Death in Vegas know a good thing when hear it and on their third release, they don't stray to far from their interesting concoction of gritty rock, techno repetition, and spacy psychedelia, though this time out it's not quiet as musically dark. On Scorpio Rising (taken perhaps from the Kenneth Anger film or 10,000 Maniacs first hit) their repetitive grooves remind me of those sugar noire grooves of Jesus and Mary Chain.

Again they pretty much take a groove and stick to it, but somehow the songs internal same-ishnes grows more infectious than monotonous. It doesn't hurt either that the album also stars a new cast of guest musicians. Returning to the fold is Dot Allison "Diving Horses," who is joined by the likes of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval who lends her hypnotic vocals to "Killing Smile" and "Help Yourself." It's nice to hear her back in a worthy project after her dismal attempt at a solo recording. "Killing Smile" with it's mandolin and banjo and counterpoint strings is the album's high point for me. Also along for the trip to Vegas is Woodbine's Susan Dillane "Girls" and "23 Lies," all of whom are delegated to contribute their breathy larynxes over these often lush, vast and sometimes subtle psychedelic soundscapes for an effect that is reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine meets Underworld.

The title track features Oasis' Liam Gallagher's vocals in a mid sixties homage that sounds like something off of Rubber Soul and borrows a riff from Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men," a song Camper Van Beethoven covered on their swan song record. Fairly tepid track really, there are much finer moments to be found. Track 8 finds Paul Weller lending his vocals to a fairly forgettable cover of Gene Clark's "So You Say You Lost Your Baby." Having Paul Weller on board is undeniably cool, but this particular cover plays against his strengths and is over before you know it. Dot Allison's "Killing Horses," is produced like a Cocteau Twins song circa Victorialand, and thus I love it. As far as I'm concerned you could make a pretty good argument that the Twins invented this sort of music.

For all it's cameo power, Scorpio Rising is a bit on the disappointing side, but for fans of this sort of atmospheric distortion and ethereal otherworldliness, it's definitely Heaven in Las Vegas. In particular Hope Sandoval is really given a chance to shine like the Mazzy Star she once was - that much alone is Nirvana.