Radical Knitting Circle

Radical Knitting Circle

Over the years, the term "hippie music" has come to mean meandering jams with guitar solos that can be timed with an hourglass. But during the first generation of the 20th century's most hirsute social movement, the phrase also applied to the tuneage of antic folk loons with a fondness for musical and lyrical absurdity — and that's the tradition the Radical Knitting Circle revives. Brian Esau sings like a stoned Muppet, while bandmates Ben Gallagher, Alex Venetucci and Elliott Leslie support him with a sound that combines whimsy and semi-controlled chaos. The combination's a lot of fun on the likes of "Washing Machine Blues," which references "uranium perfume" that locals will soon be "bleedin'...out their assholes." It's hippie music the way it used to be: entertainingly bizarre.