays into adult contemporary pop. Vocalist/guitarist Jason Simon's thin, nasal voice doesn't really hold up during these acoustic songs. It gets hidden and complemented during Dead Meadow's louder tracks, but his voice really hinders a song like "Either Way," which has a nice enough melody that gets diluted by Simon's delivery.
I thought that Dead Meadow would be able to build on the modest successes of Feathers. "Let's Jump In" had a thunderous coda and "At Her Open Door" was a superb ‘60s-inflected pop song with mournful slide guitar. Yet Old Growth seems like a step backwards. It may be worth noting that Dead Meadow hasn't really developed their sound in the way of bands who share a similar sonic space. Black Mountain made tremendous leaps from their first to second album. Even the Psychic Ills, who have only released one full-length, have done more with many of Dead Meadow’s ingredients—heavy guitar, shoegaze-style monotone vocals, and tight rhythm sections. Old Growth may please hardcore fans, and it does have a couple of tracks worth savoring; but after six Dead Meadow albums, there really should be more.
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