Saturday, May 30, 2020

Review: Desertfest Vol. 6 – Avon / Waxy 7”

German label H42 Records thought up the idea of releasing a 2-band split single for the Desertfest a few years back and already they are up to volume 6. Like previous years, it’s a limited run on vinyl and they’re not around for long. What makes this one even more unique is the fact that the festival fell victim to the Covid-19 pandemic and never actually happened.
Like previous years singles, I have no real idea how they pick the bands and neither of them were actually playing the festival this year, but when you mention the bands Avon and Waxy, you cannot but think of the Californian desert.
Avon’s track Men of Medan starts with a catchy hook of a riff that keeps returning throughout the next 3 minutes. They have that stoner rock vibe to the songs but their twist on it has a stripped back feeling as though it’s been jammed out there and then. The now 5-piece have the ability to write a song in the classic rock style, backed up with some cool vocal harmonies and when they throw in some guitar solo work, its top draw stuff. Let’s hope the follow up to Dave’s Dungeon isn’t too far away
Flip the record and you have a new song from Waxy, “It’s No Mistake”. Waxy manage to give off a laid back vibe whilst still having that more dangerous punk edge to them. The vocals have a certain harmony to them that is distinctly Californian desert and they flow nicely with what I can best describe as garage rock mixed with very early Queen of the Stone Age. Waxy have worked and played alongside many of the legends of the desert, and you can feel all these influences mixed with their own unique twist. They released their 5th album, Better on Forgetting, last year and it didn’t get the push or recognition it deserved, so make sure you also get looking for that too.


Again, H42 Records have produced a cool looking package that follows on again with Alexander von Weiding’s killer artwork. The press included 150 red Waxy edition, 150 gold Avon edition and 25 test presses on black. Get to it as I doubt they will be available for long.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Psychic Lemon – Studio Jams Volume 1 Review & Band Interview

Sometimes a bad situation produces a good one, and in the case of a band member tripping on an amp and needing recovery time whilst also in lockdown, the vaults of Psychic Lemon have been opened and jams have been jammed out.
I am the first to admit that I was slightly late to the Psychic Lemon party and it wasn’t until I heard Live at The Smokehouse that my conversion happened. My world of Psychedelic Rock always borrowed from the Heavy Psych/Desert/Stoner Rock background, but the more I explored the bands from the Psychedelic/Instrumental/Krautrock world, the musical path crossings are limitless, and Psychic Lemon are one of the UK’s finest purveyors of Cosmic Psych Rock.
To quote the Cambridge 3-piece, “….we are releasing Studio Jams Volume 1, a 44-minute collection of our favourite jams, spread across three tracks. Two of the tracks are recordings of spontaneous jams, while the third track evolved from one. All three tracks were recorded live in the studio, using a £150 battery-powered recorder”.
Starting with 23-minute epic Jam 1, the bassline picks you up straight away and builds with the drums whilst both guitar and keyboard effects create the space travel feel, with the listener being taken from the edge of the atmosphere and out into the unknown. All three musicians are locked in perfect timing as the mission never once falls off course. The guitars soar towards you from above and beyond, the drum work, whilst never stopping, keeps throwing you more and more beats and cymbals to keep you on your toes as you can feel yourself hurtling into deep space, and the synth’s keep swirling and twisting at your brain. The intensity of the song has the epic Hawkwind Space Rock trip to it.

Jam 2 slows it down with a bigger, more rhythmic drum beat over a guitar that screeches slowly, whilst subtly sat quite far back in the mix, kind of reminding me of The Cosmic Dead. It feels darker in places like a giant hurricane, with the rhythm section being the eye of the storm that never stops revolving and the guitar acting as the volatile weather that you never quite know when its power will erupt. The explosive eruption doesn’t strike, but the huge walls of sound swirl round and round, leaving the listener in a state of near hypnosis.


The third and final jam, Jam 3, speeds up again with a lot more distortion in the mix this time ala The Heads. Feeling as though each instrument is travelling at speed and trying to elevate and take over, it creates a feeling of positive and negative particles pushing against each other, creating a powerful electric charge. Mix this with all the far out synths and keyboards and you are taken on quite a cosmic adventure. 


Following in from last year’s highly praised Freak Mammal, these 3 jams are a welcome continuation in to the minds of Psychic Lemon. To think this was jammed out and recorded live on a battery powered recorder show that the band are always at the top of their game. I’m sure post-injury and post-pandemic we will see more from the vaults, and be able to witness their explosive powers of psych in a live setting.


Knowing that they had been busy during the lockdown hear in the UK, I sent over a few questions to find out what else the band, Martin Law (Drums), Andy Briston (Guitar & Synth) and Andy Hibbard (Bass), have been up to…..

1. So how is lockdown and social isolation working for you as individuals as well as Psychic Lemon?
Martin: Thankfully, my life hasn’t changed much because I can work from home. Andy H says that he was already a hermit, so lockdown hasn’t changed his day-to-day life too much!
Andy B: I’ve been furloughed, which is great, but there’s no guarantee my job will exist when that scheme ends, so it’s a mixed bag. In the meantime, I’ve taken the opportunity to upgrade my home studio, explore my locale by foot and generally commune with the flora and fauna of my garden.
As a band, we’re still not able to rehearse or record with the lockdown, which is a shame. 

2. Your blog mentioned that Andy H badly dislocated his shoulder a few months back, causing the band to go on hiatus. How’s the recovery going?
Yes that’s right. It’s pretty serious as far as dislocated shoulders go. Andy H was offered surgery just before lockdown, but chose to try physio before making that call. However, it looks like surgery will be needed after all. That’ll be in September, and hopefully back to full rehearsals before the end of the year. We may do some very short sessions before then, but things won’t properly start back until the end of the year.

3. What’s the story with releasing Studio Jams Volume 1? Was it a matter of piecing together various bits of tracks and recordings or have you got a secret vault full of epic late night jams? 
We have a huge vault going back years. Every rehearsal involves at least one new jam, and we record everything, from little surf rock throwaways to 20-minute space journeys. These days all our tracks start from these recordings.

4. Had the three jams been compiled using older material or material you had already planned for a future record? 
It’s a mixture: two of the jams (Jams 2 and 3) were born on the same night, 17th December 2018, though Jam 2 is a one-off recording from that night and Jam 3 has been reworked over the last 12 months. That one is likely to end up on the next album. Jam 1 was a one-off recording from May 2019.


5. As you titled it Volume 1, is it right to assume that you have more volumes to follow soon? 
We’ll see how long the lockdown lasts, and how many tracks we can find that are well recorded. We are slowly cataloguing and reviewing (and mixing) things. We’ve just put out a live track for an NHS charity compilation with the promoter Fishbowl Events (https://fishbowleventsuk.bandcamp.com).

6. You had some killer reviews of Freak Mammal. How are you going to top it?
Thank you. We never have a grand plan when working on a new album, all we ever want is to end up with a collection of tracks that we’re happy with. Freak Mammal is dense and heavy in parts, so the next one may have more quiet moments on it. Though we thought the same thing before we started recording Freak Mammal...

7. I’m guessing that you are still itching to get out on the road to further promote Freak Mammal? Do you have any speculative plans for when you can all stand on a stage and rock out together again?
We’ve missed out on some big gigs, like the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, so we’re definitely looking forward to whatever the next gig is. That gig will now be going ahead in April, so that is the soonest one that’s definitely going ahead. We’re just excited by the prospect of just getting in a rehearsal room together and making some noise again.


8. Your records on Discogs fetch a fair amount for collectors already. Is there any represses in the pipeline?
We don’t think so, sorry! The repress of our second album, Frequency Rhythm Distortion Delay, is available on our Bandcamp page for £12. The first album, Psychic Lemon, was repressed just last November and sold out pretty quickly. Freak Mammal was also released in November, and although it sold out, I’m not sure if it will be repressed any time soon. You should interview Adam Harmsworth, who runs Drone Rock Records, and ask him! Represses are hard for independent labels, because although having every album in stock is good from an income point of view, it also means spending money on pressing records that might never sell, and it’s much harder to put together customer orders. Also your house would be filled with thousands of unsold records. 

9. Finally, do you think we will see any live music throughout the UK in 2020? Do you fear for independent venues, shops and record labels or do you think the dedication of all the underground music scene’s pulling together will make everything stronger in the end? 
We would love to get a gig in this year, but overall it’s looking a little grim at the moment. However, there is solidarity too. For example, the guy who runs our current studio has just had a successful fundraiser to keep his studio going. Other artists in the psych scene, like Black Doldrums, Helicon and Black Tempest, have been broadcasting live gigs at home as well. Now is the time for people to support the little people, in the music industry and elsewhere. Call up a local cafe directly and order something, buy things online from somewhere other than Amazon, buy your music from Bandcamp.

A big thanks from me goes out to Martin Law for sorting the interview. If you haven’t already checked Psychic Lemon out, then follow these links.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Review: Black Rainbows - Cosmic Ritual Supertrip

It feels to me as though Black Rainbows have been around for forever, and as time moves on they seem to get more and more productive with new records and touring, and the more they do it, the better they get. Stellar Prophecy and Pandaemonium raised the bar for the band and the subsequent live shows blew me away every time I witnessed them. With the constant touring, successful side projects and record label, I wonder how they get time to sit down and craft out more killer songs at such a pace, but here we are, Cosmic Ritual Supertrip.
It takes about 20 seconds before At Midnight You Cry kicks in, and kicks in it does. The song has all the structure of a Black Sabbath track with the open ended riffs to the full on rockin’ ones, but that fuzz n’ roll sound that is quite unique to Black Rainbows is all over it. The vocals fit perfectly round the hook of the riff that steam rollers itself through just under three minutes and doesn’t let up. Defiantly a song that will open a show and get the crowd going.
Universal Phase slows it down a bit with a big stomping monolithic-like riff that roles across the plains. Add in some Sci-Fi film quotes in the background and the track conjures up the images of the Earth under attack. The vocals are more hypnotic this time and Gabriele has this great ability to let his voice drift away at the end of a line, adding to the magic. As the song speeds up, the cymbals keep crashing, the guitars keep buzzing and the song finishes as powerful as it started.
You can see why Radio 666 was used as a single/promo video as it has that laid back California vibe to it. Starting off with the strumming guitars and cleaner vocals that have me thinking of 60’s/70’s psychedelia in the way that Monster Magnet always excel at, it creates that easy going feel to it. Whenever I think of Black Rainbows its always bad ass motorbikes, but this time they’ve swapped that for an open top Chevy or Mustang, and the riff hook roll’s on and on likes it’s tearing up the asphalt. I really dig the retro sound here.

You cannot but feel the 70’s groove of Isolation. Opening with a blue’s riff that gets the head nodding instantly, the lead guitar work over the riff is something rather special. After this the track tempo builds and builds with soaring vocals and some water tight percussion and half way through the song just opens up, jams along and doesn’t stop.
Hypnotized By The Solenoid keeps the fuzz but drifts into a warmer trippy psychedelic world. Drifting in with a hypnotic vibe, there’s lots of 60’s coloured lights that drift into Pink Floyd and Hawkwind territory, but still sound distinctly Black Rainbows. Gabriele’s vocals soar throughout, really making this one of the stand out tracks and the awesome solo at the end takes you high in to the sky.
The Great Design is a 2 minute trip through the mind and in to your sub-conscious, building a trippy atmosphere behind a mesmerizing guitar that walks you in to the light. 
Master Rocket Power Blast pulls you straight back from the sub-conscious with a full force assault of big fuzzy guitars. It’s loud, straight to the point and rocks with a slightly punk edge to it. 
Snowball has a huge groove that swings back and forth, soaring vocals, crashing cymbals and lots of guitar soloing and blues work.
Glittereyzed pulls away from the fuzz and creates an atmosphere built up on the strumming guitar work and rolls along with a hypnotic rhythm to it before everything turns to 11 and the song explodes. This is Black Rainbows showing many a band how to do stoner rock.
Sacred Graal closes out the album with more full force stoner rock that many bands only wish they could play. Again, Gabriele’s vocals are absolutely superb.
Now if you have the special edition record or digital version, your journey doesn’t end here, as you have 2 bonus tracks, starting with Searching For Satellites Part I & II, a mystical up-tempo acoustic trip that must have been created whilst sat round a fire under the stars of the night sky. Add in some sci-fi effects in the background and maybe we aren’t alone in the universe.
Fire Breather starts with the line “If you see this big bird, it’s the sign that you’re going to die real soon” which could be very true with the way the world is right now. Lyrics aside, Fire Breather is another rocker of a song that motors down the highway and out in to the desert sun.
Cosmic Ritual Supertrip is quite a ride and Black Rainbows are again on top of their game. The huge fuzzy songs get fuzzier and the psychedelic outings become more trippier. With various special edition versions provided by Heavy Psych Sounds, you know what to do.

Friday, May 15, 2020

Review: ElonMusk - …As Your Wanderer Taps At The Invisible Gate

Nothing sparks my interest in music more than the sentence “new album that consists of one 37+ minute song” and it’s a journey in to space that not even the Space X entrepreneur could wrap his brain around.
Previous offerings from the Nashville 3-piece ElonMusk have clocked in at 9 and 16 minutes but this truly is a trip into the minds of a band that are taking you to realms beyond.
Everything starts feeling high up amongst the clouds as the guitar strums and the slow drum rhythms hypnotically hold you out there. There’s some keyboards moving in and out of the mix and the guitar begins to take flight and walk in to the distance reminding me in parts of Sons of Alpha Centauri and Yawning Man. At around 6 minutes the guitars really kick in and you feel the deep space like stomping groove as the instruments bend together slowly over the outer space keyboard effects. Add some soaring guitars to the mix and you can picture the kaleidoscopes of light in your mind as though they were playing right in front of you.
The eerie keyboards continue on as the guitar and bass output gets fuzzier, the elevated guitar work takes on another level and sounds huge, and they all intertwine for quite some time. The soaring guitars over the hypnotic drone like wall of fuzz is reminiscent of Electric Moon and Black Moon Circle, and how they take you from there to an almost dreamy landscape of what sounds like the sounds behind the atmosphere.

From here on you need to close your eyes and enjoy the trip as you take a heavy psych ride through the planets of space rock, accompanied by Ryan Westover (Bass/Synth), Frank Hand (guitar) and Kate Haldrup (Drums).
To add to the mind trip of an experience, an accompanying video has been produced by Stan Brakhage/Terrence Malick Films that lasts the full 37:35.


I highly recommend that you check out ElonMusk as they really have something special in the making here. …As Your Wanderer Taps At The Invisible Gate is available from the band on CD and cassette and I’ve just read that there will be some vinyl action soon from Worst Bassist Records.

Review: Mt. Mountain – Tassels 7”

I was late to the party with the Australian Psych scene but have had some fun making the time up discovering a long line of killer bands since, with one of these being Mt. Mountain. They first hooked me in with Golden Rise and I’ve been a fan ever since and discovering that a limited 7” with 2 new tracks was imminent, being the predecessor for a new full length to be released this year. 
Knowing that the first batch of the 500 copies went on pre-sale at 7am UK time, the alarm was set just in case, and I’m glad it was as minutes after I had ordered my copy it was already sold out.
Reviewing this, I haven’t got the item in my hands yet, though it looks like a rather special package from the pictures. So thanks to Bandcamp, here we go.
Tassels starts upbeat with levels of guitars and keyboard creating an ever growing soundscape that slowly twist away in the back of your mind. Like on previous records, the vocals quite subtly sit behind the music with a warm near-hypnotic feel to them. The first half of Tassels hangs off a cool psychedelic guitar hook backed with lots of cymbals, before the song bends itself into dreamy hypnotic territory with the organs and synth and the next few minutes are like a magic carpet ride into the unknown. Tassels is the sort of song that could play out for 30 or 40 minutes live.
Deluge is much more of a laid back track like a slow and magic trip into your sub-conscious. The warm dreamy mystical guitar lines walk you out towards the light backed up with hand played drum beats and it is pure magic. You can lie back, close your eyes and feel yourself drifting away, it really is that good. My only complaint is that as quick as it starts, your journey is already over.
This has really wet my appetite for what Mt. Mountain will be bringing us later in the year. I am not sure if the band or Six Tonnes De Chair Records have any copies left, but you need to be getting this from your usual digital platforms.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Review: Old Man Lizard / Big Pig – Split 7”

A couple of weeks ago the news of this split 7” unexpectedly appeared with two bands that I wouldn’t have paired together, but that’s the good thing about records like this.
Old Man Lizard’s track Queazy Like Sunday Morning is an absolute stormer from the moment it kicks off. There’s a twisted fuzzy feel to the guitar that buzzes along and hooks you straight in. There’s a mix of Sabbath and Kyuss with a definite English twist to it. After a couple of well received records, this feels like a step away from their more doomy miserable sounding slabs of metal and more like the band doing a stoner rock anthem. If this is the direction the band are going or not, the track is one of the best I have heard from them. The recording and production is another step up and the vocals, though still sounding strained (not in a bad way) really command themselves throughout the song. It’s like Old Man Lizard doing their Fu Manchu thing.


Flip the 7” and we leave England for California for the track Sweaty Palms by Big Pig. Knowing the Lalli family and Fatso Jetson connection, then you won’t be disappointed with this. It grooves with that desert feel to it, not to fast, not to slow and has that slightly darker twist to it the way the Melvins perfected. Sweaty Palms has a strong fuzzy feel to the song that stomps along, but all the little extras like the laid back grooving guitar that slips in through the background early on or the soaring solo that feels like it’s not a solo, add to what the two piece machine bang out here. I also have to mention how good the male/female vocal harmonies are throughout the song. Let’s hope they recorded more new songs at the same time.
The 7” is part of a limited split series by Wasted State Records so if I was you I would be ordering now before they’re gone for good.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Interview: Astrodome

One of Portugal’s finest heavy psych export’s Astrodome have been quiet of late. Hopefully it’s a sign that the instrumentalists are hidden away some place, jamming out new music. Let’s find out…..
Q. So how is the Covid-19 lockdown and social isolation working for Astrodome and you as individuals? What restrictions are holding you back right now?
It's been a tough time for everybody. As a band, we had to stop jamming and rehearsing like we normally do and started adopting some other ways of being productive. We also had a show cancelled in our hometown that we were really excited about, since the last time we played there was quite some time ago! As individuals, since we are not full time musicians, we try to work from home as much as we can.
Q. Astrodome have been quiet over the last few months. Does this mean that you are in the studio or in the writing process for album number three?
That's right, we are mostly focused on the writing process of the next album, for this album we decided to not rush things and take our time, maybe for a next year release, we hope...
Q. How do the 4 members go about writing songs? Do you all come to the table with ideas or do you just jam it out for hours, feel the flow and let the music write itself?
We don't have a particular way of writing songs. In the beginning, we definitely used a lot the classic "jam and let's see what happens" formula, but that way of making music can sometimes lead to monotony and repetition, and we are trying to not fall in the mistake of releasing the same album over and over again. As we get more maturity and responsibility as a band, we think it's important to start adopting some other ways of thinking and composing, so, it's not impossible that if someone brings an awesome and fully structured song to the rehearsal or if the drummer creates a cool guitar riff, it won't end up being an Astrodome song! There's no rules...
Q. Do you have “Jam Room” so that you can get the right vibe when recording?
We do have a rehearsing space or if you wanna call it, a jam room. It doesn't have the most inspiring vibe ever since it's located in a basement but it gets the job done... we guess! (haha)
Q. It has been well documented with the mess your previous record label left you with at the release point for Astrodome II. Did you ever get all the legal stuff sorted? And on a better note, do you think we will ever see the record available to buy as it deserves a proper release. 
Oh man! That still haunt us to this day! We have sorted most of the stuff, except for the streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, we still couldn't get control over that unfortunately. We also still get contacted by people who are not aware of the problem and think that we scammed them. Nightmare...
About the record, we would like to release a new edition of it and the previous one also, maybe at the same time we release of our third album? Maybe sooner? Let's see!


Q. Can you tell us a bit about the cool artwork for “II”?
We started working with talented artist Clara Pessanha on the cover artwork, discussing references for illustration style even before finishing the album. In a certain way at some point the music, artwork and the concept of the album were mutually developed, and they're deeply related with each other.
It represents something like how our perspective on things changes as we move through space and time. We see a mirage of the Sun, which we forget as we get into the landscape. As we move forward, we realize the Sun is there and it is real, so we celebrate it. On the back cover it turns out that, although it is there, the Sun doesn’t hold itself as we thought, and there is a titan raising it. It has to do with subjects of curiosity and illusion, scepticism, belief, devotion, ending with deception, the final surprise revealing that the truth is different from everything we thought before. This is related to what happens throughout the music, like its tonality, or root note changes.
Q. “II” was released, like the first album, on cassette. You must be a fan of the format and enjoy seeing it make a small comeback?
Actually, those releases were just something that happened naturally. We have a friend, Jonas that had just started a small label and booking agency called Ya Ya Yeah! and he wanted to start releasing some bands that he likes on cassette, so he just asked if we wanted to be the first band and "test the waters". We guess that tape and analogue stuff is one of those "fetishes" that every band must have, and a cassette is an awesome piece of memorabilia you can get from a band, so it was a cool thing to do!
Q. Have other labels approached you to re-release “II” or release a new record?
When we announced all those problems with our ex-label, we got contacted by a couple of labels who shared their interest in working with us but none of them actually said something definitive, we also didn't want to rush things and end up being in a bad situation again so we decided to let the things cool down for a while and think about all the possibilities sometime later when we have our next album... 
Q. Can you ever see Astrodome having vocals on a new track or a song that has a verse/chorus verse/chorus structure to it?
We can't say we don’t see that as a possibility. We try to impose ourselves less and less on what we can or should do, and we let things evolve in ways that are not necessarily the same as what we've done so far. We work on every new track based on an idea that is being built, and the structure develops accordingly. Someday an idea may justify having vocals, or having verse / chorus verse / chorus structure, or both. We don't have anything against that kind of structure.
Q. I haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing Astrodome in the live setting yet, what would I expect from one of your shows?
We think our live shows are a completely different thing from our studio albums, at least we try to make it that way and honestly that is the exciting part of seeing a live concert from a band that you like. When we have the right conditions, we try to set up a mood that makes it more like an experience rather than a musical concert, we use lights, drones and sound effects for an uninterrupted show. Hope we can meet you at one of our concerts in the future! 
Q. Once the world starts to get back to normal, will Astrodome be hitting the road again to tour?
Unfortunately we are not full time musicians so we have to carefully manage our time between our jobs, making music, playing live and taking care of the band’s "office" side. Playing live and doing a good show requires a lot of practice and planning and we agreed that while working on the new album, we would play less shows and that's what we are trying to do. We are really focused on making a good album. We might still play here and there but we don't think we will hit the road very soon for another big tour.
Q. With festivals like Sonic Blast hosting some awesome line-ups over the last few years, the psych/stoner music scene in Portugal looks to be getting bigger. What other Portuguese bands should we all be checking out?
Sonic Blast is our favorite festival to play and to be as a fan, and it definitely helped the "scene" getting stronger and we even risk to say that it influenced many new bands being created! About the bands suggestion, it's going to be hard to list them all because there's a lot of amazing stuff happening in the heavy and psych scene, and we are friends with almost everyone! We recommend the "classic" ones like Black Bombaim, 10000 Russos, Solar Corona, Stone Dead, Kilimanjaro, Big Red Panda, Black Wizards, and some of the newer stuff like Jesus the Snake, Fuzzil… There's a lot happening and we could stay here for days listing them all, and that's great!


Review: Electric Moon – Mind Explosion & Theory of Mind Reissues

Electric Moon have a treasure trove of recorded masterpieces from over the years, with many of them being released on limited vinyl and CD runs that are never available for long, so it’s good to see that some are starting to come back in to print again. Komet Lulu’s label Worst Bassist Records inaugural release was a re-issue of Cellar Overdose, and amongst a few other quality releases, she has now repressed Mind Explosion and Theory of Mind on vinyl. Two cosmic trips out into the unknown reaches of the universe that no matter how many times I listen to them, never sound the same twice.
You may already have the originals, or have read reviews from when they originally came out, but I thought, even after many previous listens, I’d put on the headphones and write a bit about the experience again, provided by the three cosmonauts, Dave “Sula Bassana” Schmidt, Komet Lulu and Marcus Schnitzler.
Mind Explosion was recorded in Feldkirch, Austria in September 2013, and kicks off with Trip to the Moon which slowly begins to build with a percussion mixed with space like effects, elevating you above the atmosphere and out in to the cold night sky. The repetition of the drums gets louder and louder and the cymbals crash at a more furious pace and the effects start twisting at you as the soaring guitars interject themselves into the mix and place you in that cosmic nod state and hold you there for several more minutes. I’m guessing that at around the 13 minute mark is when they have reached the moon as the track levels off and all three instruments play together with a more reflective vibe to them before the underlying hypnotic beat falls back into place for your return to Earth, that starts heavy and abrasive before concluding atmospherically into the night.
Kaleidoscopepeephole feels like several soundscapes layered over one another, like the constant repetitive change of a kaleidoscope. Like a 22 minute cosmic jam, they create a sound that has been captured perfectly in the live setting. Throughout, it twist and turns from a more laid back vibe to a near freak out at times to that heavy space like psych that all three members have more than mastered.


As The Picture takes off you can pick out the noises of the audience in the background that gives you that proper “at a gig” feel to the recording. Musically this feels like the heaviest of the 4 tracks, like a big epic space rock jam that doesn’t let up for the full 17 minutes. The ever present hypnotic and sometimes drone like percussion drives it at pace, with a whirlwind of guitar effects fed into the mix so that you know this is Electric Moon.
Title track Mind Explosion starts with a lot more keyboard effects which feel more mind-warp and robotic that the usual sounds of outer space. They slide nicely into the rhythm of the track that feels slightly different to the rest as the guitar loses its big intensity and has more of a raw early Pink Floyd and definitely a lot more trippy. Like any good album though, the last 5 minutes build everything to a huge crescendo with all instruments blazing before that final comedown, something the band are so good at writing and performing.

Theory of Mind was recorded at the Kosmodrom in Heidelberg, Germany in February 2014, with Hypnotika starting distant and dreamlike, almost as though you are floating through a place beyond the stars. The keyboard effects and synth noises have an almost sinister feel to them as though something is approaching from the heavens, not knowing if it is good or evil. The bassline starts to take hold of you and the rolling of drums and crashing of cymbals intensifies with the soaring space rock guitar lines pull everything from left to right, then back again in an almost “at sea” swaying motion. As the trip continues I still get the feeling that however heavy and psychedelic it feels, the atmosphere created has a more dangerous “edge of your seat” serious feel to it. I don’t remember feeling this last time a listened to it, but that’s the magic of what Electric Moon can do to you.
The track Theory of Mind is something rather special. It starts slowly with a warm inviting feel to it with some almost hypnotic wah-wah guitar. I’m sure I read a review when it first came out saying they could picture hippies dancing in a field near Glastonbury at this point, and yes, I can see what they meant. As the flow of the track takes off and the guitar takes you up there to some place special, you can see and feel the warm colours melt into each other, time and time again. The bass and drum work is inch perfect as they hold you as you walk the warm psychedelic path into the summer’s night. At around 12 minutes the bass really kicks in and the freak out explodes as wave after wave of soaring guitars push you aside before one last final sonic blast.

A slightly shorter version of The Picture (mentioned earlier) has a more abrasive and sonic feel to it this time round, and fits right into the vibe of the record due to the huge expansiveness of its sound.
Aerosoul finishes everything off with a more atmospheric vibe to the trip. The sparse opening teases you with distant keyboards and effects as though you are alone on a distant planet a long way from Earth. Behind the guitars and feedback, both drums and bass create another drone like soundscape that keeps your head nodding in time. There’s a lot more feedback used as the track moves on to create more sonic effects to compliment the overall feel of Aerosoul and its near trance like state.
It’s always a pleasure writing about Electric Moon as like I have said previously, no matter how many times I listen to their numerous recordings, nothing ever sounds the same twice. I would be hard pressed to pick a favourite between these two records, so you’ll have to make sure you own them both to decide.
Both the band and label have done another special job in re-releasing both albums and Lulu’s brilliant artwork on both truly carries the vibe of each record. If you want them, then don’t hang around as both are on limited run with cover matching colored vinyl.
Luckily between Worst Bassist Records and Sulatron Records, there should be more Electric Moon on the horizon soon.