Dark Meat

Any group with 17 musicians will inevitably be labeled a collective, but the Athens, Georgia, band Dark Meat earns that designation organically. Several of the band's members live communally in Orange Twin, an "eco village" run by erstwhile Elephant 6 collective member Laura Carter. Dark Meat, which originated as a Crazy Horse tribute act, supplements its Southern rock with soul-revue horns, gospel-style call-and-response, free-jazz experimentation and punk-trash song titles ("Angel of Meth," "Well Fuck You Then"). The band makes joyous noise on its debut album, Universal Indians, putting an anarchic twist on the Polyphonic Spree's glee-club giddiness. Dark Meat shows contain as much costumed craziness as a Flaming Lips gig or, given the group's wild-hippie abandon, Burning Man.