All Them Witches/New Madrid

Taking the various umbrellas of “psychedelic rock” and “stoner rock” and stretching them as far as they want to, All Them Witches has been breathing long-needed life into musical scenes that left their heyday in the ashtray a while ago. The band’s new album, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (our favorite album title of the year, by the way), kicks around all the requisite strains: the chugging, hazy instrumental “El Centro,” creekside meditations on guitar (“Mellowing”), desert-at-sunset finger-picking melodies (“Call Me Star”), etc. The band does a good job on this album of keeping things fresh and throwing down new sounds around every bend in the river. (Sandy)