Pelt deliver a stunning track on their first effort since the death of their former member, Jack Rose. “Wings Of Dirt”, from the album Effigy, is what one would expect from Pelt; an effortless meld of skittering appalachian banjo coupled with a slow boil of a drone, slow and unblinkingly committed- Until the crescendo; a controlled mass of swell and tone, never faltering or collapsing on itself. It’s cosmic mountain music designed to elongate the mind, all with the basic tools of a 17th century serf, done entirely by professionals. The void Jack left on the underground is still massively felt, and I know for a fact those that were close to him are still looking for him, for his larger-than-life presence, for his sheer gift- he honed in on the steel string guitar and mastered it, obsessed about it, and eventually created a distinct and singular voice with it. So, it goes without saying that the lack of his body on the earth and not knowing what to do about that are felt here, but I could really be reading into that. Hearing this track though, I can’t help but imagine his scraggly head swaying back and forth, two-steppin’, ciggy in his mouth, ascending to wherever one goes when a great big light like Jacks’ goes out, and maybe the boys in Pelt were thinking that, too.

Order “Effigy” here