Dawn in 2 Dimensions

On the Portland band's seventh formal release, Eternal Tapestry continue their general approach of hotwiring classic psychedelic power rock touchstones for a new century — if Dawn in 2 Dimensions is (arguably) an example of encapsulating not only their own sound, but what they draw on, it's a mighty fine one. "Wholeodome" starts the album with a short blast of big, epic, psych stomp, the main riff going like a monster, drums pounding steadily with splashing crashes and a further guitar part heading for the sky with the solo, not to mention wordless, chanted vocals along the way. On the one hand, all the elements are perfectly familiar, on the other, it's all tightly wound and played well, sounding just that much more like something that feels modern in spite of all the established tropes. "Bread of Dreams" takes a quieter route in contrast, building up to zonier drift soloing that touches on Ash Ra Tempel and Pink Floyd in just the right way over the slow flow of the rhythm, cutting off suddenly in a bird/insect sample with a bit of acoustic guitar that then moves into the electric "Marrow of the Wand," the first of two lengthy concluding compositions. Halfway through, as everything settles into a focused low-key chug, guitar serving as a chiming rhythm as much as the bass and drums, it's like a pastoral Motorik that then finds other byways en route. The lengthy title track (or at least, partially a title track, thanks to three separate parts grouped together) concludes things, drawing on the various approaches earlier to serve as something of a summary, with the midsection being not as huge as the first track, but still feeling like a real skyscraper surging upward, with guitars driving each other on.