BEECHWOOD - INSIDE THE FLESH HOTEL (Live Natural Sound LP, CD).

With a swagger that seems de rigueur for NYC Rock ‘n’ Roll bands, Beechwood are back with a new record that cements their reputation of one of best new bands emerging from the Big Apple. Hot on the heels of Songs From The Land Of Nod, a pristine blend of scuzzy fuzzy Garage Rock and 60s inspired pop smarts that mashed together the darkly shimmering Rock ’n’ Roll of the VU with the best moments of the Zombies and Beach Boys, Beechwood’s latest release on Alive Natural Sound, Inside The Flesh Hotel, picks up the threads from the previous record without missing a beat. With a core trash aesthetic that evokes such infamous bands like The Stooges, MC5, and the New York Dolls, the trio of Gordon Lawrence (guitar, vocals), Isa Tineo (drums, vocals) and Sid Simons (bass, vocals) have coated their visceral and aggressive Garage/Psych style songs with a Power Pop sheen giving Inside The Flesh Hotel a much more polished sound but without abandoning their sleazy Rock ‘n’ Roll roots. Coupled with more wistful, pop-leaning songs, this record is very much a quintessential New York record where hard edged Rock influences sit side by side with timeless well crafted song writing.

Opening with the electrifying blast of ‘Flesh Hotel’, Beechwood ease into a sinuous Garage/Psych groove that’s not a million miles away from raw and thrilling bands such as Night Beats, The Chesterfield Kings, The Strokes and The Flamin’ Groovies to name just a few. Over twelve great songs, Beechwood pull together sounds from the last 50 years of Garage/Psych/Alt Rock with shades of Bolan boogie on ‘Bigot in My Bedroom’, primitive Stooges riffing on ‘Nero’ and the Country lament of ‘Our Love Was Worth the Heartache’, complementing their solid spine of ballsy Rock ‘n’ Roll. From two-minute pop perfection, to the sound of drug-induced nightmare psychoses, the trio’s music hits you where it hurts.  Beechwood are a unique force in today’s NYC music scene, unparalleled in its straightforward ability to reflect the raw ambition of three individuals, whose checkered pasts have left them with absolutely nothing to lose, but at only 23 years of age. When asked the question, “What would you guys be doing if you weren’t playing music?” the response was clear, “we’d be dead.” There is no “Plan B” for the members of Beechwood........this is it. Confident and assured, this is the sound of band surly destined for bigger things once the word spreads………already tearing it up in the clubs ("Their sound is a classic, hot and sweaty, raw and nasty, rock and roll spirit, that commands the room with a real classic NYC sound." – PANCAKES & WHISKEY), Beechwood are demanding your attention.

Out NOW on vinyl and CD from all the best record stores, the usual on line traders or direct from Live Natural Sound.

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ICARUS PEEL’S ACID REIGN - THE WINDOW ON THE SIDE OF YOUR HEAD (Mega Dodo LP, CD, D/L).

Back for his second full length album for Mega Dodo and the first with his new combo, the Honey Pot’s Icarus Peel gets to unleash his inner “Guitar God” on his latest waxing, The Window On The Side Of Your Head. Not to be confused with the 80s Thrash Metal band Acid Reign, ICARUS PEEL’S ACID REIGN is a power trio seeped in the time honoured tradition of classic 60s/70s bands such as The Groundhogs, Taste, Cream and of course The Experience (the touchstone for all three piece bands with the guitarist loud, upfront and in your face) with drummer Brian Rushbrooke from The Crystal Jacqueline Band and bassist Andy Budge holding down the bottom end as tight as you like providing the solid platform for Icarus Peel’s Acid Rock stinging six string Strat attack to really take off and soar. With a supple spine of well constructed songs, both new and older material that did not fit into the Honey Pot/Crystal Jacqueline dynamic, ICARUS PEEL’S ACID REIGN get to play it deep and loose with extended jamming pulling songs into different shapes on the hoof evoking the late 60s “golden age” of Psychedelic Blues/Rock, channelling the greats of the era. Comfortably familiar, The Window On The Side Of Your Head is not going to win many points for pushing at the Psych Rock envelope but it’s the sound of a band having a load of fun with the music they love and with the spirit of Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, Peter Green, Tony McPhee and Richie Blackmore among others summoned subscribers to Classic Rock magazine are going to dig this record to death.

This may not be the most original record that you will hear this year, but that is really not the point. Having digested all the classic guitar records from the era such as Split by The Groundhogs, Taste Live At The Isle Of Wight, Fresh Cream, Axis Bold As Love just for starters, ICARUS PEEL'S ACID REIGN weave a sonic tapestry that threads together all the Psychedelic hues into a vivid soundscape. They skilfully recreate a time where the worlds most inventive guitarists where taking the instrument way into uncharted territory but with some excellent real songs, not just frames for excessive lead guitar. Opening with a Hendrix inspired Wah-Wah and feedback squall of ‘Eel Plurr’, The Window On The Side Of Your Head flicks through the pages of a copy of Guitar Player circa 1970 with cuts such as the funky Blues stomp of ‘Midnight Moonlight’ with it’s rolling Jeff Beck-esque vibe, ‘Be Calm, Becalmed’ channelling Jimi at his most ethereal, a Fleetwood Mac gone Raga Rock instrumental ‘Let's Get It Together’ and the fiery Blues of ‘Way Out West’, a distant cousin of Taste’s ‘Blister On The Moon’. For worshippers at the the alter of the Ancient Gods Of Rock Guitar, you may just want to check this out.

Due for release 27/07/2018 via Mega Dodo Records, The Window On The Side Of Your Head is available to pre-order now. There is a limited edition 10 track LP version on 180 gram acid yellow vinyl (the first 100 copies come with a live bootleg DVD) and a very limited CD version (100 copies) with extra tracks and a different running order to the LP, housed in a tin with a Icarus Peel guitar pick. Available soon from your neighbourhood vinyl dealer or the the usual suspects on line.

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PRANA CRAFTER - ENTER THE STREAM (Sunrise Ocean Bender/Cardinal Fuzz LP, CD, D/L).

Inspired/influenced as much by the sounds of early 70s kosmische German bands such as Agitation Free as by American introspective Alt-Rock singer/songwriters, Prana Crafter’s very unique approach to Acid Folk takes his new long player, Enter The Stream, deep into uncharted waters rarely explored by his peers. Following the release of two critically acclaimed cassette only albums mixing Krautrock tinged Psych Rock/ Acid Folk on Beyond Beyond is Beyond and Eiderdown Records respectively, Enter the Stream is Prana Crafter’s most cohesive record to date seamlessly flowing through eight absorbing tracks. Effortlessly blending the craft of writing hazy, gently psychedelic songs that are almost completely stripped down to the basics of voice and guitar with cosmic, transcendental guitar improvisations, Prana Crafter conjures up atmospheric soundscapes that if you can imagine the beautiful noise made by a very stoned Neil Young jamming with the Cosmic Jokers you would not be that far away from the sound of the sonic-tapestry woven from the fluid stream of consciousness that runs through the record.

From start to finish, Enter the Stream is a journey that takes the listener through a landscape of pristine natural beauty, human emotion, and esoteric undercurrents. Opening with the mellow album title track, Prana Crafter’s songs have a beautiful lo-fi simplicity that reflect the bucolic surroundings of his home in the Washington woods far away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, blending the primal energies of nature with guitars, synthesizers and singing bowls in a umbilical connection to Mother Earth. Gently ebbing and flowing through reverb laden Acid Folk and spectral kosmische guitar sketches that channel the liquid guitar playing of Ash Ra Tempel’s Manuel Göttsching, Enter The Stream is unlike any Psych/Folk album you are going to hear this year…………..inventive and rooted in nature it’s a Kosmische-Acid-Folk opus that shimmers in brilliant refracted sunlight among the trees. A joint release by UK  Psych label Cardinal Fuzz and the strange and beautiful US label Sunrise Ocean Bender (who have a history of spotting up and coming talent, being the original home of the brilliant JuJu among others), you can check the record out here………….

https://cful.bandcamp.com/album/prana-crafter-enter-the-stream

Due for release 21/07/2018, the record will be available on limited edition transparent green and white vinyl or for the purists good old black vinyl. Available to pre-order now from Cardinal Fuzz (for UK and Europe) and Sunrise Ocean Bender (for North America) plus the usual suspects online……..also due to be released as a download and a very limited edition CD direct from Cardinal Fuzz. It’s sonic nectar People, cascading in the mind and splashing mantras against the your third ear.

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TREMBLING BELLS - DUNGENESS (Tin Angel Records LP, CD, D/L). THE LEFT OUTSIDES - ALL THAT REMAINS (Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube Records LP,D/L).

There may have been a sea change since the heady heights of the Acid Folk revival of ten or so years ago where a new generation of PsychFolkies were dipping into the Island back catalogue of the late 60s/early 70s and getting into the timeless sounds of Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, Nick Drake, John Martyn and ISB with the more adventurous seeking out records by Trees, Vashti Bunyan, Comus, Trader Horne and Mellow Candle among many other great LPs of the era. A whole scene had developed with brand new bands channeling the sounds of a more gentle era with the early Green Man festivals being the focus point for what was happening at the time. It was groovy for a while with bands escaping the traditional folk hell of real ale and weird beards playing to a more psychedelically minded audience and it reached a point where artists seeped traditional influences such as The Unthanks were gravitating from the folk clubs to medium sized concert halls. Tastes have changed with twisted Americana seeming now more popular than rootsy British Psych Folk, but there are still a few great UK bands keeping the faith and recording albums that mix the freewheeling sound of UFO Club era Fairport Convention with a muscular Folk sensibility……….more Middle Earth than middle America. Two such bands are Trembling Bells and The Left Outsides who both have fantastic new records out at the moment.

Blending the attack of squalling Acid Rock guitar with a nimble rhythm section Trembling Bells approach to Folk Rock has more than a faint echo of Fairport Convention’s “heyday” when the band featured the stellar talents of Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny (way before trad Folk Luddite Dave Swarbrick had led the band into musical irrelevance by the end of the 70s………..the current incarnation of the band are still living off the fumes of records recorded 50 years ago). Taking the sounds of the more tripped out late 60s/early 70s Acid Folk bands as a launch pad for their songs, Trembling Bells then add plenty of modern Psych Rock influences creating music that is Folk Rock inspired but is not really Folk Rock in the…….erm……traditional sense but a complex mix of a whole host of of fluid layers and textures seeping down to the Folk roots. Now releasing records on the much admired label Tin Angel Records, the current LP Dungeness is their seventh since their 2009 debut and no doubt their best and most Psychedelic to date. Housed in a sleeve that resembles the debut album by Fotheringay to such a degree it borders on plagiarism but is a perfect indicator where Trembling Bells are at in 2018……..heavily influenced by “classic” British 60s/70s Psychedelic Folk Rock, the new LP taps into records such as Fairport’s Unhalfbricking, On The Shore by Trees, Richard and Linda Thompson’s Pour Down Like Silver to name just a few, but with a solid spine of inventive modern Psych Rock and driven by fuzzed up and freaked out guitars………Dungeness is the record that should bust the band out of the “Folk ghetto” to wider PsychHead audience. Both thrilling and beautifully subtle, it’s a killer record from start to finish with not a duff track in sight. One of this year’s essential records. Out NOW via Tin Angel Records on vinyl and CD from all the best record shops (and HMV) or on line from the usual suspects. Check it out/stream it/by it from the Tin Angel Bandcamp site here………….

https://tinangelrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dungeness

Less likely to frighten the hardcore folkies is the beautiful new LP from London Psych Folk duo The Left Outsides. All That Remains is far more rooted in the golden age of Acid Folk as the '60s slid into the '70s, more suited to late night listening than Trembling Bells supercharged Psychedelic Folk Rock. Alison Cotton's vocals, harmonium and viola blend with Mark Nicholas's voice, bass, guitar, piano and drums in ways that recall Joe Boyd’s late 60’s coterie of acid tinged Folk artists, Sandy Denny’s and Richard Thompson’s solo releases mixed with a hint of David Roback's post Rain Parade project Opel and ex Galaxie 500’s Damon And Naomi’s lo-fi Psychedelia. It’s a record that is a well balanced blend of “classic” Psych/Folk Rock influences (‘The Unbroken Circle’, ‘Down to the Waterside’, ‘Clothed in Ivy, Obscured by Dust’ and ‘All That Remains’) and more stripped back atmospheric songs that really is quite wonderful and well worth your attention. Available on vinyl only in limited edition pressing via Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records (USA) and selling like hot cakes, All That Remains has had such good reviews from all over the place so expect a second pressing sometime soon. You can check out/stream the album here…………

https://theleftoutsides.bandcamp.com/album/all-that-remains

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THREE DIMENSIONAL TANX - A COMPULSION FOR PROPULSION (CD, D/L).

Veterans of endless live shows, Lancastrian Space Punx Three Dimensional Tanx are back with a new album……….. and like their previous release, 2016’s Attack!, it’s a full on barrage of unpretentious Nuggety Psychedelic Punk Rock guaranteed to get the party started. Whereas Attack! was a mad mix of “The Stooges in space, Astral travel with the Buzzcocks, The Doors and The Damned jamming on one of the moons of Jupiter and The Ramones on acid”, 3D Tanx have really found their groove on A Compulsion For Propulsion, smoothing out the rough edges and expanding their sonic palette with Post Punk, Krautrock and Psych Pop influences. Featuring 15 tracks in less than 40 minutes, it’s a monster of a record, still wild and energetic but tightly focused and their best collection of songs to date. This is the album 3D Tanx have been threatening to make for years……….an album that finally manages to bottle much of the spirit that have made them such a hit with live audiences.

Once you get your head round the concept that 3D Tanx are a Punk band playing Psych infused Garage Rock and Krautrock then A Compulsion For Propulsion starts to make perfect sense. Free of any excess, 3D Tanx are a lean and mean machine with most of their songs stripped down to around the 2 minute mark…………the album does includes a couple of epic trippy wig outs where the band channel the Psychedelic smarts of Pink Floyd and CAN, but bear in mind that in Three Dimensional Tanx Psychedelic five dimensional world epic is around 5 minutes long. The record opens with the frantic ‘His Latest Apparatus’, which sounds like Devo and The Seeds crashing together, and doesn’t let up till the fade out of the very Psychedelic ‘Racing Car #9’………it’s a white knuckle ride all the way and a total blast, bristling with infectious stabs of pop-inflected modern Garage Rock. It’s the much needed antidote to shit Stoner Rock bands that think playing one riff for fucking ever is somehow cosmic. There is some great stuff here, from the swirly Sonics vibe of ‘The Human Stupid’, the Stooges-esque riffing on ‘E is For Engine’ to the kinetic groove of ‘Spiderman Pinball’, A Compulsion For Propulsion is packed with loads little gems, short and sweet with no messing. Recommended.

Out NOW, A Compulsion For Propulsion is available on CD or as a D/L direct from the 3D Tanx Bandcamp site. Check it out/stream it/buy it here……..

https://threedimensionaltanx.bandcamp.com/album/a-compulsion-for-propulsion-studio-album-2018

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SUN DIAL - SCIENCE FICTION : A COMPENDIUM OF SPACE SOUNDTRAX (Sulatron Records LP, CD).

Legendary modern Psych Rock pioneers Sun Dial are back with a new record released by the the THE German Psychedelic music label Sulatron Records. It’s way different to their last record Made in the Machine, which was an exercise in pushing at the boundaries of contemporary Psychedelia, as Science Fiction : A Compendium Of Space Soundtrax is more of a labour of love with Sun Dial finally releasing 20 years worth of mainly Electronica based super catchy instrumentals inspired by Sci-Fi movie soundtracks. A common theme running through previous Sun Dial records is their special interest the music of Sci Fi and Space on celluloid, such as THX 1138, 2001; A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner among others and over the years Sun Dial's catalogue has been in demand for various film and television soundtracks (such as the acclaimed horror film Helen Alone and documentaries on the history of the CIA/Vietnam/MK ULTRA) and Science Fiction is an extension of this. Pulling together influences from John Carpenter’s minimal electronic scores, the lush wide screen sweep of Vangelis and 60s cut and paste Electronica mixed with the classic Krautrock sounds of Ash Ra Tempel and Agitation Free, Science Fiction is a collection of short atmospheric pieces beamed back from deep space that combine robot rhythms and analogue synths with shimmering Acid Rock guitar to stunning effect.

It’s a diverse record, opening with the droning electronic hum of ‘Hanger 13’, Science Fiction is a twisting journey through endless possible galaxies evoking the futuristic feel of experimental soundscapes from the late 50s through to the mid 70s. It’s a total trip, taking in the mutant 70s Space Funk of ‘Mind Machine’ and ‘Infra Red’, the Space Rock sounds of ‘Rise Of The Robots' and ‘Ghost Ship’, the dystopian thump of ‘Aftershock’, the Blade Runner-esque symphonic sweep of ‘Starwatchers’ and the cool glacial guitars and 60s swirling organ on ‘Alien X’ and ‘White Stone’. It’s a fantastic record of Krautrock/Space Rock infused Electronica and in some ways, Science Fiction is the perfect follow up to Made In The Machine, although much more experimental with much shorter tracks it is unmistakably Sun Dial, albeit taking a diversion into uncharted expanses of space, still well ahead of the curve, never standing still.

Science Fiction : A Compendium Of Space Soundtrax will be available on vinyl mid to late June, limited to 750 copies on green vinyl and can be pre-ordered now from the usual on line sellers. Also available on CD NOW (with bonus track, the long version of ‘Hanger 13’) from all the tuned in record shops, on line or direct from Sulatron Records.

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