Worship music with a contemporary makeover is a long tradition in rock-and-roll—gospel was one of the pillars of the genre, and Hindu infl uences show up all over the psychedelic scene. But few e orts stick so closely to the source material as Kol Nidre, the new album from The Sway Machinery’s Jeremiah Lockwood, organist Shoko Nagai and drummer John Bollinger. Rabbi Dan Ain produced the set and, for the past fi ve years in New York, Lockwood and Ain have led their own service for Kol Nidre, the opening incantations of Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. But this year, they hit the studio before they hit the synagogue. For Jewish listeners, their recording will likely sound familiar—these are the actual Hebrew chants set to atmospheric organ, rumbling drums and minimal guitar—and could appeal as a new gateway to a deeply religious tradition or a mindexpanding reinterpretation. But if you’ve never sat through Kol Nidre before, then the album still presents some mystically beautiful music. Lockwood’s winding, spidery guitar on album opener “Kol Nidre, No. 3” could put you in a trance, and the gentle pop touch of “Birkas Kohanim” is pure sunshine. When the group strays from the Hebrew on tracks like “Everybody’s Got to Be Tried,” the effect isn’t quite as inspiring. Ultimately, though, Kol Nidre is an experiment in combining worlds, one that’s as fascinating as it is entertaining.