White Denim spit psychedelia, hard blues, boogie, prog rock and fusion riffs like inspired kids weaned on 64GB iPods and 64-ounce Slurpees. The challenge has been feng shui, which they nail on this 37-minute LP. There are countless touchstones, but the sublime attack often recalls late-Sixties Grateful Dead, when their songs still had garage-rock drive but were exploding every which way. Drummer Joshua Block juggles time signatures without sacrificing groove, while the guitarists chase each other's tails; "River to Consider" even makes room for some rippin' flute solos. They're like a jam band that refuses to be boring.

Listen to "Drug":

New Music Report: White Denim

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.