Ancestors: In Dreams and Time (Tee Pee)

Los Angeles heavy psych-rockers Ancestors have unveiled a mind-expanding new album, recorded in the same east-side studio where cool bands like Best Coast and Queens of the Stone Age have done great work.

This time, Ancestors reach deeply into their Pink Floyd record collection to bring us the kind of music—widescreen, chamber-influenced, unafraid to take risks—you don't hear anymore. From the Wurlitzer organ interlude at the eight-minute mark of the sprawling, majestic "Corryvreckan" to the classical piano-meets-post-rock surge of "The Last Return" (with guest vocals by Carah Faye from Shiny Toy Guns) to the vintage Moog-kissed moonscape of "Running in Circles," In Dreams and Time plunges the listener into a vortex of sound.

OK, sometimes that vortex dissipates and drifts and disappears—as it does in the unnecessary piano reprise of "On the Wind"—causing my mind to wander to peripheral issues like: Did I throw that last load of laundry into the dryer? But overall, Ancestors grab my attention, a rare feat for what feels like a mostly instrumental ensemble. (The band has three vocalists, but songs often ebb and flow for long passages without any singing.)

The Hipgnosis-referencing album cover art is more than a superficial nod to a British design team responsible for so many classic vinyl covers by everyone from Pink Floyd to Yes. Ancestors are solidly, hugely, in touch with their musical forefathers.