Browsing Tag

Psych

The Glorious Years’ ‘The Darkest Universe’: A Psychedelic Prism Illuminating Post-Punk Nihilism

The Glorious Years

With their debut single, ‘The Darkest Universe‘, The Glorious Years opens a portal to a sonic galaxy where psych, krautrock, new wave, and post-punk coalesce into an aurally rich twilight. Co-produced by the band alongside Euan Hinshelwood (Cate le Bon, Half Japanese), this introduction marks the first glimpse into their upcoming album, ‘Something Beautiful Beyond’.

From the chorally opulent vocals that refract gently through the synth lines, to the subtle yet unwavering melodic pull from the guitars, each note maintains a meticulous tension. The single unravels as an exploration of tonal and textural contrasts—a kaleidoscopic prism of colour chillingly distorted by angular post-punk echoes and distinct influences from 70s and 80s sonic epochs.

There is an irreplicable comfort in the way guitars guide listeners through The Glorious Years’ alchemically orchestrated cosmos while the vocals adjust the listener’s perspective between shadows and illumination. Amidst its layers of nihilism and existential introspection, ‘The Darkest Universe’ acts as an open invitation to briefly abandon reality’s monotony for something more expansive, surreal, and profoundly human.

The Glorious Years set their creative compass towards something uniquely consoling yet philosophically provocative, solidifying their potential as a band adept in traversing the deeper spaces of alternative music.

‘The Darkest Universe’ is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Trip Sitter Resurrects the Ghosts of the ’90s with ‘I Love You All’

Trip Sitter teases sonic serenity in I Love You All before dismantling any expectations of a passive listening experience. The hazily psychedelic intro introduces them as a seraphic offshoot of the Happy Mondays, but it’s not long before a wall of scuzz-constructed noise crashes in, revealing their grungy shoegaze stripes. Even as the guitars snarl through waves of oscillation, the vocals maintain a hymnal presence, bleeding over the instrumentals with an ethereal detachment that softens the bite of the distortion.

With no trace of modernity cluttering the mix, I Love You All allows listeners to slip straight into the nostalgia of the ’90s indie and grunge revolution. Every transgression in sound is as sanctifying as the last, proving that Trip Sitter isn’t here to simply recycle the past—they’re making nostalgia malleable enough to forge a new sonic signature from the ashes of a golden epoch.

Taken from their debut LP, Then Again, It Never Was, I Love You All reinforces their ability to straddle the line between chaos and clarity. By embracing pop/emo vocal sensibilities, fuzzed-out grunge chords, reverb-drenched shoegaze tones, and post-rock ambience, they have become unparalleled conduits of innovation in Boston’s indie underground scene.

I Love You All is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify and Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Transcendent Discord: Ficus Unveils Psychedelic Alchemy in ‘Resonation Room’

Warp your rhythmic pulses with Ficus’ double A-side release, Resonation Room. After dialling the mystic beguile up to 11 with angular Eastern guitars, the title single unravels as a progressive hybrid of psychedelia and sludgy stoner rock that electrifies the senses with intense reverberations of distortion which swallow the heavy riffs.

Setting themselves apart from your average raconteurs of kaleidoscopic rancour the Michigan-hailing powerhouse wraps an aura of transcendence around the discordance, building an arcane monument of aural alchemy that any psych rock fans will want to kneel at the altar of. With harmonies which carry as much mysticism as the grooves and pockets of ambience in their instrumental arrangement, the Ficus effect is visceral on every conceivable level.

After touring with the likes of Levitation Room, Chirp, Desmond Jones, Triptides, Consider the Source and North by North, Ficus have become renowned for their live performances which light the way to tonal nirvana. Equally as entrancing on record, it is only a matter of time before Ficus is internationally recognised as a premier psych rock ensemble.

Resonation Room is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Barry Slorridge – Why? Avant-Garde Whovian Electronica

Any artist who uses the vocalisations of an existential Dalek in their tracks is an icon in our book, and that’s just the tip of the ingenuity iceberg in Barry Slorridge’s slice of Whovian avant-garde electronica.

With Why? the UK-based composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist didn’t use his Bachelor’s Degree in Classical Composition by any conventional means; instead, he chose to score his cultivated composition chops into an installation of delicious discordance which reminisces with nuances of The Beatles and Kraftwerk.

The synth lines carry echoes of The Phobophobes, introducing a dark, reflective undertone, interwoven with kaleidoscopic effects, allowing distorted waves of psychedelia to cascade through the music. Meanwhile, sweet psych-pop harmonies offer a stark contrast to the monotonal menace of the Dalek samples.

The track epitomises revolutionary art, achieving a rare feat—it unsettles those comfortably ensconced in their auditory preferences while providing solace to those who find beauty in the bizarre. Once Slorridge finds his niche, he will be an unreckonable force in the alt-electronica scene; his ability to orchestrate sensory experiences which bend the mind and electrify the pulses is unparalleled.

Why? was officially released on August 5th; stream the single on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NIGHT WHIP shot from the hip in their 16-minute psychedelic western eponymous debut single

NIGHT WHIP

Emerging from the arid expanse of Western Colorado, NIGHT WHIP cast aside all semblances of convention with their electrifyingly debauched eponymous debut single which spans 16 minutes and stretches the mind even further.

If you ever wanted to know what a synthesis of sludge, doom and psych rock would sound like filtered through Tarantino’s cinematic lens, hit play and sink into the tour de force of tonal alchemy, which is far more potent than any substance sampled in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

The track deftly balances dusky desert atmospheres with the rhythmic intensity reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age and the tight licks characteristic of Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. As NIGHT WHIP tears through their inhibitions, the explosive doom metal breakdowns and relentless rhythmic drive culminate in a deeply authentic and unflinching score.

Formed in 2018 by Griff Chiono and Colin Keefe as a side project of the alt-punk band Bronco Country, NIGHT WHIP has rapidly become a staple in the local music scene. Their sound, described aptly as “heavy western,” captures the profound isolation of small desert towns with its distorted baritone guitars, relentless drums, trippy electronics, and hauntingly layered vocals.

Set to release on June 28th, 2024, under the band’s label, Bureaucracy Records, Night Whip is poised to cast a long shadow over the alternative music landscape. Discover your preferred way to listen via the band’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bruj pushed funk into psychedelically interstellar waters with ‘The Edge’

Bruj’s latest single, The Edge, is an interstellar escapade that melds funk, electro, soul, and pop into an exhilarating synthesis which will juxtaposingly sink your senses into catharsis.

From the energetic pulse of choppy funky staccato guitars to the unwavering force of steady percussion and snaking basslines, this track offers more than just sound—it crafts a visceral experience. Listeners are whisked away into a psychedelic nirvana, enveloped in the hypnotically exotic warmth that distinguishes Bruj’s sonic approach.

Originating from Brussels, the trio—Antoine, Simon, and Raphaël—have honed their collective expertise since 2014, refining their influences into scintillating, soul-affirming auditory narratives. Since their transformation in 2022 into original composers, their music has assumed a fresh dimension of creative freedom, evidently showcased in this release.

The Edge excels in its ability to transport its audience far beyond the constraints of material reality. When immersed in rich pools of tonal bliss, you’ll instantly succumb to the grooves which testify to Bruj’s ability to craft experiences beyond the borders most artists are willing to take their sound.

The Edge dropped on April 15th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get high on the dystopic delirium in Heavy Salad’s tropic psych rock cocktail, Weirdest of the Weird Shit

Even though you probably don’t need a track to affirm that we’re living in an era as twisted as Shaun Ryder’s melons, there’s no understating the vindicating catharsis in Heavy Salad’s tropic psych rock cocktail, Weirdest of the Weird Shit.

The track transcends sonics to deliver a mind-melting invitation to get high on the dystopic delirium as part of a collective experience and let the hallucinogenic waves within the ebbing and flowing guitars crash over you and brighten the psyche’s palette. The multi-layered harmonies play an even more crucial role in embodying and imparting vividly hazy hues as they alchemise with a synergy that Heavy Salad has meticulously honed since their 2019 debut release.

With mantras to live by flowing throughout lyrical surrealism in the beachy Lynchian fever dream, you’re free to explore brighter corridors of perception, safe in the knowledge that logic has become an extinction event and the only thing you can really change is the way you engage with our shared illusion.

Weirdest of the Weird Shit is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Follow Heavy Salad on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

djamesk13 reached the pinnacle of haunting subtlety in the twisted psych-rock tale, ‘She Was Angelina’

She Was Angelina by djamesk13 is a captivating piece that solidifies the artist’s position in the realm of grungy, bass-driven psych rock. This single is a masterful blend of raw energy and haunting subtlety, showcasing djamesk13’s adeptness in creating a soundscape that is both gritty and ethereal.

The track opens with a deep, resonant bass line that immediately sets a dark, immersive tone. The distortion is cranked up, not just as an effect, but as a statement, echoing the grunge era’s love for raw, unpolished sound. This choice pays off brilliantly, as it adds a visceral edge to the song.

Lyrically, She Was Angelina is a poetic exploration of a film noir femme fatale figure. The character is painted as both innocently sweet and dangerously alluring, a combination that is as intriguing as it is unsettling. The reference to the Jesus and the Mary Chain not only situates the song within a specific musical lineage but also adds a layer of depth to Angelina’s character, suggesting a complex individual with a rich inner world.

The melody, dusky and lingering, perfectly complements the lyrical content. It’s a siren song, drawing the listener deeper into the narrative and the emotions it evokes. The use of lo-fi elements by the London-based solo artist adds a personal, intimate touch to the track, making it feel like a glimpse into a private, almost secret world.

She Was Angelina was officially released on December 10th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gaze into The Elegant Chasers’ riff-carved kaleidoscope of sludgy psychedelia, Running Around the Sun

Hersham’s hottest indie rock act, The Elegant Chasers, swathed their latest single, Running Around the Sun, with lashings of kaleidoscopic psychedelia to indulge their ever-growing fanbase in a mind-bending sonic experience which finds the perfect balance between heavy and sludgy rancorousness and melodicism to keep you locked into the innovation which drips from every progression.

Running Around the Sun is the first single to drop following the critically acclaimed success of the band’s long-awaited debut album, Sentimental Dust. Following a significant stint of soul-searching, The Elegant Chasers, who always live up to their moniker via the cultivated gravitas in their hits, struck aural gold once more whilst exploring a bigger and bolder sound that rings with reminiscences of the Seattle Sound and subverts all expectations by industrialising 70s rock synthetics.

Running Around the Sun will be officially released on December 1st; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Buddy J Francis – Paralysed by Fear: Avant-Warped-Garde Psych Rock

Adelaide’s most endearingly audacious artist, Buddy J Francis suited himself in pink and his sound in psychonautic scuzz for his latest installation of Avant-Warped-Garde psych rock, Paralysed by Fear.

Each of the kaleidoscopically fuzzed instrumentals you hear on the release was individually tracked, giving the progressions plenty of mind-melting volition to captivate listeners within the lo-fi production, which laments the stagnancy that being afraid to take life-altering leaps breeds.

Even with so many experimental layers to his work between his instrumental experimentation, tongue-in-cheek guises and lyrical conceptuality, it is all too easy to get on the same level as the artist, who has transcended parody to deliver deliciously delirious subversion.

If Paralysed by Fear racks up 10k streams on Spotify in the first week, Buddy J Francis has vowed to get his nipple pierced, allowing his staunch fanbase to get their sonic and sadistic kicks in one swing.

Thankfully, there are fewer conditions attached to the imminence of his forthcoming LP, which Paralysed by Fear snuck out of prematurely; it is set to arrive in early 2024. Keep Francis on your radar for it, and undoubtedly other outlandish antics via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast