I had previously reviewed …As Your Wanderer Taps At The
Invisible Gate when the band self-released it, but thought I would put the
review up again as Worst Bassist Records have given it the vinyl treatment on
some cool looking purple wax.
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 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. This time the vinyl version splits the 37:35 over
both sides of the record.
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.
Many bands have tried recreating what they do live on vinyl
or CD, and as good as many bands have done, there is only a handful that manage
to “take you there” with the recording, and then there is Electric Moon, the
true kings & queen of the live record. Looking back through their catalogue
of releases, you are spoilt for choice with live recordings for a space jam
mood or trip out mood or a heavy psych mood.
Recorded at 2019’s Freak Valley Festival in Germany late
into the evening of a moody stormy day, Sula, Lulu and Pablo take you on four
long cosmic journeys through the night sky and onwards towards the vortex that create
a kaleidoscope of colours in the listeners mind.
Having previously watched the performance that was filmed by
Rockpalast several times on YouTube, the use of deep rich blue lighting is what
sets the mood for what the next 65+ minutes inserts into your subconscious.
Increase begins and evolves in what sounds like the magnetic
fields between the Earth’s atmosphere and the edge of spaces gravitational pull.
The keyboards and effects float in and out and attach themselves to one another
as the atmospheric twist starts to take control. The cymbals start to crash and
the bassline hooks everything to it, creating the soundwaves for the guitar to
lock into and start your journey into the cosmos. As you hit the ten minute
mark you are well and truly travelling through the asteroid belt at speed with
a drum/bass rhythm that is hypnotic whilst constantly hurtling forwards, space
rock style. Played loud and you can feel the intensity force itself through the
sound waves and out towards the outer reaches. After one final solar blast, the
rocket defuses and everything starts to reduce back to its former self and the
satellite falls into its flight path and the mission is complete.
If Increase has taken the satellite to its destination, then
777 is the satellite kicking into the orbital mission that it was designed to
complete. 777 is hypnotic, fuzzy and moves like a satellite that is hurtling
round its designated planet at speed whilst battling the elements of a meteor
shower. With many an Electric Moon song, the spaces between the sounds creates
an added atmosphere, but not in the first ten minutes here as its all intensity.
Think an updated revamped version on London’s UFO club from the 60’s/70’s with
liquid lightshows and strobe lighting. The final third of 777 see’s the
satellite’s booster’s kick in to slow everything back down and conserve what
solar energy is left before the sun’s power vanishes behind the moon. Within
the 20 minutes of 777 all 3 members push their instruments to another level and
beyond.
The Picture is an epic 19 minute hypnotic space rock epic.
The trance inducing rhythm section is time perfect and pulls you deep into the
darkest parts of the universe beyond any solar system. Guitars soar, cymbals
crash and a multitude of electronics and feedback make the intergalactic
journey even more abrasive. At around 14 minutes you reach probably the
furthest point away from home as all goes quiet before something pulls you back
in rather abruptly.
A shorter version of D-Tune has its warm Middle Eastern feel
to it as it builds up layer upon layer to create a rich fuzzy feel to it. The
way D-Tune rolls along and evolves is like a mystical orb that your brain tunes
in to, especially when witnessing this type of musical live. If you know what I
mean by this, then you just know. It’s no special club or musical gang, it’s
just something that happens (usually in a dark room full of strobe lighting)
and a 5 minute song can turn in to a couple of hours.
To finish is the addition of Der Mondsenator auf dem Weg zur
Erde, an acoustic track performed as an extra session back stage. It feels up
close and personal with the organic unplugged vibe that feels delicate but is
still busting with power. If you look out there, the visual version is quite
easy to find.
What else can I say? Electric Moon hit a rich vein of form
several years back and it continues with a healthy stream of studio albums,
live records and re-releases that never disappoint.
If you were at Freak Valley in 2019 then this is the perfect
way to freeze the memory in time, and if you weren’t there then headphones on,
lights off, kick back and nod.
Rock Freaks Records have released a limited run of vinyl on
a couple of different colours and Sulatron Records have released the CD
version.
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.
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.
Mythic Sunship released Another Shape of Psychedelic Music
in 2018, this being their fourth album in as many year and with their ability
to shape psych, time and musical space, they have become a leading light in
European psych rock and this time they bring the listener in to their live
experience in Changing Shapes. As the album description notes, Mythic Sunship
played three shows at Roadburn 2019 and Changing Shaped documents the most
ferocious and courageous of the three.
I know that many bands have put on legendary performances at
Roadburn over the years, but to have it documented on an official release
elevates the classic performances in to something even more special.
Awakening builds slowly and as it drifts from side to side,
each instrument beginning to evolve. The addition of saxophone takes the
evolution to another level with its free form jazz like explosion. Once the
craziness of the build-up levels off, all roads turn towards the same direction
and the space psych journey takes voyage in to the night sky. Lighter
interludes on the journey give way to more sax, which tells its own tale of
said voyage. The final two minutes really take the listener to the next level
with some rock out guitar work, an explosion of drums any cymbals and the ever
present bass line holding everything together. It’s a shame the track has to
finish on eleven minutes.
A longer version of Elevation follows on with its mind
warping space rock journey. The bass is there and hooks you with its constant
near hypnotic pull. The drums keep time but take several side trips into
explosive territory before returning to let the guitars soar towards the sun
and the sax take center stage, taking the listener never to the same place
twice. The last four minutes get faster and faster and the bassline implants
itself deep in your mind as the journey into the cosmos concludes at quite a
rate. If you are holding the record you will notice Elevation is not on it, but
the accompanying digital download has it ready for you.
Way Ahead feels a lot more organic, like a jam version of
earlier songs. With the majority of the track being driven by the guitars and
percussion, the sax implants itself deeper in to the mix when it makes an
appearance. From the minute go, each band member lets go of themselves and rocks
out with this supersonic cosmic journey into hyperspace.
Olympia is another new jam that takes you above the clouds
into eleven minutes of a sonic psychedelic build up. There’s a lot of guitar
riffs that role over each other and form big grooves that are plugged by the
free flowing sax. It truly turns in to the stand out moment on the record.
Concluding the release, Ophidian Rising is back to earlier
material that kicks in like a heavy psych freak out from the start, no build up
or atmospheric opening, just killer heavy psych. Like a huge comet crossing the
night sky and breaking through the Earth’s atmosphere, the ball of ever
evolving fire keeps spinning and speeding up before taking everything along as
it hurtles down to make an untimely connection.
With their impressive output of music, I doubt we will have
to wait for more new music, but with the new jam’s here, you are again elevated
into another Mythic Sunship trance like state. I have yet to experience them
live, but this records scratches the itch until they hopefully come to the UK
one day.
Zone Six have appeared, disappeared and reappeared several
times over the last two decades with some classic live shows thrown in the mix
producing several recorded moments of psychedelic magic. After last year’s
split record with Arc of Ascent I didn’t imagine that a full record would be
following so soon after, but here it is.
I will mention the title of the record and how the meaning
of the title’s second word has been lost in translation. Here in England, the
word spelt differently is a derogatory term that I absolutely hate but hand on
heart, these dudes/hippies/cosmonauts only spread love around the world. The
title Kozmik Koon was inspired by friend of the band Kozmik Ken from England, founder
of Kozfest, and that they live in an area full of racoons.
The first two times I listened to the album where in totally
different settings. The first time being played very loudly on the way from a
gig, driving in the raining through the very small hours and you can really
feel the atmosphere of what Zone Six deliver and the emotive power of their
space rock journey. The second time I was sat in the dark with headphones on
and this is when you experience the depth and feeling of the recording as the
more psychedelic and ambient parts really take you on a trip to a place beyond
space and time.
Maschinenseele starts off with an ambient feeling of
loneliness, almost something quite dark that could sit on the soundtrack to one
of the Alien films with the repetitive sounds of deep space and the space between
those sounds, which in turn ties in well with the black and grey mechanical
artwork to the record. As the sound starts to evolve, a light drumbeat and
acoustic guitar starts to strum a more upturned and positive sound of movement
as though your journey has begun. A journey of repetition that is taking you
way out in to the outer realms of the solar system. The electric guitars create
walls of sound that you can feel approaching before they make impact again and
again as Maschinenseele turns into an epic space rock jam. The mellotron adds
to the adventure and you can feel the distant voice of Lulu hauntingly appear
on a few occasions deep in the mix. Definitely a jam that could last for many
hours when played live.
Kozmik Koon brings you straight back to planet earth with an
upbeat feeling of a rocking out Hawkwind live experience coming from a tent in
a field in the English countryside. You can see and feel it with bassline that
drives the whole song. Several hippies on stage all tuned in to the rhythm and
pushing their instruments to levels beyond what they should and lots of hippies
losing their minds whilst trippin’ out. Later on in the song everything
quietens down and the mix of percussion, keyboard and the more psychedelic
guitar brings everything to a mellow conclusion. With the fact that the song is
dedicated to Kozmik Ken and his Kozfest, they really have captured the live
festival vibe and think they have achieved the outcome they set out to find.
You need to lie back, close your eyes and open your mind to
experience Raum. For three minutes and twenty eight seconds a guitar rides upon
a wave and does exactly what it wants to do. Mix it with synths and mellotron
and that classic 50’s alien invasion noise and you have something between psych
and ambience.
Still follows on as a second short track and creates the
feeling of 1960’s England that Pink Floyd were oh so good at. Very slight
sounds of psychedelia that could come from the bottom of the garden compliment
the simple and effective keyboard work that has you meandering along the
smallest of streams. The guitars do a little bit, the mellotron does a little
bit, the bass does a little bit and all the little bits create something that
feels small delicate and very precious.
Song for Richie is the longest track on the album at nearly
fourteen minutes and is dedicated to their friend Richard Van Ess who had sadly
passed away. The whole shape of the track builds quite quickly over a sample of
Timothy Leary’s “Turn on, tune in, drop out” words, and you can feel everything
magnetically pull towards the light. There is definitely a lot of emotion in
the song which can be felt in how the band have written it. For some reason I
keep getting a sense of The Doors in the first few minutes with the way
everything meanders. All instruments feel as though they are working overtime
again as the song feels big and deep and full of raw power that is waiting to
really let go and take off towards the stars, which of course it does. The
tempo builds and builds before everyone freaks out for a few minutes in a burst
of raw emotion as you take to the sky and spend the remaining time drifting
from star to star to moon and beyond. A song full of deep emotions that I hope
was a fitting tribute.
If you haven’t already become a follower of what Zone Six
do, this is another trip in to the minds of three very creative individuals who
will have you hooked on their unique mix of psychedelic and ambient space rock.
Cellar Overdose is one of several CD-R’s release by the band
that are like gold dust now for collectors. Released back in 2012 as CD-R on
Sulatron Records and then an extended double vinyl version on the same label,
it is now released again on a lovely white slab of wax on Komet Lulu’s
(Electric Moon bassist) new label Worst Bassist Records.
Having already listened to versions of the show many times,
it does feel a little strange reviewing this as a re-release, so I am basically
going to wax lyrical about how good it is.
If you want a record that will literally blow your mind with
its dark brooding outer space psych rock, this is it. Look no further. Set the
controls towards the outer limits of your mind.
The Soul Feeder drifts through time and space slowly as the
track evolves again and again. The bassline slowly creeps along with the guitar
quietly soaring in and out, hooked with some wah-wah before a raw, almost magnetic
sounding riff begins to take shape. Your journey through space continues at a
head-nodding, rhythmic chanting pace as your sense of cosmic being turns darker
and heavier. At around the eleven minute mark, the bass line that has now well
and truly warped your mind, makes a slight shift and totally blows your mind. Lightening
off for a few more minutes you can see yourself being drawn towards something
else in the sky before you come hurtling back into the atmosphere. No matter
how many times you listen to this song, the trip never follows the same path
twice.
The Idle Glance starts lighter as a more spacious track,
feeling as though both feet are still on planet Earth even though you are still
moving at a fast pace. The drums and cymbals crash whilst guitar riff soar
above it and the bass takes off and everything is launched into the cosmos and
beyond. At around twelve minutes you feel as though you have reached your planetary
destination, and circumnavigate its atmosphere to realise what has brought you
there. After that you will need to draw your own conclusion to where the
journey ends.
On the CD and digital version only you get the bonus track
Lost and Found Souls which is another sonic trip through the heights of German
space rock and its trance inducing finest.
This is the first release on Worst Bassist Records and you
have to check out the next few releases and re-issues as they all look rather
special.
Spanish Psych Rock Instrumentalists Sageness are back with
six new songs in the form of Akme. If I set the scene for those who may be
unfamiliar with them, they have a laid back spacey psych feel to them that
mixes a little Elder, some Yawning Man and a sound that is distinctly European
sounding but in their own special way that makes me think of surf films like "The Endless Summer". I can’t quite put my finger on it but, when listening, my
mind keeps wondering back to watching 90’s surf videos with the slowed down
wave barrel’s crashing down towards the camera. Maybe it’s because I’m sat
looking at the sea whilst I’m reviewing this, but probably not as a dark grey
North of England sea is a long way from Maui. I’d like to think you get the idea
of what I’m thinking though. Opening the record, Andromedaslowly drifts in as the guitar
soar and the instruments work together to create a soundscape that has you
floating in and out, back and forth. As the songs moves along, the song keeps
dropping back to a riff that grows and evolves through the song (think Dead
Roots Stirring) building and building until the full riff kicks in for the last
90 seconds and gives that “hairs stand up on the back of your neck” feeling
that Colour Haze specialise in. The Thought starts a bit prog that turns funky with the
bassline and drumbeat but still makes me think of space travel with the repetitiveness
of it and the way the guitar layers itself over and over. The song then starts
to mellow and shows the signs that it’s building up to something, which it does
with a couple of big guitar riffs, then it slides away in to more of a jam then
its guitar, bass and drums in loud driving harmony for the final 3 minutes. I’m
sure the ghost of Dick Dale (RIP) is playing a few riffs in there as well. Sizigia feels like a song written from a happy place with
its softer opening and guitar riffs that are constantly on the upturn. If you
sit back and close your eyes, the hooks and riffs will make you think of an
ever transcending kaleidoscope with its light and patterns. The albums longest song Ephemeral has Sageness really
showing their skills and what the band is good at. The song works between parts
that remind of Rotor and how they bring a song to the edge, then cymbal crash
and the magic seems to happen with one of those riffs. The drums are big
throughout and pull everything together again and again whilst the song
transcends between the loud and the space like drifting when the song fades
away. Mindbender crawls along more that it floats reminding me of
later Colour Haze and then half way through the drums kick in and they dive
into a stomping stoner rock workout to finish off. Hydro closes the record with the feeling of desert rock
being played in space that drives along at quiet a fast pace. Building up with
cymbals crashing, the bass kicks in to change the songs feel and the guitars
begin to soar in and out to close the 43 minutes of a really good album.
This is a really good record that will easily fall in
peoples top 20 lists at the end of the year. I have yet to see them live (apart
from YouTube) and hope they make it over to the UK one day. After its release on digital formats and CD, the vinyl
version has been released and it is a thing of beauty that is the perfect
complement to the songs they have written. Check it out on the links below. Bandcamp - Facebook - YouTube
With the release of “Nitrogen” back in 2014 that had
followed their “Stage One” EP 12 months earlier, Mantra Machine had found
something special, mixing the hypnotic sounds of space like psychedelia and the
“jam” like feel of desert rock. I have to admit that I didn’t think I would
have to wait 4 more years for another record, but when they dropped a new
single “Hydrogen” in March, you knew something special was coming, and here it
is…..
“Heliosphere” consists of 4 long songs that total 43:00
minutes of Amsterdam’s finest instrumental cosmic rock.
The journey starts with “Hydrogen” and as the track slowly
starts to build and grow, you can already see that the band have spent time
really perfecting the sound they want. The guitars have that sound that only people
like Josh Homme managed to perfect in Kyuss alongside bands from the early
Swedish stoner rock scene. It’s powerful, driving, fuzzy but also manages to
give the impression that it’s floating out to another dimension. I know very
little about pedals, cabs, tubes etc. but once you’ve heard this, you’ll get
what I mean. As the songs keeps moving, it gives the impression of travelling
through the clouds and beyond, like what Colour Haze do, but Mantra Machine
keep turning the song back to a hypnotic beat. Coming to its conclusion, the
work from each instrument becomes more complex and heavier as the song
intensifies, before silence.
“Atmos” brings you right back down and lets you drift
outwards into deep space. Slow fuzzy baselines alongside rhythmic drumming move
you out into the cosmos in what feels like a jam performed in the deepest of
nights. As the guitar starts to add more and more layers over the song, the
track begins to intensify and the drifting turns in to a mission that, with the
help of some killer guitar work, has to be completed.
As keyboards and a solitary guitar riff opens up “delta-v”,
the 3 piece create the perfect mix of a desert rock jam with a space rock trip.
Lie back and you can see the sunrise just starting to break on the horizon whilst
you can still see the stars and galaxies high above you in the night sky. The
track has a hypnotic sense to it with a repetitive “mantra” feel behind the
rhythm section as the guitar takes you to those galaxies far away in the
distance.
Title track “Heliosphere” closes the album with 15 minutes
of showcasing what Mantra Machine can really do. There is a psych riff and back
beat that the song always returns to, but one minute the song is all out stoner
rock with cymbals crashing, the next there is a raw sounding guitar playing
over soaring space like keyboards followed by psychedelia that just melts away.
The whole thing is an absolute pleasure to sit back and enjoy the ride.
The digital version is out now via their Bandcamp page,
which also includes the link to pre-order the limited edition gatefold vinyl
version of “Heliosphere” on ultra-clear transparent or green clear with black
marbled effect.
For those of us not at this year’s Freak Valley Festival,
the legendary Rockpalast streamed various bands over the weekend. If you haven’t
seen these yet, sit back and lose yourself for a while…..
Due to traffic and road works on the way to Newcastle I managed
to miss The Contact High and I just caught the last few minutes of Cave Suns,
who sounded good and being advertised as Blue Cheer crashing into The
Groundhogs hit the nail on the head.
Dead Otter dropped their record “Bridge of Weird” 6 months
ago, gaining a load of positive feedback. The first time I sat and listened to
the full 35 minutes it was obvious the Glasgow based 4 piece had raised the bar
for British Stoner/Space/Heavy Psych rock. You can’t really pigeon hole them in
to one of these genres but they fit them all in a good way.
They play through 45 minutes of what seems like a well-structured
“jam” that live reminds me of Euro Psych bands such as Rotor and Monkey3.
Closing my eyes and nodding my head I get that repeat feeling of the image of
bright coloured spots of oil being dropped into a dark coloured water and
expanding again and again (I hope you know what I mean). The stoner rock part
drives forward with heavy riffs that have a slight prog feel, and the
psych/space rock have an emotive feel that has you drifting away. They finish
with the 14 minute LP title track “Bridge of Weird” and it really is something
special. You all really need to hear it.
Hailing from Osaka, Hibushibire are really leading their
psych rock scene. They’ve just released “Turn On, Tune In, Freak Out!” hot on
the heels of 2017’s “Freakout Orgasm!”, taking their sound to the next level.
This is the first time I have managed to catch them live. Others have spoken
about how good they are live and I have seen the YouTube clips and listened to
their bootlegs, but nobody told me they were this good.
Freak-out heavy psych rock embedded deep in the 60’s/70’s that
bring together the finest guitar action from Hendrix or Cream or early Deep
Purple with lots of wah-wah and fuzzy madness. Its riff after riff after riff.
The rhythm section of 821 and Takashi just don’t stop and Chang Chang kicks
that leg and off he goes with that guitar wizardry. Just as you think the song
is closing, the drums slow down, the bass rolls in, the pedal is pushed and
away we go again. The Hendrix like finger action of the guitar is something
special.
With the final 23 minutes bringing us the epic “Rollercoaster
of the Universe”, Hibushibire close the night out leading a musical journey,
taking you to several corners of their psychedelic universe. It was something
rather special.
Riot Season Records are dropping some seriously good records
at the moment that all sit musically, somewhere outside the box. Both Hibushibire
and Dead Otter have must own music out on the label. Check it out.
