Stone Garden

On the heels of their earth-shattering 2016 full-length, House in the Tall Grass, Tokyo’s Kikagaku Moyo decided to bring their more nebulous, experimental tendencies to a Prague basement to lay down the shape-shifting five compositions on Stone Garden. Drizzled in analog static, the EP erupts on the psychedelic long-rocker “Backlash,” a song that owes as much to Santana as it does to the meandering sonic squalls of the band’s Krautrock forefathers. Meant to pay homage to the near-endless jams of pioneering psych-rockers like the Flower Travellin’ Band, and later Acid Mothers Temple, Stone Garden is a blistering, engaging look at why Kikagaku Moyo has emerged as something of a treasured secret among those with constant bobbling heads. Highlights include the sitar-laced “In a Coil,” but for trippier examples of the band’s improvisational oeuvre, listen to the meditative plodding of “Nobakitani” with your favorite mood enhancer close by.