COSMIC LETDOWN – IN THE CAVES (Opium Eyes Records CD, Cassette, D/L, Sound Effects Records LP).

We were first introduced to Russian Psych Rock band Cosmic Letdown twelve months ago when we came across their debut album, Venera, and their more experimental side project Opium Eyes Of Nico while looking for albums for one of our “Bandcamp freebies” posts. We were completely blown away by Cosmic Letdown’s blend of fantastic hazy, fuzzed out riffs and awesome grooves from the same narcotic netherworld as the likes of The Warlocks, Black Angels and Asteroid #4. Released at the same time by their totally far out side project, Dronecaine is a ten track collection of Indian and Eastern European influenced experimental music (including an interesting take on 'Tomorrow Never Knows') inspired by Spacemen 3 and early  Spiritualized, where Opium Eyes Of Nico explored the further reaches of the psychedelic universe. In the last year Cosmic Letdown have figured out how to fuse both these elements together and have recorded In The Caves……an absolute mind melter of a record, released on their own Opium Eyes imprint.

Whereas Venera had more of a conventional structure , In The Caves has a looser more improvisational feel…….it sounds like the band have set up in the studio and blasted away live with the tapes rolling. This album is a total trip………………..mixing the meditative vibes of sitar and  tanpura with squalling Psych Rock, Cosmic Letdown have created a psychedelic landscape full of subtle textures that share space with acid fueled freak-outs . Although split into 5 tracks on the album, In The Caves works as one continual piece of music as the tracks gently coalesce in an almost seamless flow creating a near transcendental experience………..there are no exceptional stand out tracks as there is a deep symbiotic connection between each section making the album much more than the sum of its parts.......a record which really has to be listened to in one sitting to get the full experience (you don't have to be stoned to listen to it.......but, as the saying goes, it helps). In The Caves is an exceptional record that you are really going to dig if trippy head music like Electric Moon and other "out there" cosmic bands of that ilk are your thing.

In The Caves is out now and you can get hold of a copy of the very limited CD and cassette version (50 copies only of each format) from the Cosmic Letdown Bandcamp page at https://cosmicletdownband.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-caves where the album is also available as a “name your price” digital download. In The Caves has also had a vinyl release…….Greek record store/very groovy label Sound Effect Records have released the album in a limited run of 300 (200 on black vinyl and 100 on clear vinyl)……….They sell their releases through their Discogs site, but if you don’t have an account you can order it direct from Sound Effect Records website by emailing them at info@soundeffect-records.gr. In the UK the Cardinal Fuzz web store will be carrying copies, but check for availability.

    

Cosmic Letdown’s debut album Venera (or Венера in Russian) is still available as a “name your price” digital download at https://cosmicletdownband.bandcamp.com/album/--2 where there is a limited number of CDs for sale. Also worth checking out is the Opium Eyes Of Nico album which is also available as a “name your price” download at https://opiumeyesofnico.bandcamp.com/album/dronecaine and also as a limited edition CD (40 copies).

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN