Universal Mind Decoder cover

Universal Mind Decoder

Released

Carrying a couple of songs over from the quartet’s initial 1996 demo tape, Universal Mind Decoder found the Massachusetts group Abunai! in a perfect spot when it comes to the vibrant 1990s psych underground in America, at once sweetly blissful and more than a little freaked out. Folkier roots get readily acknowledged by interpretations of Richard & Linda Thompson’s “The Calvary Cross” and the traditional “Gypsy Davy,” but the album itself kicks off with the building guitar/organ blast “Cosmo Gun,” and there’s plenty of other zoned-and-stoned jams throughout.

Ned Raggett

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