50 Unheralded Albums from 2011

Spindrift: Classic SoundtracksSpindriftClassic Soundtracks Vol. 1 (Xemu, 5/10/11)

Spindrift: “When I Was Free”

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Mixing influences from Italian-western composers like Ennio Morricone with elements of psychedelic rock, Spindrift has pioneered its own brand of western music. Its style is manifested through a diversity of sounds, including guitar, organ, pedal steel, flute, autoharp, sitar, tabla, and bass, but its musical résumé is more than mere instruments.

The band’s latest, Classic Soundtracks Vol. 1, is an album of unreleased movie themes and new material that captures its eclectic nature and cinematic tendencies. The twangy, reverberated, psych-effected guitars are a staple in nearly every sonic journey, but with the assorted accents — glockenspiel, Theremin, quasi-Cambodian backing vocals, and even howling wolves — you never feel like you’ve quite been there before.