Ladies and
gentlemen we are floating in NYC……………..since their last release, One Track Mind
from 2013, it appears that New York City’s Psychic Ills have been absorbing the
same influences as Jason Pierce and taking inspiration from country, blues,
gospel, and jazz and adding them to their already rich sonic palette of
psychedelic sounds……….which is not a bad thing in the slightest. It is fair to
say that the new Psychic Ills record, Inner Journey Out, sounds an awful lot
like Spiritualized in parts, with Farfisa organ, gospel flourishes, languid, woozy,
almost horizontal vocals and a seriously unhurried vibe as they explore the
dark heart of the gothic Deep South. Sprawling over four sides of vinyl, Inner
Journey Out expands on the Psych Rock resonances of the previous record, with Psychic
Ills taking their music to a much darker place, creating a broad, lush
soundscape unlike anything they have recorded before………it’s a trip and the best
Spiritualized album since Pure Phase.
With Inner
Journey Out’s slow-mo blues, languid guitarscapes and druggy atmospherics,
Psychic Ills are now sharing space with bands such as Brightblack Morning
Light, Mazzy Star and of course the Godfathers of “taking drugs to make music
to take drugs to”; Spacemen 3. Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval even appears on the
track ‘I Don't Mind’, a stoned Country Blues that brings to mind her work with
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Intentions. Psychic Ills move towards a frazzled
Country Blues sound is a really interesting development…….there are shades of
Primal Scream during their “Dixie Narco” phase on tracks such as ‘Mixed Up Mind’, ‘New Mantra’ and ‘Coca-Cola Blues’ where Exile On Main Street is
re-imagined and re-recorded by the band on whiskey and downers. There are some really
fantastic tunes on this record……….once you get past the “it sounds like
Spiritualized” phase and start digging through the rich layers of sound, real
gems start to emerge. The Gospel tinged ‘Back To You’, 'Baby' and the lysergic blues of
‘Music in My Head’ are stunningly atmospheric tracks while ‘Hazel Green’ is a completely absorbing slice of
Psychedelia. The standout track has to be ‘Ra Wah Wah’ a nearly 10 minute long
instrumental which mixes swirling organ and guitar with beautiful jazzy saxophone
and it’s a major departure from the sound of One Track Mind. As if suspended in
time and space ‘Ra Wah Wah’ has a serene meditative quality that really is absolutely
mind blowing. The more you listen to this record, the more it opens up…….it is
total head music and a must listen for fans of the laser guided melodies of J
Spaceman.
Released by Sacred Bones Records this Friday (3/6/16), Inner Journey Out is available as 2 x vinyl
LP and CD from your local groovy record store, the Sacred Bones web store and
all the usual outlets…….there is a limited edition version of 400 hand-numbered
copies on desert haze vinyl, which comes with alternate screen-printed brown paper
bag outer sleeve, inserts and is wax sealed which is available from the Sacred
Bones web store only. A digital download is available from the Psychic Ills
Bandcamp page here https://psychicills.bandcamp.com/.
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