Mushroom – “Naked, Stoned & Stabbed” – [4 Zero Records]

Take a hit of your preferred substance of choice and trip out to Oakland collective Mushroom’s latest blend of spacy psychedelia: Naked, Stoned & Stabbed. This 2010 release was recorded over the course of a weekend and was inspired by a recent gig in which they performed the 1971 Pete Townshend rock opera Lifehouse.

There’s plenty of guitar, flute, and keys (Farfisa organ, Wurlitzer piano, pump organ, mini moog) on here; making for some super groovy retro pieces, but also a heaping dose of pretty, spacy washes of sound. It’s cheerful, with moments of Latin flair, tropical heat, Eastern mystique (electric sitar) and outer space communications.

For the most part it’s instrumental, but the final piece is the Kevin Ayers cover “Singing a Song in the Morning” featuring vocals from Sonya Hunter and Josh Pollack.