Kingdom EP

Three tracks from Naam's self-titled debut album appear here in altered form, and Kingdom is an excellent sampler of what these Brooklyn boys do so well. The riffs are thick and dark with over-fuzzed guitars. The rhythms are grinding or driving, demanding that each track use its dynamic range to its full potential. And the vocals are a groan from hell, a deeply reverberating instrument sounding like screams from the bottom of a well. But what holds Naam's sound together and makes it worth repeating are the songs. The trio doesn't scrimp on songwriting. Its spectacular guitar tones and performances are carefully pressed into service. "Skyling Slip" recalls garage punk, krautrock, and doom metal all within its five minutes, while "Fever If Fire" aims for a cathartic drone and the sound of a starship cruising the outer reaches of space. The title track is 11 additional minutes (16 on the album) of Hawkwind-inspired space travel; it adds a Middle Eastern vibe with a sitar completing the mystic effect.