Prolific and with a multi-faceted sonic approach steeped in wide-open Americana and new-school intellectualist metal crunch, Nashville, Tennessee, trio Across Tundras make their Neurot Recordings debut with Sage. It’s the band’s seventh full-length since they got together in 2004, and it has a naturalist, organic edge to it, with clear separation between the guitar, bass, vocals and drums, and a cohesive full-album flow that offsets its prairie licks with heavy rhythms and Sabbathian bass runs from “Big Jim” Shively. Shively’s tone and playing are consistent highlights throughout Sage, starting with Spaghetti Western opener “In the Name of River Grand,” which lays out much of the dustbowl romanticism Across Tundras have on offer with the record. Their songwriting varies from the straightforward to the avant, and their greatest achievement with Sage might be keeping themselves from losing the wagon-wheels when it comes to structuring the tracks. “Hijo de Desierto,” just more than half the length of the opener at 4:56, is built around a strong, memorable chorus and even as it decays into a darkly psychedelic fever dream, it keeps that chorus going as a way to ground the listener in the experience, showing both maturity and structural prowess on Across Tundras’ part.

Guitarist/vocalist Tanner Olson – Shively also contributes backing vocals, as does drummer Nathan Rose – ranges from shouts to the sub-country croon of “Buried Arrows,” on which fellow Nashville resident Lilly Hiatt (of Lilly Hiatt and the Dropped Ponies) guests in classic Grand Ol’ Opry duet fashion. “Buried Arrows” is probably the best vocal performance on Sage, despite the lyrics seeming somewhat contrived with generic images of hitching down hard roads, days of the buffalo, high desert land, etc., and Olson’s guitar displays a suitable twang to match, underscored by Rose’s subtle floor tom rhythm, evoking at once a Native American tradition and the weighted low end that typifies so much modern doom. Shively’s bass is once again gorgeously crisp, but it’s on the more open centerpiece cut “The Book of Truth” that he really shines, filling the empty spaces between guitar stops and laying the foundational groove on which the track is built. He’s not overly flashy in his playing, not showing off or anything like that, but if I was sitting with a friend talking about the new Across Tundras record – and of course I’d have to specify Sage, since it probably won’t be all that long before the next one is out – the first thing I’d say is that the bass makes the album. That’s not to take away from what either Olson or Rose contribute to the band, it’s a trio, so every member is essential to the whole, just that a killer bass tone isn’t something that comes easily or often, so the Geezer Butler runs at the end of “The Book of Truth” are worth appreciating double.

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Good for them. I wasn’t a huge fan of Western Sky Ride, but I liked their debut, and they’ve apparently put out no fewer than five records in the last three years, so what the hell. Way to go, Across Tundras. May it be a long and fruitful relationship between you and Neurot Recordings, and may your first child be a masculine child (I’m on a Godfather kick lately). Here’s looking forward to whatever comes next.

The PR wire has this:

Creating unique moonshine-soaked organic rock in the hills of Tennessee, Across Tundras seamlessly meld classic rock, folk, country, psychedelia, and doom into an original, organic style of rock that defies classification and bleeds true Americana. In true nomadic style Across Tundras have previously set-up camp on multiple labels including Crucial Blast and Forgotten Empire, have now found a home with Neurot Recordings.

Stated Neurot/Neurosis‘ Steve Von Till on the signing: “It is with great honor that Neurot Recordings welcomes Across Tundras to our home. Their past releases have shown immense dedication to spirit and commitment to growth and sonic evolution. Those are traits that we admire and look for when declaring kinship among those also on the quest for emotional release through sound.”

Across Tundras‘ Tanner Olson this week also made a statement on their induction into Neurot‘s family: “The opportunity to stand alongside such a talented and driven group of artists and musicians is something we have been working along time for. Neurot Recordings releases the most inspired and original music out there, and its a huge compliment that they see us as kindred musical spirits. Eternal gratitude to the Neurot family for believing in us and giving a proper home to our nomadic sounds.”

More details on the recently completed new Across Tundras album will be announced shortly. Stay tuned for tour announcements and more through the coming months as well.

I know I wasn’t too into Western Sky Ride by Across Tundras when I bought it, and I stand by not really enjoying it even now removed from the other mitigating factors at Vintage Vinyl that day. Nonetheless, in the interest of whatever the hell this is all in the interest of, I’m happy to report that the band is excited enough about their new material to post their yet-to-be-mastered upcoming album, Old World Wanderer, on their MySpace in its entirety.

Going from “Vanguard Battle Hymn” alone, it sounds better even unmastered and with crappy internet compression than my previous experience with Across Tundras, and certainly leaves a better taste in my mouth. Not that these dudes were crying that I didn’t like their album, but in almost any case, I’d rather dig a band than not.

Here’s what they had to say in their blog about putting the album up. Pretty straightforward:

We uploaded a unmastered version of our new album Old World Wanderer for a limited time, to give you an idea of the moonshine we have been brewing up in the hills over the past few months!

Release details are still sketchy, but expect to see this released in some form in the next month or two!

Hope you enjoy.

Good for them. Whether I wind up loving Old World Wanderer or not (or even hearing it in its finished form), at least Across Tundras are so passionate about what they’re doing as to share it without direct fiscal concern. Hard to argue with that.

The issue was that I’d been standing in Vintage Vinyl for nearly an hour already and wasn’t any closer to finding a single thing I wanted to buy. Okay, that’s not exactly true, but there was nothing I was willing to shell out for at the new or used prices. I’d been all through the used bins, back and forth through the alphabet of the new stuff too, and nothing.

I could have just left. That probably would have been the reasonable course of action. But I’m not a reasonable man, and so — as I stared at the racks one more time and the archetypal cute record store girl behind the counter in the SunnO))) hoodie and Mastodon t-shirt with the dyed red hair began, increasingly, to give me funny looks because there weren’t that many other people in the store and I was the guy who’d been pacing around for almost 60 minutes — I finally just decided to grab something and go. That something was Across Tundras‘ 2008 full-length, Western Sky Ride.

It was right there, I was standing in front of the ‘A’ section, and I just wanted to get out of there. I panicked. And because I remembered liking the first Across Tundras record, 2006′s Dark Songs of the Prarie, well enough, I figured I’d be alright.

Wrong-o.

Out in the parking lot, I disrobed the disc of its shrinkwrap and popped it in, taking out the Them Crooked Vultures CD which I’d been listening to for the umpteenth time. The first song up was “Carrion Crow.” I don’t know what I expected of it — maybe something more atmospheric, ? la Earth — but what I got was sloppy post-metal that sounded like it was recorded in a basement (and not in a good way) and immediate buyer’s remorse. And the only good riff in the song? They fucking WHISTLED over it. Hey man, I’m all for experimentation, more than most, but throw me a bone.

I didn’t make it all the way through “Thunderclap Stomp” before just skipping to the last track, “Gallow’s Pole” to see if it was a Zeppelin cover. Once I ascertained it wasn’t, out came Western Sky Ride. Maybe permanently. There goes $14 I’ll never see again. Too much hip, not enough good.