Nearly a decade between records would kill most projects stone dead. For the Odyssey Cult, it's apparently just enough time to go from Ethan Miller recording alone in a room to assembling one of the more genuinely impressive underground psych lineups we've heard in a while.

Vol. 3 is out now on Silver Current, and it demands more attention than it's getting.

From Solo Experiment To Sprawling Supergroup

The first two Odyssey Cult records — Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, both released in 2017 — were Miller solo affairs. Whatever he was working through on those, it clearly needed room to grow. Vol. 3 is a different beast entirely: a full band effort built around Miller's established underground credentials across Comets On Fire, Howlin Rain, Heron Oblivion and more.

The foundation of the album was laid by three people. Miller brought in Ben Flashman, his old Comets On Fire bandmate, on bass. Anthony Taibi of Carlton Melton came in on keys. Those three built the core of what you're hearing. Then former Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley — who currently plays alongside Miller in Orcutt Shelley — came in and added drums on top of that foundation.

From there, the guest list only gets more interesting. Zoh Amba, who has recently been moving towards a rootsy indie singer-songwriter direction, put the saxophone back in their hands here and delivers the kind of skronking that gives the record its most abrasive edges. Brigid Dawson of Osees, Paula Frazer of Tarnation, and Inna Showalter of Magic Fig also contribute. That's not a collection of names you see on the same record very often.

What It Actually Sounds Like

Raw but grand. Melodic but noisy. Familiar but exploratory. We're not going to tell you this reinvents psychedelic rock, because it doesn't — and anyone trying to sell you that line about any record right now probably deserves your scepticism. What Vol. 3 does is hit the spot in a way that a lot of more celebrated psych releases lately simply haven't.

This is music built by people who've spent serious time in serious bands, and it shows in the way the record breathes. It's not pristine or polished. It's got the kind of lived-in weight that comes from musicians who know when to push and when to leave space. If you've liked anything any of these people have made in their various configurations — and there are a lot of configurations to choose from — this is going to reward your time.

It's worth noting: the broader culture is spending a lot of energy talking about The Odyssey right now. That's a different thing entirely. The Odyssey Cult is operating in a different corner of music altogether, and it's the kind of corner where the [Phish faithful](/getohedz/music/phish-in-the-nineties-reminded-us-what-live-music-was-for) and the [restless live-music obsessives](/getohedz/music/phish-set-2051-show-bustout-record-with-xtc-cover) will find something genuinely worth their ears.

Verdict

Vol. 3 is the kind of record that doesn't need a campaign or a cultural moment. It just needs the right people to hear it. If you're already familiar with even one of the names on this roster, go and listen. If not, start here and work backwards — there's a substantial back catalogue waiting for you across every musician involved.

This one's for the heads. Rightfully so.