It’s one thing to have founded a notable band dedicated to exploring the
possibilities of psychedelic exploration in many different sounds and styles. But
it’s arguably pretty darn rare to have done it, as Jeffrey Alexander has, four
separate times. First emerging with the Iditarod in the mid-1990s before a later
world oversimplified their sound as ‘freak folk,’ then making an even bigger
splash with the experimentation of the majestic Black Forest/Black Sea in the
2000s, you’d be forgiven for thinking Alexander had settled into things with the
feedback grooves of Dire Wolves, founded over fifteen years ago and still
running.

But 2020 brought forth another incarnation in the form of the Philadelphia-based
Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders, joined by local legends like Kohoutek’s
drummer Scott Verrastro and Drew Gardner and Jesse Shepherd of the
exploratory guitar duo Elkhorn. With the help of any number of friends and guests
live and on record, they’ve already released plenty across the first half of this
decade as the world went through any number of upheavals. Once more they’re
here to provide some needed balm in the form of their sixth formal album effort,
Synchronous Orbit, released jointly on May 9, 2025 by the Feeding Tube and
Cardinal Fuzz labels. With three lengthy songs showcasing their interwoven skills
both in studio and live settings, Synchronous Orbit finds the Heavy Lidders once
more, given the appropriate album title, aiming for a beautiful trip into outer space
and in the inner mind.

“Albums that contain both live tracks and studio tracks are early formative
touchstones for me,” says Alexander. “Like Eat A Peach or Anthem Of The Sun
or Wheels Of Fire, or even Joy Divison’s Still. Or just simply Smiths 12″s that I
collected in the 80s with live tracks on the flipside. I love the combination of
particular energies that can be captured in various settings. They are wildly
different but with similar parts. The album title reflects this with different objects
hovering around each other.”

Synchronous Orbit kicks off with a look back in the form of a newly-released early
version of a song from their New Earth Seed album “Star Power,” in its lengthy
‘Sun Flower’ mix. With a name like that the Heavy Lidders could have easily
burned across the heavens, but “Star Power” is a perfect easy ramble of a jam, a
warm glow not a supernova. There’s guest percussion from Ryan Jewell and, in a
lovely matching of voices with Alexander, a wonderful turn from the legendary
Kate Wright, famed for her work in the Bristol UK acts Movietone and Crescent.
Plenty of space unfolds for a sweetly trippy midsection as the players do their
thing, with Wright and Alexander’s vocals returning to help wrap up the trip.

“This is my home demo mx that was cast aside when I hired a producer for the
last LP,” Alexander explains. “And that’s fine! The version that was released on
New Earth Seed is excellent and contains many of the original tracks, but with
the addition of a lot of the producer’s extra guitar parts that I wouldn’t have gone
for myself. It’s cool – it’s just different, slick, very produced. I wanted to get the
original version out into the world – it’s crunchier, more ’73 than ’93. I specifically
invited Kate and Ryan to contribute based on the song – the song always comes
first.”
“Bernal Afterburn” is next, nodding to Alexander’s time spent in San Francisco
where Dire Wolves are still officially based. The core quartet again keep the calm
but never cool vibes leading into a steady slow-building burn, guitar parts pouring
over each other like glowing layers of honey with Verrastro’s drumming both
keeping pace and gently altering tempos and intensity.
“I lived in Bernal for all of my 40s,” remembers Alexander, “when I worked in SF
museums, when Dire Wolves started to take off, when I had kids. A truly great
decade of my life and it was hard to leave SF to be honest. I moved back east
when I was 50 and started up the Heavy Lidders; this particular jam had a sort of
vibe that reminded me of Bessie Street and the lingering feelings of loss.”

Synchronous Orbit concludes with its longest track at twenty minutes, taken from
a live show at the Milwaukee Psych Festival in May 2024. “Plastistone Circle
(Slight Return)” would be strong enough as it is, the quartet’s ear for
improvisation and exploration well in hand throughout. But there’s a heck of a
wonderful wild card factor in the form of 21st century jazz experimenter Isaiah
Collier, contributing not merely saxophone but bullhorn and bird calls – a real
menagerie of sound. His performances add both depth and even more energy to
the proceedings, never simply a rampage outward even at his fiercest, but
embracing the sense of community and participation in the performance – an
expansion of the possibilities.
“The title is a nod that I made to the absurdity of man-made garbage being
somehow revered in a mystical way,” Alexander notes. “Pseudo-cosmic, like this
shit timeline. Plus a Hendrix hat tip, of course! I sent Isaiah some recordings and
notes but he didn’t read them or listen to anything. I met him in person for the first
time about five minutes before we went on stage. But he was feeling it – we all
were – and the collective improvisation at this performance was really special. It
was an honor to perform with him and I look forward to our next collaboration!”

Where Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders go from here will yet be
revealed, and doubtless there’s more to come very soon indeed. But here’s
another example of why more long strange trips will be just what is needed about
now and always, with Synchronous Orbit showing exactly how those trips can
send you far beyond.

With Thanks to Ned.

Jeffrey Alexander + Heavy Lidders

Releases

Synchronous Orbit