Tuesday, 19 May 2020

Orgöne - Mos/Fet



Every now and then I get sent something to review that makes 
my ears ring with sounds and music that seems to come from 
a different dimension. This is a female fronted heavy fuzz
 psychedelic band that trample through genres as gleefully as
my daughter stealing money from me. 



Heavy and dense, there is also a strong vein of weirdness running 
through, ensuring that there is always something going on to keep 
your attention.The riffs are strong and muscular with snaking
 patterns that the guitars deliver drenched in feedback and distortion,
giving the haunted vocals a platform to sit upon. 

Ambient drifting intros linger and then dive straight into the 
chaos and power. Squalls of space guitar noise drone over kraut- 
rock song structures while the rhythms are almost mathy with a
jazz like complexity that propel the listener into orbit. 

The production ensures that every note is LOUD. 
The musicianship on display from all members of the band are on 
fire, giving these tracks an effortless feel that gets the head nodding 
along nicely. Tension and dynamics are handled well - there is
always a danger of this sort of thing becoming samey but in
the hands of this band, it is an organic process which carries you along. 
On the other hand, if you are brave enough to plunge into the unknown,
take a deep breath, hold my hand and let me guide you through
an electric trip! 

Orgöne describe themselves as heavy psych/retro rock/experimental/sludge/
space rock and stoner.. If those words strike fear into your hearts
and you do not want to delve into uncharted musical territory,
now may be the time to leave. 

Lone vocal chants start the first track - a massive 20 minute track before the
distorted guitars start droning, morphing into Melvin type riffage - then with
choral vocals, which lead to a lone buried vocal - this is a prelude to some
frenzied jazz drums that are played in the Mitch Mitchell school of
skin bashing over which a throbbing bass line is accompanied by stabbed guitar
chords - soon chaos descends but always with control.

Special mention must be made of the vocals by Olga Rostropovitch.
She sings, croons bellows, shrieks, whispers and because I do not understand much
French, the overall feel is like a witch spitting out curses - I mean that a a good thing!

This is my album of the year so far!


Thanks to Heavy Pysch Sounds Records for sending this promo.

Sunday, 17 May 2020

An Autumn For Crippled Children - All fell silent, everything went quiet

Having come across the last AAFC release quite late,
I have been waiting for the next one with bated breath to
see if it could match up.




Well ,"All went silent, everything went quiet" does not let you down. 
Instrumental post-rock drive the song structures but 
when the distorted guitars kick in, the mood changes 
with the powerful riffs that deliver a punch that would 
not sound out of place on a sludge album. 

The ambient passages carry a real feeling of mood that 
build up into a post-metal explosion of tension and 
release. The guitar playing is not just mindless fret- 
wanking but carry the songs along with sustained riffs 
and some wonderful note progressions. This is classy 
stuff and the tracks have a definite epic feel to them. 

There are tiny flourishes that make this stand out from the 
crowd - there are some ghostly screamed vocals which are used 
sparingly but with great effect and thekeyboards that could of been 
overworked - instead, it sits behind the riffs and give the songs 
another dimension.

This is the good shit.




Tuesday, 12 May 2020

Black Rainbows - Cosmic Ritual Supertrip

The sounds of fiery stoned psychedelic rock blasting 
from my headphones means that Black Rainbows have got 
a new album out. It feels a bit darker and heavier this time around. 
Fuzz, powerful riffs, great song compositions and vocals buried 
under the sonic assault continue the fine run of Black Rainbows releases. 


Tired of 10 minute prog rock tracks passed of as
 Doom/Stoner songs? Well plug into these Italian guys vision 
of rock. Tight, taut songs that hit you between the eyes 
are order of the day here, served up with catchy-as -fuck choruses, 
world weary vocals and scorched earth solos that never overstay 
their welcome. Heavy, groovy, unstoppable with hints of space 
rock expansiveness combine with driving Stoner song structures
 to make each track sound like a classic cut on first hearing. Hints of 
fuzz electric blues are scattered throughout with searing effect
 and yes, it does make me want to drive faster with my arm hanging
 out of the window, music blaring from the speakers on the way 
to some humdrum place of work, having my soul lifted 
by this potential masterpiece.





Monday, 11 May 2020

Lophius - Their Poison Our Antidote



Fuck knows what they put in the water down there
in Denmark but Lophius are a doom/stoner band that
 tick all the right boxes.




This is one mother of a low-end beast. 
All the riffs capture the groove of stoner 
and the heaviness of doom with admirable results. 
Fuzzed out, distorted tunes with tempo changes power 
along, showing the potential of what interplay between a
 trio can achieve, the rhythm section pounding out a bedrock
 for the guitar to fill in the gaps.


The vocals are a growl/clean and fairly low in
 the mix which is where I like 'em. The overall feel is 
very much in the vein of Sleep in full "Dopesmoker" mode and 
I hope that this band can progress in this sometimes overcrowded 
genre to wider acclaim.


Sunday, 3 May 2020

Acid Alice - The Road

Band bio:
"Like a laboratory where multiple substances are mixed 
and the boiling points are reached, Acid Alice is the authentic sublimity 
of the stoner rock rhythms, the psychedelic riffs of the 60's and 70's 
and the aguardentious voices of classic rock"


This is fucked up acid pysch rock of the first order.
Stoner rock blended with fuzz blues give this a massive sound
and you will never want this trip to end.