Right from the opening track, “Flustrated,” it’s clear Dali’s Llama are having fun with their latest offering, Howl Do You Do? (released through their own Dali’s Llama Records). Maybe after eight records of straight up desert rock, the Zach Huskey-led Palm Springs, California, outfit decided it was time to try something else – and who could blame them for that? They’ve been kicking out fuzzy jams with such regularity that the routine was bound to wear them down, so a turn to garage rock and horror punk is probably just what the band needed to shake things up. A lot of their bluesy core is still in tact, but if all you know of Dali’s Llama is what they’ve done the last several years – records like Sweet Sludge, Full on Dunes and Raw is Real – Howl Do You Do? is bound to be something of a surprise.

The organ features heavily on songs like “She’s My Halloween” and “Flash Flood, Flash Flood,” played by Mikael Jacobson, who joins Zach, bassist Erica Huskey, guitarist Joe Dillon and drummer Craig Brown (all of whom also contribute backing vocals), but I tend to return more to the piano-laced sounds of the title track, which has a more blues-driven feel to it than the camp spookiness of the horror punk material. Just a personal preference. Huskey’s songwriting, probably the central driving force within Dali’s Llama, is strong as ever, though it should be noted the structures of the songs haven’t really changed so much from the band’s last couple full-lengths, just the genre play. It’s like Dali’s Llama have put on a costume – a Halloween costume, appropriately enough. Underneath, they’re still who they are, but they’re playing the part of a garage horror punk band for an album. Howl Do You Do? was probably a lot of fun to make.

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The answer is no, it hasn’t been a year yet. It was only back in November of last year that I reviewed Palm Springs desert rockers Dali’s Llama‘s ninth album, Raw is Real, and now already they’ve returned with a follow-up. Due out August 9, Howl Do You Do? is number 10, and like the rest, it’ll be released on the band’s own Dali’s Llama Records. Hey man, if you believe in it, you do it.

There’s a new track called “She’s My Halloween” posted on Dali’s Llama‘s MySpace page now. As you can tell from listening, it’s a little different, a little spookier with the organ, and a whole lot more garage rock. That’s just how the band wanted it to be. Here’s what they had to say about it:

Although we are normally thought of as a tuned-down desert rock “stoner” band, we wanted to make a CD that shows our garage rock roots (with a big heap of raw blues). Hints of The Sonics, Music Machine and The Yardbirds grace this CD, with a more contemporary Fuzztones and The Damned influence. In the spirit of Green Day’s Foxboro Hot Tubs, this is our homage to the nuggets that inspired songwriter Zach Huskey when he was growing up Green on Red like. Join us on our journey through garageville, we’ll return to “heavy” soon enough. Hope you dig it.

Fact: You don?t release eight records independently on your own label if you don?t believe in what you?re doing. Palm Springs, California, real-deal desert rockers Dali?s Llama have done just that, with Raw is Real serving as the latest in a long line and taking a somewhat darker approach than other recent offerings. The album continues Dali?s Llama?s production relationship with Scott Reeder (The Obsessed, Kyuss), who helmed last year?s Full on Dunes and 2007?s Sweet Sludge, and the two entities seem more in step than ever before.

Prior to issuing the album, Dali?s Llama guitarist/vocalist Zach Huskey posited that it was their heaviest yet and (as noted above) darker as well. While I only have the last couple to compare it to, Raw is Real definitely lives up to its name, more ideologically than sonically — it sounds clean but there is a cynical bite to the lyrics of songs like ?Theocracy? and the punkish ?Grump? that, political or not, adds thematic heft to the proceedings and stands the album out among its predecessors. Dali?s Llama aren?t the first to politicize stoner music to the extent they do so, but within the context of their work and in particular this record, there is a refreshing amount of honesty and forthrightness coming out in these songs. Hey, raw is real, right?

Regarding Reeder?s production, there are moments on Raw is Real that feel flat and moments that positively sizzle. When the guitar solo kicks in on ?Hell No,? for example, it?s as though the album has come to life. Likewise, the opening riffs of later cuts ?Syphilization? (love the count in with the snare — very death metal) and ?Blackout? are prime grooves, highlighted with Huskey and Joe Dillon?s guitars up in the mix, whereas even on the opening title vibe is there but not as palpable. It works for the more mellow, sweet tones of ?Always? (a mid-album favorite), but the ending movement in ?Eve?s Navel? is begging to stand out more than it does. This is a minor, easy-to-get-used-to gripe, but worthy of note, nonetheless.

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Palm Springs desert rockers Dali’s Llama have their new album, Raw is Real, for sale on their label’s website now. The follow-up to Full on Dunes, Raw is Real is Dali’s Llama‘s eighth album and was produced by Scott Reeder, who also plays drums on the video for the title track below. The band says it is their “hardest and darkest sounding yet.” Good times.