Browsing Tag

Psych Rock

Celebrate your insanity with Bones Shake’s psychiatrically scuzzy latest single ‘Unwell’

Posted on 13 November 2020

Manchester’s most volatile purveyors of super-charged Garage Rock, Bones Shake, dropped their latest single ‘Unwell’ on November 13th. If you’ve been involved in a clandestine relationship with your insanity during lockdown, cast the shame away with this psychiatrically scuzzy aptly timed release.

You can practically smell the aseptic stench of institutionalised sickness behind the raucously electric production which tugs at the undying roots of Rock n Roll while sonically shifting the raucous tones into the 21st century.

I almost feel pity for neurotypicals who won’t get to gorge on the catharsis offered by the most electrifying release, to date, from the lauded Rock n Roll provocateurs.

It’s the perfect scuzzy Garage Rock playlist staple for those long and cold disquiet nights. It’s a far safer option than listening to The Smiths.

Unwell is available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pinwheel Valley has illuminated the airwaves with their sonically ensnaring Alt Rock track ‘Dark Side of the Light’

Posted on 12 November 2020

‘Dark Side of the Light’ is the latest single to be released from award-winning Middle Eastern Alt-Rock artist Pinwheel Valley, who hasn’t just put his own name on the map, he was in the vanguard of pioneering artists who kickstarted the Indie Rock scene in Jordan.

Their latest single which dropped on November 11th, 2020 is a soul-laden intricate tonal tapestry, gently weaved together with elements of Indie Rock, Alt Rock and Psychedelic Soul.

With a conceptually meta approach to the lyricism, Dark Side of the Light hits just as hard lyrically as it does sonically. Without any overbearing literalism, Dark Side of the Light speaks of lost love and the longing which can cast us into the dark, making us all too aware of how love serves as the light while we’re left scorned in hindsight.

Lines such as “You know it’s a battle with sin” is a reminder that all relationships involve a battle against temptation. While “One side’s here to stay, one side’s gotta win” emphasizes the inescapable reality of romantic parallels.

The vulnerability in the lyrical admissions is lost to the volatility of the reverb-wrapped instrumentals which allow the sentiments to relay with resounding conviction.

You can listen to Dark Side of the Light which was recorded at Pinwheel Valley’s recording studio, Hot Soap Studios, in Cyprus via Spotify

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Taste the Grit of Modernity in KEEF’s Chorally-Entrancing Psych-Laden Alt-Indie Earworm ‘In This Town’

Posted on 8 November 2020
KEEF

Northwest purveyors of Alt-Indie Psych Rock KEEF released their sanity-saving earworm ‘In This Town’ on November 13th, 60’s Psych tones are teased, but there’s no escaping the present in this damningly danceable depiction of the 21st century.

Sticky-sweet kaleidoscopic accordance introduces despondent vocals which allow you to taste the grit of modernity whilst savouring the roguish foreboding derision which only Northern artists can serve up with such finesse and sincerity.

The playful venom which is spat towards people who obnoxiously make the world a bleaker place was the catharsis fix I never knew I needed.

In This Town affirms the necessity of music which permits a collective sense of consolation by feeding our frustrations back at us with the assurance that you’re not alone in your nihilism. While I’m gutted I can’t listen to it live and embrace the psychotropic effects of the eccentrically nuanced instrumentals in a sweaty euphoric crowd, I’m overwhelmingly gratified that I got a dopamine hit from this scathingly choral hit all the same.

In This Town will be available to stream on all major platforms from November 13th via this link.

Stay up to date with the latest releases via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

C. Moore Music mashes up the Alt 90s sound with “Knockin’ Around”

Posted on 31 October 2020
https://cmooremusic.bandcamp.com/track/knockin-around

NYC Folk Punk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist C. Moore Music left us instantly enamoured with their genre-mashing single ‘Knockin’ Around’ which featured on their 11th solo record ‘Unruly’.

He may be a prolific artist, but Knockin Around proves that quantity never comes before quality by boasting transfixingly arrestive hooks right from the intro. The dynamic soundscape may see many of evolutions as it progresses, but your attention will never be in danger of faltering from the grungy almost tribalistic momentum which ebbs and flows in this stunningly crafted single.

With a vocal vibrato which would give Eddie Vedder a run for his money and a freshly sonic smorgasbord of Psych, Blues and Folk on offer instrumentally, Knockin’ Around doesn’t just revive what previous artists allowed us to fall in love with. He brings nostalgic aural elements into a contemporary realm with his own signature sound which will be a hit with any fans of Dinosaur Jr, Pavement and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

You can check out C. Moore Music’s single Knockin’ Around via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jake George cooked up kaleidoscopically-sweet Funk in their Psych Rock single “In the Rain”

Posted on 17 October 2020

Australian singer-songwriter Jake George has cooked up a Funk-soaked psychedelic storm with their latest bass-led autumnally-apt single “In the Rain”.

Melt into the smooth sultry grooves and fall a little bit in love with Jake George’s equally as provocative vocals which project into the kaleidoscopically effect-laden soundscape.

In the Rain sweeps across the full tonal palette, giving the instrumental arrangement plenty of depth, but you won’t be able to tear your consciousness away from the warm, steady reverberation which comes in the form of a throbbing bassline.

You can check out In the Rain for yourselves by heading over to Soundcloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sun Lite has dropped their Psychedelically Entrancing Cold Wave single “M.O.T.H.E.R.”

Posted on 3 October 2020

Belgian solo artist Sun Lite is here with their mesmeric era and genre-blending single “M.O.T.H.E.R.” Hit play and prepare to fall down the entrancing rabbit hole which was dug out with elements of Blues, 60’s Psych, Funk and EDM.

It transcends stunning. It’s an aural exhibition of harrow orchestrated with nothing more than a laptop, a keyboard, an acoustic guitar and Sun Lite’s intensely phantasmal vocals which are sure to be a hit with any fans of The Chameleons and Peter Murphy.

With hints of tribalism, your rhythmic pulses will be efficaciously arrested by the soundscape which leaves plenty of room for mind-warping experimentalism.

In short, M.O.T.H.E.R. is an obsession-worthy track for any staunch fans of psychedelia. Unlike so many Psychedelically-inspired artists, it’s more than just an ode to the past. The darkness which crawls through the single will stay with you for long after the psychedelic cold wave single has faded to a close.

You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Heavy Salad have given ‘cult hit’ a brand-new meaning with their debut album “Cult Casual”

Posted on 25 September 2020

The debut album from Manchester’s finest soulfully-blessed Psychedelic trailblazers Heavy Salad has finally dropped.

Cult Casual hit record stores on September 25th and affirmed that the optimism that I’ve held since hearing their eccentrically resolving sophomore single Battery Acid in 2019 was entirely well placed.

Some records, you put on the turntable and know you’ll be apathetic about letting the needle hit it again. Others, you know you’ll delve right back in for the successive hits of emotion which manifested the first time around. Cult Casual is firmly in the latter camp.

Track 1, Death is a gentle Surf Pop easing into the colourful chaos which ensues in the form of their cult hit (in the most literal use of the phrase) Battery Acid. Track 3, The Wish is the feat of feisty grunge which blows every other Garage Rock artist in Manchester out of the water while simultaneously giving artists such as Dinosaur Jr a run for their money.

Track 4, Inner Versions carries the same bite as The Wish, but this time the playful angst is projected over punchy Indie Rock licks, leaving plenty of space for guitarist Rob Glennie to humbly unveil the virtuosic talent he’s been hiding all along. Track 5, Reverse Snake is Heavy Salad’s psych Rock scathing attack on the ideocracy which led us to Brexit. Arcanely, they actually succeeded in creating a high-vibe Anti-Brexit track.

Fans of Avant-Garde will be suitably enraptured in the album from Track 6 where the experimentalism truly starts to take hold. After you’ve enjoyed all the juicy Psych Pop earworms, it’s time to immerse yourselves in the unpredictable yet pragmatic progressive nature of High Priestess and This Song is Not About Lizards. Unapologetically, the tracks take seismic shifts in tone and ferocity, leaving you at the mercy of their rhythmic prowess and whatever celestial magic the Priestesses are serving up in the form of their intoxicating vocals.

Whichever plateau you’ve floated to with the former singles, Routine Dream will allow you to crash down to earth with the scuzzily confrontational track which serves an aggressive yet compassionate reminder that you’re probably living blind. Thankfully, there’s plenty of aural comfort in Slow Ride which will make sure that you’re in the best possible mindset for the evocative assault which follows.

The final track It’s OK to Bleed will break my heart over and over again. In a time where people are more likely to invest in bitcoin rather than their emotional intelligence, it’s utterly priceless. Straight from the intro, the tenderness rings through the guitar progressions, then, the vocal and lyrical empathy bring torrid emotions to the front but there’s plenty of solace to be found in the track which unravels as gospel for the impious.

In short, it’s a cosmic rollercoaster and easily up there with the best things to happen in 2020. Listen to it.

You can check out Cult Casual via Spotify & Bandcamp or you can (and you definitely should) treat yourself to a CD or vinyl copy of the album released via Dripped in Gold Recordings.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Be Colony – Free at Last: Mellifluously Ascension-Aiding Rock

Posted on 25 September 2020

There are few things sweeter than freedom, one of them is the seminal single by up and coming Alt Folk Rock trailblazers The Be Colony.

Free at Last has a mellifluously ascension-aiding feel which is perfectly paired with the enlightened lyricism which will allow you to melt into your own introspection. The shimmering choral tones give Free at Last a celestial and psychedelic vibe as the Old School Alt Folk Blues instrumentals chime and groove through the progressions. As the track evolves, the band’s virtuosic skill starts to shine even brighter as the intricate solos leave you transfixed in pure soulful alchemy.

You can check out The Be Colony’s standout track Free at Last by heading over to YouTube

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Take a trip back to the Alt 90s with The Young Love Scene’s latest single “Honey”

Posted on 25 September 2020
Honey by The Young Love Scene

If it’s been a while since you’ve deemed a feat of dreamy, sludgy and distorted Alt Rock as obsession-worthy, hit play on the latest infectiously melodic earworm “Honey” from Vermont-based Alt Rock artist The Young Love Scene.

The Young Love Scene may have a fairly DIY approach to their sound, but instead of hindering the track, the intimacy is amplified and it is even easier to fall into the absorbing mix of crunchy distortion and singer Gordon Goldsmith’s alluringly harmonic vocal timbre.

If the Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer had an aural lovechild, I can imagine it would turn out something a little like Honey.

You can check out Honey for yourselves by heading over to Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Julian Fulco Perron lays the sludgy despondent psychedelia on thick with “Swamp Stomp”

Posted on 13 September 2020

If your playlists are lacking in swampy bluesy despondent psychedelia, and let’s face it, they probably are, hit play on the gorgeously sludgy latest single Swamp Stomp by Julian Fulco Perron.

There’s a Mike Patton-level of experimentalism on offer, and Julian Fulco Perron’s vocals may just be as versatile. From sinister snarls which could rival Marilyn Manson’s to endearing playfulness which gives the track a Frank Zappa feel, it’s all on offer. Even more impressively, Julian Fulco Perron was boundless with their creativity and eccentricity and still orchestrated a stylistic feat of Alt-Rock that even the snobbiest of musos couldn’t turn their noses up at.

It’s practically a polyphonic wet dream mid-way through as the eccentric synth lines ensure that Swamp Stomp is a track you’ll never forget.

You can check out the official video to Swamp Stomp by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast