Is Alternative music slowly going full-circle back from whence it came? Who knows? One thing I do see however is a sudden influx of psychedelic, trippy-sounding bands that are just enough on the edge to get airplay on all the major Alt radio stations, but who are really causing the whole so-called movement to head off in a totally new direction. I happen to think it's an interesting direction too.

One band that falls under the above category is "Swervedriver", who recently released their fourth album, "99th Dream". Overall this is a pretty interesting album. Though the sound becomes somewhat cohesive once you listen to it all the way through a couple times, each track was different enough to keep my attention from wavering. I can't say I was totally jazzed by every track mind you -- a couple in fact were a chore just to get all the way through. That said however, several tracks kept my finger close to the replay button on my CD player.

"She Weaves a Tender Trap" boldly stands out from the other songs on this disc. Backed throughout by a thick, mysterious guitar track and complete with the breathy, rarely-used Mellotron, this song is beautifully arranged and every bit as cool as anything that came from the psychedelic seventies.

Another psychedelic stand-out is "Stellar Caprice". With slightly distorted vocals, spooky synths and a killer melody, this song sounds like something the Beatles might have done toward the end of their career. I liked this song a lot.

Not every song on "99th Dream" falls under the psychedelic umbrella. "Wrong Treats" sounds like a better "Stone Temple Pilots" song and "Sealed my Fate" has an Alternative sound all its own, but that's not to say it's bad. To the contrary, I think "Sealed My Fate" has definite single potential.

Finally, the song that really blew me away was the instrumental "Electric 77". This totally well-thought out, almost Jazzy piece was a total surprise -- I wasn't expecting this kind of mature instrumental on an album like this. "Electric 77" gave me a totally new outlook on everything else "99th Dream" had to offer.

"Swervedriver" is not your run of the mill, came-from-the-garage Alt band and "99th Dream" is not your run of the mill album. If you are into the psych-alt stuff, this is a must-have!