The Skull Defekts: Fragrant Nimbus

Last fall, I saw Daniel Higgs perform a brilliant, unsettling solo set as the opener for Bonnie “Prince” Billy, in which the Lungfish frontman preached, sang, chanted, shouted, clapped, and even bantered with a stoned heckler over the course of 30 minutes or so. It was a bizarre yet mesmerizing display of a boundary-pushing musical visionary bordering on performance artist, armed only with his banjo, droning organ, voice, and a stack of evocative litanies. And now here’s a track co-starring the perfect backing band for Higgs’ enigmatic vision (much better than bells on his feet!): Swedish experimental rockers The Skull Defekts. Fans of Sonic Youth will likely enjoy the jagged guitars, half-spoken word vocals, and apocalyptic sonic landscape of “Fragrant Nimbus,” a stunning track off the Defekts’ new Higgs-fronted album, Peer Amid. (Grab a free MP3 over at Stereogum.)