PSYCHIC LEMON - FREQUENCY RHYTHM DISTORTION DELAY (Tonzonen Records LP, CD, D/L).

Never has an album been so aptly titled………..well maybe not since Man’s 2 Ounces Of Plastic With A Hole In It……….Psychic Lemon’s second album, Frequency Rhythm Distortion Delay, contains all the ingredients as described on the tin. Although one member down since their excellent self titled debut, Psychic Lemon have seriously bulked up into something more akin to a cacophonous blend of industrial Space Rockers and squalling Indie Noiseniks. Whereas the debut had a core of early 70s Prog/Psych influences (with lashings of what can only be described as “Jazz Flute”), the new record is a full on assault of screeching guitars ala early Sonic Youth mangled into submission by Andy Briston and Andy Hibberd’s earth shaking bass all propelled by the dynamic drumming of Martin Law, leaving a trail of absolute devastation in it’s wake…………….it’s the evolutionary step of going from banging rocks together to visiting distant galaxies in sleek sliver starships in one single jump and it’s an astounding progression for the band in the space of around 18 months (we must admit when we first gave this a spin we had to double check that it was the new Psychic Lemon album we were playing and had not put another record on by mistake in our stoned reverie).

Frequency Rhythm Distortion Delay kicks off with a twisted Latin groove before a ton of guitar swirl drops launching ‘Exit to the Death Lane’ way beyond the pull of Earth’s gravity. Since the release of their debut album, Psychic Lemon have no doubt been digging newer stuff like 10,000 Russos while also revisiting their old Hawkwind, Stooges, Sonic Youth and MBV records and this mixed bag of influences/Inspirations can be clearly heard on the brutal fuzzed up and freaked out ‘Hey Droog!’ and with the demented free jazz Saxophone squall the closes ‘You're No Good’. Before the album winds to a close with ‘Satori Disko’, the penultimate track of Frequency Rhythm Distortion Delay has to be the greatest track that the band have put on tape to date. Clocking in at nearly 10 minutes long ‘Interstellar Fuzz Star’ is a complex, shifting Space Rock epic that is as good as anything we have heard all year………after finding their feet with their first record, Psychic Lemon are now going toe to toe with the big boys and not sounding out of place. Due for official release early next year we are not quite sure if Frequency Rhythm Distortion Delay is the last great record of 2017 or the first essential album of 2018………………………never the less, this LP is a shoe in for our 2017 Psychedelic Christmas Cracker list coming soon.

Due for release on 12/01/18 pre-orders are being taken now ,with Frequency Rhythm Distortion Delay available on vinyl via the German label Tonzonan Records or directly from the bands Bandcamp page here…………………………

https://psychiclemon.bandcamp.com/album/frequency-rhythm-distortion-delay where you can also order the CD and download.

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THE TRIP TAKERS - THE TRIP TAKERS EP (Area Pirata Records LP, D/L).

New from Area Pirata Records, the home of Italian Garage Rock, comes the debut mini-album/EP from Garage/Beat obsessives The Trip Takers. Eschewing modern recording techniques to create an authentic vintage lo-fi analogue sound, The Trip Takers EP revisits the classic mid 60s proto-Nuggets era of American Garage/Psych with six tracks that channel the slightly shambolic records by “British Invasion” influenced bands such as The Groupies, The Velvet Illusions, The Inmates, The Cave Men and Satan & The G Men whose two minutes of fuzzed up teen angst tend to turn up on one of the many Pebbles compilations and the much weirder early acid heads who were the psychedelic trailblazers. The Trip Takers have lovingly recreated these sounds with such an ear for detail that they do sound like songs that could have been recently rediscovered after decades lost in the archives somewhere.

With a mix of Beatles pop smarts and Byrdsian jangle, side one of the EP is firmly rooted circa 1965/66 with the sound of early Garage bands more than evident on the three tracks on this side of the disc. While side one is firmly inspired by early Beat bands, side two sees The Trip Takers exploring wonky mid 60s Psychedelia and sounding not unlike Nashville Psych Pop outsiders The Sufis with three tracks of acid drenched strangeness. Recalling the first wave of acid advocates where the Beat bands began turning on, tuning in and freaking out, ‘Misty Shore’, ‘Above’ and ‘You Are Not Me’ are recreations that tap into the vibe of the times with swirling organ and sitar pushed way up front in the mix. For serious RetroHeads, The Trip Takers EP is well worth your time………………..it may not be in anyway original, but that’s not really the point.

The Trip Takers self titled EP is out NOW on deluxe 12" vinyl (limited to 300 copies) and also as a digital download. Available from the Area Pirata website and also their Bandcamp page where you can also buy/stream the EP here………………..

https://areapiratarec.bandcamp.com/album/the-trip-takers

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VUELVETELOCA - SONORA (Fuzz Club LP, CD, D/L).

Outta Santiago, one of the greatest Psych Rock bands you’ve never heard of…….that is till now. With four albums already under their belt in a decade long career blowing minds in their home country, Chilean Psych-Rock outfit Vuelveteloca are no doubt the missing link between Black Sabbath and Neu! mixing 70s style heavy riffing with trance like rhythmic grooves. Newly signed to Fuzz Club for their fifth LP, Sonora, Vuelveteloca are destined to follow other South American noiseniks such as Follakzoid and The Holydrug Couple in gaining a global reputation with their twisted mixture of doomy Stoner Rock and the kinetic psychedelic rhythms of modern bands like Kikagaku Moyo or King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Relentlessly hurtling forward at maximum velocity, motorik precision meets the face melting psychedelic swirl of skyscaper guitars as Vuelveteloca tear the Universe a new one with this absolute wild ride of a record.

The record is nine tracks of a ferocious hybrid of Stoner Rock and brain scrambling Psychedelia and from the get go, Sonora grooves like a muthafucker and never lets up. Kicking off with the psychedelic squall of ‘La Niebla’, Vuelveteloca have perfected blending their mix of influences from several psychedelic eras creating an expansive sound that sounds familiar but also excitingly unique. Mashing together heavy Stoner Rock influences on tracks such as ‘Alta Montana’ and the claustrophobic ‘L.A.’ with Lemmy era Hawkwind-esque sounds seeping into tracks like ‘Tormento’ and ‘Chepical’, and with a massive Krautrock influence added to the sonic melting pot, they have created a absolute monster of a record, heavy enough to destroy everything that stands in it’s way but with a pulsing core of electrifying Acid Rock………..it’s “Classic Rock” and modern Psych melting together and sharing DNA. Again, Fuzz Club are totally on the money with this LP…………..essential listening if you dig 70s Heavy Rock with a bit more of an edge or sonically charged Psych Rock that can peel paint off the walls.

Released on LP with limited edition of 600 copies (200 Deluxe and 400 standard vinyl), CD and as a digital download, Sonora is out NOW and available from all the best record shops, the usual suspects on line and directly from Fuzz Club. Check out the Fuzz Club Bandcamp page where you can stream/buy the D/L here……

https://fuzzclub.bandcamp.com/album/sonora

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THE GALILEO 7 - TEAR YOUR MINDS WIDE OPEN! (Damaged Goods LP + CD + D/L).

Newly signed to the legendary Damaged Goods label, Medway mindbenders The Galileo 7 return with their fifth album of scorching 60s influenced high-energy, Psychedelic Garage Rock’n’Roll. Releasing top quality records of Psych/Pop nuggets since 2010, Tear Your Minds Wide Open! Is a welcome addition to their discography with 12 tracks of catchy, memorable tunes, seriously gnarly guitar, darkly humourous lyrics, four-part harmonies, searing swirled out Hammond organ, pin-point bass work and gloriously crash, bang, wallop drums, in a Keith Moon meets Thom Mooney (The Nazz) vein…………..it’s a glorious distillation of the period around the end of 1966 when the Mod bands started growing their hair, buying their threads from Granny Takes A Trip and swapping the thrill of speed for a more Psychedelic experience. It’s not quite full blown Psychedelia but has echoes of the period when bands like The Who, The Action, The Creation, The Small Faces, The Poets, The Pretty Things and The Attack had started dropping acid but their music still had a solid Rock ‘n’ Roll spine, way before they were getting it together in the country or working on concept albums.     

With a groovy CV that includes a whole host of great Kentish Garage/Psych/Mod bands such as The Prisoners, The James Taylor Quartet, The Prime Movers, The Solarflares, Groovy Uncle,The Embrooks and The Higher State, The Galileo 7 may have been round the block a couple of times but with a bunch of killer tunes, impeccable Psych Pop smarts and the chops to carry it all off, they can certainly give any of the young ‘uns a run for their money when it comes to blistering Garage/Psych. Full on from the second the needle drops, Tear Your Minds Wide Open! is a total blast and essential listening for any fan of 1960s Psych, Beat and Garage Rock……………….the pick from a dozen seriously top tunes have to be the head rush of ‘Mystery Train’, the very trippy ‘The Mask’ and ‘Your Face Tomorrow’, the gorgeous Psych Pop swirl of ‘You Tear My Mind Wide Open’ and the closing track ‘Nobody Knows Anything’. With a mix of great taste and cool influences from some fantastic bands, The Galileo 7 have taken the best of mid 60s British Psych Pop and put their own stamp on it, it’s a cracking little record.

Due for release 10/11/2017 as a vinyl plus CD and download all in one package ( the CD feature a 10 minute bonus track that there was no room for on the vinyl)……….Available from all the best record shops or direct from the Damaged Goods online shop where pre-orders are being taken now. Dig it People.

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UFFE LORENZEN - GLAMANDSÆRK (Bad Afro Records LP, CD, D/L).

Earlier this year Uffe Lorenzen (AKA Lorenzo Woodrose, the frontman of Baby Woodrose) announced that from now on he will be recording and performing under his own name and be singing in his native language, Danish. The first fruits of this change of tack is the new solo album Galmandsværk and although it’s not a radical reinvention of the Baby Woodrose sound, Uffe Lorenzen has not abandoned his Psychedelic roots, it’s quite different from his last record. The last Baby Woodrose LP, Freedom, was one of the angriest records we had heard for quite a long time as Uffe raged against all the injustice in the world, whereas Galmandsværk (which can be loosely translates to “act of madness”) is way more mellow……….. conceived and written over a 10 week period “getting it together” on the small volcanic island Gomera just off the coast of Morocco and predominantly acoustic, with the addition of more “exotic” instruments such as sitar, tablas, bansuri, hurdy gurdy, violin alongside Mellotron, vibes, piano and fuzzed out guitars, pulling in influences as far apart as early 70s Scandinavian Acid Folk to tripped out North African sounds, it’s a more introspective record than anything Lorenzen has recorded before.

Galmandsværk is essentially a beautifully crafted Psychedelic Folk record that has a few minor flashbacks to the squally Psych Rock sound of Baby Woodrose on tracks such as ‘Ridset Plade’ and ‘Sang Om Merværdi’ and although Uffe Lorenzen’s debut solo album is as far away from Baby Woodrose classic records such as Mindblowing Seeds & Disconnected Flowers and Third Eye Surgery as you can possibly get, there is still lots to love here for fans of the band…….Uffe Lorenzen still blows your mind!!! It’s a record that has been described as sounding “as if Baby Woodrose, Spids Nøgenhat and Dragontears merged and turned into something new” as the ten wonderful Psychedelic songs here gently float by. Beautifully sequenced, the record works as complete entity and not just a collection of songs……………….it’s certainly an album that would work with something to smoke. While it is still not known if Baby Woodrose will return with a new record anytime soon, Uffe Lorenzen is finding his own way though the Psychedelic forest, it would be worth your while following as it’s quite a trip.

Due for release 10/11/2017 by Bad Afro Records, Galmandsværk is available on limited edition red or black vinyl, CD and as a digital download with pre-orders now being taken at the Bad Afro web shop and their Bandcamp page here………

https://badafrorecords.bandcamp.com/album/galmandsv-rk

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PURE PHASE ENSEMBLE 6 featuring ANTON NEWCOMBE - LIVE AT SPACEFEST (Nasiono Records CD, D/L).

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the Pure Phase Ensemble, it really is quite simple……………………as part of Gdansk’s celebrated SpaceFest held every December at the city's Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art in the post-industrial Nowy Port district, the festival organisers invite a renowned international artist to be the musical director, along with Anna Szynwelska and Karol Schwarz of Nasiono Records, for an eclectic rotating group of musicians drawn from various Polish alternative bands............previous leaders of the Pure Phase Ensemble have included Mark Gardener (Ride), Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Ray Dickaty (Spiritualized), Steve Hewitt (Placebo), Jaime Harding (Marion), Chris Olley (Six By Seven), and Hugo Race (The Bad Seeds, The True Spirit). A collection of songs are composed, rehearsed and performed live just the once, this one off event is recorded and released on CD by Nasiono records several months later. The line up for Pure Phase Ensemble 6 put together for the 2016 Spacefest was led by the illustrious Anton Newcombe from The Brian Jonestown Massacre along with with Emil Nikolaisen of Scandinavian rock band Serena Maneesh plus Polish musicians Karol Schwarz (7faz, KSAS), Olga Myslowska (Polpo Motel), Maciej Karminski (Jesien), Marcin Lewandowski (Judy’s Funeral, Castlings, Soon), Jakub Zwirello (Oslo Kill City, Szezlong), and Kacper Graczyk (Aiodine, coding) and sounded not unlike the Velvet Underground trying to score on Mars.

No doubt one of the attractions of being invited to play with the Pure Phase Ensemble is that it is an opportunity to defy expectations and a chance to be more experimental than normal. The version of the Pure Phase Ensemble led by Newcombe sounds a little like BJM in parts and then again it sounds like the music has been beamed from space............with the songs developed in a workshop environment with the band improvising to produce a set of unique compositions for the SpaceFest set it's not Anton Newcombe plays BJM with a bunch of Polish guys but something more improvised beyond all the player's comfort zones. Pure Phase Ensemble 6 features four guitarists creating either a wall of noise or much more subtle atmospheric Space Rock textures as they twist and turn through 45 minutes of sonic exploration that sounds like a head on collision between Spaceman 3/Spiritualized and the Velvet Underground way beyond the stars. It's all wonderfully democratic with lead vocals split between Newcombe and the other singers in the band (Schwarz and Mysłowska)…………Newcombe sings lead on ‘Sorry Not Sorry’,  ‘God Drugs’ and ‘Getting Bored’ which all sound like BJM songs that have been torn apart and reassembled without taking note where all the bits go as they are fantastically loose and sprawling. Elsewhere tunes like the atmospheric ‘Popol Vuh’, the scorching ‘Bałwan’ and the darkly electronic ‘Tętno pulsu’ all lean heavily towards the sound of innovative modern Psych Rock where Krautrock and Space Rock melt together………………as usual, the pure thrill of experimental Psychedelia that the Pure Phase Ensemble create does not disappoint. SpaceFest has figuratively transformed Gdansk into the intergalactic capital of Poland, presenting psychedelic music at its best with Shoegaze, Krautrock and Space Rock plus cosmic energy, intergalactic cats, forest goblins, psyched visuals, pagan disco and more, with the consistent quality of the Pure Phase Ensemble more than adding to this. The Pure Phase Ensemble will return this year with it’s seventh incarnation led by local legend Maciej Cieślak.

Pure Phase Ensemble 6 featuring Aton Newcombe is out NOW and is available on CD and as a digital download direct from Nasiono Records or from the really tuned in record shops and on line retailers. You can stream/buy the D/L from the Nasiono Bandcamp page here……………………………

https://purephaseensemble.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-spacefest-5

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN.   

A DEVIL’S DIN - ONE HALLUCINATION UNDER GOD (Island Dive Records D/L).

With an excellent collection of sharp, relatively short songs stripped of any excess and with more hooks than a fishing tackle shop, One Hallucination Under God is the sound of a band totally at the top of their game in the studio with this elegantly crafted LP. Returning with their third full length album, Canadian Psych/Prog band A Devil's Din have melded their myriad of influences, ranging from the pulsating sounds of Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd & the Psychedelic-era Beatles to the sonic adventures of Yes, Gentle Giant and King Crimson, and wrapped them round a solid spine made up of very modern Indie/Alt Rock to create their most electrifying record to date. The trio, led by multi-instrumentalist David Lines with bassist Thomas Chollet and virtuoso drummer Dom Salameh, have taken familier sounds, adored by lovers of Classic Rock, and transposed them into the now, giving the record the warm glow of late 60s/early 70s recordings but with a very contemporary sheen.

Referencing the past but not going totally retro on our asses, One Hallucination Under God is a quintessential modern Psych/Prog record………listen hard and the influences seep out of the record, from the vocal harmonies straight offa Fragile,  thru Macca-esqe bass lines to Psychedelic Sabbath riffing as all of A Devil’s Din’s inspirations taken from nearly half a century coalesce into a sound that is so much greater than the sum of it’s parts. It’s a totally accessible, uplifting record, far removed from their darker, earlier material and which you could easily compare to Agent’s Of Fortune era Blue Öyster Cult where their Prog/Psych sound was injected with a healthy dose of pop sensibility. There is some great stuff on this album……….with it’s chugging riff and rolling bass ‘Brave New World’ is a fantastic modern Prog Rock tune while ‘Home’ is a cool Psych Rock tune where the future meets the past in a fuzzed out haze. Elsewhere ‘Who You Are’ is seriously anthemic, destined to be played to a sea of lighters at a festival sometime soon and the title track can be imagined in a parallel universe where Black Sabbath based their career on ‘Planet Caravan’ and descended into a world of Psychedelic weirdness instead of inventing Heavy Metal in this reality. This really is a record that fans of Classic Rock are going to dig on the proviso that they haven't closed their mind to newer sounds.

Self released by the band on their own Island Dive Records imprint, apart from the CDs available at their shows it appears that One Hallucination Under God is currently only available as a digital download but keep ‘em peeled People as this record really does deserve a proper physical release and this should catch the ear of an adventurous Indie that will want to take a punt on this fantastic record. You can check out/stream/buy the album from their Bandcamp page here https://adevilsdin.bandcamp.com/

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