Sunburned Hand of the Man, 'Mental Egg'

While the long-standing Massachusetts collective Sunburned Hand of the Man have been linked with more famous collaborators and psychospiritual brethren like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr., the group has outlasted and even outshined many of its peers over dozens of releases across three decades.

"Mental Egg," from SHOTM's latest full-length Some Cream, Some Heat, finds the group in fine, slippery form: It's a roiling group drone that builds and decays on a bed of whirling, gurgling guitars, languid percussion swells and fever-dream voices wailing. The players on successive projects by Sunburned Hand of the Man may be in a state of constant change but the music retains the group's essential ability to divide: This five-minute slab of electric esoterica will surely be either a cryptic invitation or resolute impasse for contemporary audiences.

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