This album came out two decades ago. Here’s what I had to say about it back then (with some minor editing):
This New Orleans Krewe are led by Jimmy Bower and Joey LaCaze, formerly of sludgecore outfit Eyehategod (Bower has also done stints with like-minded metalheads Crowbar and Down). Surprisingly, though, their new outfit doesn’t blindly follow in their previous bands’ brutal, bludgeoning footprints.
Instead, The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight are — get this — a Southern-fried instrumental jam-rock outfit in the tradition of the Allmans or Nevilles, with gumbo-thick layered grooves topped with plenty of percolating Hammond organ licks. Of course, Bower can’t completely erase his past, so these rambling, funky tracks (average length: eight minutes) are peppered with low-octave guitar riffs and chunky power chords, as if The Meters suddenly found themselves jamming in the studio with Pantera. Talk about a motley crew — er, crue — er, Krewe.
