Scott Reeder

Tunnel Vision Brilliance could prompt purchases with its cover alone, as long as designers supplement its disturbing imagery (lumberjack-like Scott Reeder floating shirtless in amniotic fluid) with a sticker that reads “The solo debut from the bassist of Obsessed and Kyuss.” Like a more intimate expression of the latter band’s psychedelic side, Tunnel Vision combines trippy guitar leads and multi-tracked vocal harmonies with hooks that cut through the haze like high-beam headlights slicing fog. Instrumental interludes, particularly a tribal-minimalist tune that’s just begging to be paired with avant-documentary nature footage, enhance the mystic feel. The lyrics are grim — the record’s first line is “When I was a boy/Something deep inside said that I’d always be alone” — but Reeder, one of the pioneers of doom-laden bass lines, keeps the material melodic. He plays every instrument, drumming with almost industrial precision and tapping bass strings with a tone that suggests metallic fingers. Tunnel Vision should render the “formerly of Kyuss” clarification as unnecessary for Reeder’s future releases as it is for bandmate Josh Homme.