Linus Pauling Quartet, whose new CD Horns of Ammon comes out this weekend, came by my house a few months ago after over a year of pleading, hounding and threats by yours truly. I've been an LP4 fan since I caught a tinnitus-inducing set at the Axiom six or seven years ago; it reminded me of all the badass psychedelic stoner rock my cool older brother would've blasted out of his van, had my older brother had a van, or had I had an older brother. I was excited to see what they'd do with a more stripped-down approach, and Linus did not disappoint: they played a good six or seven songs, re-imagined from heavy rock-fist epics into low key singalongs and moody, acoustic-driven dirges. Also they drank a lot of beer. It was everything I had hoped for.

The band focused more on the goofy side of their repertoire that afternoon, including Ammon highlight "Porno in the Sink" and 1995's "Hamburger Girl." Here's the latter, preceded by some Led Zeppelin nonsense they're lucky they didn't get kicked out of my house for.

Even in this rare quieter incarnation, Linus still knows how to bring the heaviness, as evidenced by this medley of "Linus' Theme" (an ode to Black Sabbath and, uh, Linus Pauling Quartet) and "Mournebong" (an ode to some dude's bong).

Come to Cactus Music this Saturday at 3pm for the Horns of Ammon CD release show. Refreshments will be provided by St. Arnold's, so drink up. Anything else you'll probably want to do in your car with the windows rolled up beforehand.