Cory Thomas Hanson is a member of many fine rock ‘n’ roll ensembles including Meatbodies, together PANGEA, and Mikal Cronin’s backing band, and he fronts the Los Angeles psychedelic garage rock outfit Wand. When I came to post their new track “Reepar Invert” I immediately noticed their new album is named Golem. Now, this gave me pause because I immediately thought of Frodo’s nemesis, Gollum. But that’s obviously not how Tolkien spelled it in The Lord Of The Rings, and Golem as Wand spells it is both a creature from Jewish folklore and a Pokémon. Interesting. This sort of thing would normally irk me to no end and convince me to ignore the band’s music all together. But “Reaper Invert” is the kind of gloomy, frayed-at-the-edges droner that’s perfect for late night drives, and it won me over before I could think anymore about Middle Earth or Game Boy phenomena. Listen below.

Golem out 3/17 on In The Red.