High Castle
Spirit Of The West
First album from San Francisco power trio High Castle know your plight, carving out autonomy in the midst of wasteland squalor. Paranoia and bad attitude permeate - carpooling to the riots while their peers crisp on corporate beach blankets. The black circular saw on the cover speaks for the content within, a destiny manifested tooth by jagged tooth. High Castle eschews lectures and overt philosophical talk, but naming themselves after a Phillip K Dick novel lets you know where they're coming from. "Crustaceans Demise" and "We Were Lovers" are ballads for a postapocalyptic affair gone awry, thrones usurped and food pyramids collapsed. Bassist Wilson Drozdowski (Woman's Worth), guitarist Erin Allen (Child Pornography), and powerhouse drummer Shaggy Denton (Sunny Reaper) all contribute vocals, a secret weapon that comes to the fore on "Innocence." Eleven songs tracked by Jacob Felix Heule (Ettrick, Barn Owl) at New, Improved Recordings in Oakland, CA mixed by Heule and the band.