Minds Under Cover

“Golden Dime” by Minds Under Cover from Warmth Can Wait (Innerhorse Systems):

John Bersuch (of Bacon Shoe infamy) puts on his semi-serious face for Minds Under Cover, an entity that has powered through 14 years and about as many lineups. Bersuch’s mercurial muses are probably his group’s own worst enemy in a marketing sense, but his breadth of influences makes Warmth Can Wait a compelling listen. The closest analog might be a Butthole Surfers record — moments of lucidity juxtaposed with mindfuck experimentalism. But there are good melodies here, composed attentively with a conflation of electronic programming and live instrumentation. There’s also a hint of prog in the vein of Mr. Bungle or Mars Volta, and blippy allusions to Krautrock and French electronica. Highlights include “Version of Face,” with its plucky banjo ornamentations, and the artful “Bridge,” which recalls Fujiya & Miyagi a bit with its chug-a-lug Moog groove. Absent from the album are drummer Kent Burnham and bassist Cole Weiler, who steer the group in an entirely different direction onstage.