Matt Valentina and Erika Elder mark their return to Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label with Barn Nova, the latest long-player in their considerable discography really tugs at the flowing locks of classic rock. Crafting an unholy combination of folk, blues, prog and psychedelic rock, the duo are joined by a host of bandmates and special guests which includes Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis.

The languid and funky guitar stylings of ‘Get Right Church’ could even be beamed straight from the lysergic fretwork of Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel, and this off-kilter funk jam is oddly progressive while also being a fascinating sidestep on an album which veers mostly towards the looser end of the psych spectrum.

There are also echoes of Six Organs of Admittance and some of David Pajo’s solo work as Papa M, especially on the sun-kissed psychedelia of ‘Summer Magic’, which concocts a heady atmosphere. Guitars strain at the leash while a deft and loping bassline adds a strangely magical quality as the dense fug begins to float by.

The real centre-piece though is the eleven-minute jam ‘Bedroom Eyes’ – a twisting, raga-infused prog onslaught, it recalls Comets On Fire at their most potent and groove-obsessed. And there is a surprisingly groovy feel to Barn Nova which lifts it above the work of other classic rock revivalists, with MV & EE’s molten neo-psych always carrying a hint of menace within the rampant jams.

‘Fully Tanked’ brings a more rustic, Americana-influenced layer to their sonic exploration, principally drawing on country and folk but there’s a droning, echo-laden texture which bubbles away just beneath the gentle acoustic guitar and harmonica. It’s indicative of the many facets present here, and while it’s not without flaws this is a fascinating record which breathes life and vitality into modern psych-rock.

Simon Harper