Featuring members of the Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, Run Westy Run, and Wilco, Golden Smog has in the past felt like a typical side gig: for die-hard fans only. Not anymore. Weird Tales is inspired top to bottom, whether on the four-song streak of ragged rock that fronts the disc or the singular moments that follow, like the strangely soul-funky "Keys," Jeff Tweedy's Woody Guthrie-ized "Please Tell My Brother," or Kraig Johnson's "Making Waves," a crushing story of suicide behind the bathroom door. Including new Smogger Jody Stephens (ex-Big Star drummer), Weird Tales is an emotion-rich trip of Midwestern rock tones, loaded with both individual spirit and collective vision. If they keep this up, we might have to start calling them a real band. --Neal Weiss