I’ve never liked the Grateful Dead, and it used to be that the Dead were an enemy flag for punk rockers and grungers to rally against. As I’ve picked up from one of our fellow Agit writers, though, it’s apparently okay to like the Dead now. It’s okay to noodle and jam, and now even punks are playing songs longer and spaced out. But more than Jerry and company, Can and Faust are the pillars of the new pantheon of psych, holding up a roof where those post-punk and post-grunge freaks can mingle freely and bask in each other’s weed-fogged and hair-obscured gazes.

Wooden Shjips has always had a firm grasp of the language of stoner rock, but fell short of mimicking Hawkwind, Blue Cheer, and Black Sabbath. This language is so ingrained in the band that hooks and riffs here and there seep through to be faintly reminiscent of songs in the lysergic music pantheon. Such is the case on the band’s new album, Back to Land (Thrill Jockey Records). The chorus of “These Shadows” unintentionally calls on a vocal melody from Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.” “You’re gonna reap just what you sow,” intones Shjip captain Ripley Johnson. It may be unintentional, but either way, it’s just close enough to be eerie. Meanwhile, “In the Roses” is a throwback to Slade or the New York Dolls, more Quaaludes than Mary Jane. The vocals, sparse as they are, find more success when the higher register melodies peak through, regardless if Ripley ends up sounding a little bit like Bradford Cox. Similarly, when the higher key guitar hooks lead the songs, it creates more excitement than some of the more rote, blues-based riffs. The fuzzed-out bass from previous records that used to recall Spacemen 3 (for comparison, try “Black Smoke Rise” from West) has been cleaned up, and there’s acoustic guitar frequently leading the charge. But don’t worry, Wooden Shjips hasn’t gone soft. Nor have they fully turned to the noodling tie-dyed life; though some of these newer cuts wouldn’t sound bad heard from the parking lot of a giant amphitheater while trying to find a 10-strip to jazz up the day, there are still face-melters aplenty that sound awesome cranked up loud.