Phantom Logic – Salton Dust

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · May 28, 2026

Phantom Logic is a heavy psychedelic instrumental rock band from San Diego, California. They consist of Matthew Glenn Meyer on guitar, Kristofer Dawson on bass, and Kiran Sheshadri on drums. They also feature guitar virtuoso Isaiah Mitchell from Earthless. They released their debut album called Salton Dust on April 27th 2026 on Glory Or Death Records. It contains four tracks at forty minutes long.

When the beginning of “Salton Dust I” starts, it reminds me of the good old days when I used to listen to New Age music with my old man. Bands like Vangelis and Tangerine Dream were favorites of my Dad and the music really brought you to another place. The heavily synthesized backdrop for “Salton Dust I” has that alluring flow that can send your thoughts to another planet. The twenty minute opener relies on the guitars, bass, and drums, producing the vast range of sounds that Phantom Logic are creating. The music has a hypnotic wavering of acid rocking leads and bombastic percussion, jamming along fantastically. Being the longest track on the album, it sets the stage for what’s next. “Salton Dust II” is a fraction of the run time, just under seven minutes but it’s more riff driven than the former. It has a slow and bluesy doom tone to it while keeping the atmospheric textures in place. It continues on with the cosmic voyage through the conscious and subconscious parameters of the mind.

The third song, “Glyphwave” is a psychedelic roller coaster of rhythmic fuzz and electrifying leads. The music dazzles and plunges into the deep waters of acid rocking bliss and heavy psychedelic gymnastics. It’s like riding a rocket into space and nearly falling off at every moment. The almost reckless soloing and annihilating rhythms rival Canada’s Heavy Trip in ferocity. The fourth and final track on Salton Dust is called “A Sigil Bloom”. It begins with the bass and continues to build into another psychedelic canyon of spectacular shredding leads. This music will surely place you in a trance and leave you wondering, “what the hell just happened?” I adore records that have that effect on me and allow myself to fully surrender to the music. Salton Dust is a meditative album that only a band like Phantom Logic can pull off with all the array of different sounds and emotions that the music evokes.