This Swedish retrofied heavy psych four-piece were originally such a close study of female lead, bluesy hard psych circa 1969 that 'Tales of a Wicked West' felt a bit me-too in it's inherent lack of originality. The wicked undercurrent of funk and blues were under-par for the course when compared to the similar approach of Jess and the Ancient Ones and the loud stoner rock production felt amateurish. A few years of tossing and turning later MaidaVale are back with a beautifully analog sounding production that is spacious and echoing in it's ethereal 70's dread. The guitar performances are no longer so rooted in the bluesy stoner rock of their debut and instead find a middle ground between the semi-modernization of Blues Pills on 'Bliss' and the thoughtful psych moments of early-70's Budgie ('Squawk', for example). It is a beautifully recorded and catchy as all get-out set of retro psych rock songs.