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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
