In 2017, Alvarius B. poured years' worth of brainstorming into the three-volume With a Beaker on the Burner and an Otter in the Oven. Tapping members of his Egyptian bands, as well as players from Seattle's Master Musicians of Bukkake, Bishop created his masterpiece. Over its sprawling length, he proves that his delicate, burnished psych-folk songs deserve canonical status. Covers of Lee Hazlewood's "Dark in My Heart" and Johnny Cash's "Wanted Man" further sharpen the album's glorious despondency and earned cynicism via Bishop's revised lyrics. by Dave Segal