To celebrate the 40th anniversary of
Nuggets, Warner Music Australia is releasing NUGGETS: ANTIPODEAN
INTERPOLATIONS OF THE FIRST PSYCHEDELIC ERA, a newly recorded collection
of young Australian groups pushing the boundaries of garage-rock with
covers of the original songs.
The album features tracks from The Straight Arrows, Eagle & the
Worm, The Frowning Clouds, Pond, Gooch Palms, King Gizzard & The
Lizard Wizard, Velociraptor, The Murlocs, Baptism of Uzi and The
Laurels.
I won't deny it - Sky Picnic are one of my favorite modern psychedelic outfits so maybe I am a little biased, but "Paint Me A Dream" is a total winner. I'm such a big fan of their last album "Farther In This Fairytale" (reviewed here) that I was semi expecting my high expectations for this album to lead to a little disappointment - "Paint Me A Dream" does have some mighty big boots to fill after all, but I couldn't be happier with the results.
I'll address the elephant in the room - Sky Picnic do worship unashamedly at the alter of Pink Floyd, but as the Floyd have "matured" into a bunch of stuffy old grumps who'd rather fly model airplanes than revisit (except Roger) or indeed add to the impressive catalogue of their youth, I'm okay with this.
It helps that Sky Picnic seem most enamored with the more interesting and adventurous side of the Floyd's work too, with "Saucerful of Secrets" and "Echoes" in particular often coming to mind.
Chris Sherman is the secret to the band's success in this listener's opinion, effortlessly evoking not only the lyrical slide guitar work of early David Gilmour, but also the more unhinged textural scrabblings of Syd Barrett - two very different styles that really shouldn't mix as well as they do here.
He's no slouch on the keyboards either and digs out a fine selection of vintage sounds that add immeasurably to the period charm. "Dream Yourself Away"s mellotron sound is particularly heavenly.
The rhythm section are very impressive too, with the interplay on the epic conclusion of "Slumber's Gate" yielding particularly satisfying results.
And while "Freakout Ethel" does comes across as an affectionate tribute to "Careful With That Axe Eugene", anyone who'd be foolish enough to suggest that they don't have any of their own tricks to add would be ignoring among other things, the circular guitar riffery of "Aurora" and the memorable pop-friendly hooks of lead off single "Rippled". Form an orderly queue and pre-order here.
The Solar System is the nom de plume of Chris Oliver, a one man band psych pop juggernaut who has a way with a winning melody which he frequently juxtaposes with experimental tendencies that are always imaginative and occasionally terrifying (in a good way!)
Chris is a prolific individual with a release schedule that makes fellow homerecording champion R. Stevie Moore look like a slouch, and this, his fourth release of the year (!) is the best of them yet I reckon.
Previous albums have shown that there's plenty of range to the Solar System's ambition and as usual there's a bit of everything on show here, from the quirky instrumental Prince-like electro funk of "Let Fun Take Over" to the wobbly prog pop of "Weather Babble" via the trippy psychedelia of "Bis Nigh" and the surprisingly melodic backwards tapes and synth squiggles pop-collage of "Perfect Disguise".
The track that epitomizes the Solar System approach best here though is instrumental "Enjoy It's Wonder" which starts with a devastatingly lovely, delicate arpeggiated xylophone melody, then layers on some tasteful guitar noodling before going nutso with a barrage of heavily phased drums.
This sweet and sour / darkness and light sort of approach is a recurrent theme in Chris' work.
Sure, this idiosyncratic approach isn't for everyone and in all fairness I don't think it's meant to be, but for those with a similarly broad musical scope there is a veritable smorgasbord to be had here.
Definitely one for the punter who would rather listen to "Kid A" then "The Bends".
Stream / Download below :
Two new 7" singles from the much admired Trouble in Mind label today, and they couldn't be more different to each other if they tried.
First up is Fuzz whom I know nothing about, except what my ears tell me. Seems the label themselves have been kept in the dark too.
I'm assuming that Trouble in Mind haven't turned their attentions to the reissue field, but both sides of this Fuzz single sound like they were recorded in 1969, right down to the thin snare sound.
Things were rarely as fuzzy, and downright evil sounding as this back in 1969 though - Sir Lord Baltimore is the most obvious comparison although they'd have to slink away tail between legs when confronted with the nasty snaking stoner riffery of B-Side "Fuzz's Fourth Dream".
The A-Side "This Time I Got a Reason" is only marginally less crazed, making this a total must have for collectors of U.S heavy psych.
At the other end of the spectrum we've got the new Liminana's 7" which is a masterclass in French garage pop. The A-Side is a fantastic slice of sixties groove with a slinky bassline, tastefully applied tremelo guitar and a wobbly sustained organ note providing the backdrop for a vocal that oozes sleaze and charm in equal measure in a way not heard since Serge Gainsbourg's heyday.
"Mobylette" is a winner too, utilizing a naggingly familiar, sighing female backing vocal, combined with a propulsive rhythm track and a sultry femme fatale vocal.
Trouble in Mind sure know how to pick 'em. You can hear the A-Side from each of these singles here.
Melmoth The Wanderer has put together this very trippy psychedelic mix, using tracks exclusively from the November Active Listener Psychedelic Sampler.
But if you think that you've heard these tracks all before, then think again - they've been put through the wringer thoroughly and emerged on the other side in strange and unfamiliar surroundings.
One of the main reasons I started this blog in the first place was to do my small piece to help hard working, talented and deserving artists reach a slightly wider audience.
Swiss one man band Balduin is one gent who fits this bill down to a tee and with such an impressive (and huge) back catalogue behind him it's certainly well past time he received a little more attention.
I draw your attention then, if I may, to his upcoming 7" single release "Kite Come Back" / "Change" available for streaming via Bandcamp.
On the evidence of these two sides Mr Balduin is certainly some sort of baroque psych-pop prodigy, able to hold his own against his more lauded peers - Jacco Gardner, Beaulieu Porch and so forth.
Both sides are kaleidoscopic bubblegum psych treats that show off not only his compositional, but also production and arrangement skills impressively.
"Kite Come Back" showcases a surprisingly dirty guitar sound that still manages to retain it's wholesome bubblegum goodness thanks to it's whimsical lyrics and multilayered vocal delivery.
"Change" on the other hand is a baroque sounding piece of psych pop with layers of mellotron and what appears to be harpsichord.
Sugarcoat your eardrums below, and keep an eye on Balduin's Soundcloud page (here) for new tunes often :
Those of you who managed to escape the hallucinogenic pull of the cover of "Gargoyle Days" without an aneurysm have quite a treat ahead of you.
I totally missed this album when it was released just over a year ago (so presumably a few of you did too), but when they e-mailed me through a copy my interest was immediately piqued.
Naming your band after a particularly great song by The Chills suggests both a high level of confidence as well as a very fine pedigree, both of which Pink Frost seem to have in spades, albeit minus the jangle the bandname had me aniticipating.
Pink Frost instead wear the influence of early to mid nineties neo-psychedelic alternative rock on their sleeves, with a healthy dose of melodic shoegaze.
In a lot of ways I'm reminded of "Gish" and "Siamese Dream" era Smashing Pumpkins, although aesthetically the band may have more in common with Tripping Daisy, a comparison made all the more obvious by frontman Adam Lukas' vocal similarities to Tripping Daisy's Tim DeLaughter.
Like the best albums that it evokes, it knows how to rock as evidenced by the likes of "Gravesend" and the sinister minor key groover "Where Days Go".
It's at it's best though when the guitars lay off the distortion pedals and concentrate on textures, with the delicately trippy backwards guitars of "In Clouds" making an immediate impression, and the hypnotic outro to "This Time" giving classics like the Smashing Pumpkin's "Hummer" a run for their money.
Very fine.
Sorry for the lack of activity for the last few days - it's getting into busy season here over the next few months. Here's an hour long psych mix of old classics and a few newbies thrown in for your streaming pleasure, that I put together a few days back - enjoy!
Can Your Heart Stand By Buddy & The Huddle
Easy Ryder By Ty Segall & White Fence
I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time By The Third Bardo
I'm Leaving Home By Kathy McCord
Enigmatic Insomniac Machine By Principal Edwards Magic Theatre
Silver Runner By Leisure Birds
My House By Michael Yonkers Band
Fuzz's Fourth Dream By Fuzz
Generator By Gap Dream
Frond By Pond
Mind Flowers By The Ultimate Spinach
The Lemonaide Kid By Kak
