Category: Psych Rock

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Shares a Mind-Bending Visual for Trippy “A Night in Bethlehem”

Over the course of the past two or three years or so, I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering the Israeli-born, Paris-based singer/songwriter, guitarist and JOVM mainstay MAGON. And with the release of Out in the Dark, the Parisian-based JOVM mainstay quickly established a sound that at the time, he dubbed as “urban rock on psychedelics.”  

Late last year, the Israeli-French artist released his critically applauded sophomore album Hour After Hour, an album that sonically was a decided change in direction with the material being “somewhere between Ty Segall, Allah-Las and The Velvet Underground” according to the Israeli-born, Parisian artist. 

Magon closed out the year with his third album In The Blue, an album that saw him drawing from two completely different sets of influences — 70s rock like Lou Reed and Led Zeppelin and contemporary influences like Mac DeMarco and Devendra Banhart. Written around the birth of the artist’s daughter, the album is centered around what may arguably be some of the most introspective songwriting of his growing catalog — while featuring a more assertive delivery. 

In the lead-up to In The Blue‘s release, I wrote about three of the album’s singles:

  • “The Willow,” an introspective bit of 70s-inspired art rock, that follows its characters on a trip to Egypt, where its primary narrator sees the titular willow. But interestingly, the trip serves as a larger and deeper metaphor for its characters, who are all desperately trying to find something — perhaps themselves or a deeper, hidden truth? 
  • “Egyptian Music,” a slow-burning vibey ballad of sorts, centered around shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars paired with impressionistic yet introspective songwriting — with the song equally evoking nostalgia and regret. 
  • “Forever,” vibey, mid-tempo song that’s one part AM rock, one part post-punk centered around impressionistic lyrics touching out regret, forgiveness, love and time and its inevitable passing sung by a narrator, who seems burnt out by just about everything. 

Continuing upon a remarkably prolific period, the Israeli-born, French-based artist’s forthcoming album A Night in Bethlehem is slated for a June 3, 2022 release. Last month, I wrote about A Night in Bethlehem single “Hailey’s Comet,” a dreamy bit of psych pop centered around glistening and reverb-drenched post punk-like guitars, a simple back beat and fluttering, intergalactic-like feedback that touched upon the immensity of historical and cosmic time.

The song’s narrator spends the song wondering how life and humanity will be the next time Halley’s Comet passes by our part of the cosmic neighborhood in 2061. How many of us will be around? What will we say about this moment to our descendants? Will history be kind to us? 

A Night in Bethlehem‘s second and latest single, album title track “A Night in Bethlehem” continues a run of trippy, psych rock centered around a chugging motorik groove, angular bursts of guitar paired with a razor sharp hook, intergalactic feedback and Magon’s ironically detached vocals in a song that thematically explores the surrealist fringes of mysticism.

Fittingly, the accompanying video for “A Night in Bethlehem” is a lysergic trip through both Bethlehem and the cosmos.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays The Dream Syndicate Share Kaleidoscopic Visual for Brooding “Damien”

Over the past couple of years of this site’s almost 12 year history, I’ve managed to spill a copious amount of virtual ink covering the acclaimed and legendary Los Angeles-based psych rock act and JOVM mainstays The Dream Syndicate. 

Originally formed back in the early 80s, The Dream Syndicate — currently founding members Steve Wynn (guitars, vocals), a critically applauded singer/songwriter and solo artist in his own right, and Dennis Duck (drums), along with Mark Walton (bass), Jason Victor (lead guitar) and newest member Green On Red’s Chris Cacavas (keys) — have managed to split up and reunite a few times throughout their extensive history, including their most recent reunion in 2017, which began a run of critically applauded, forward-thinking, mind-bending releases.

2020’s The Universe Inside marked the first time in their long and storied history in which every song was conceived and written as a collective whole. Sonically, the album’s material was unlike anything they’ve done together or even individually. The material draws from each individual member’s eclectic interests and passions — in particular: 

  • Dennis Duck’s love and knowledge of European avant garde music
  • Jason Victor’s love of 70s prog rock 
  • Mark Walton’s experience in Southern-fried music collectives
  • Chris Cacavas’ interest in sound manipulation 
  • Wynn’s love of 70s jazz fusion. 

The Universe Inside‘s six songs came from one completely improvised recording session in which the band came up with 80 continuous minutes of soundscapes. “All we added was air,” Wynn explains in press notes. Aside from vocals, horns and a touch of percussion here and there, every instrument is recorded live as it happened.

The Dream Syndicate’s fourth post-reunion effort and eighth overall, Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions is slated for a June 10, 2022 release through Fire Records. Continuing to push their sound and approach in new and varied directions, Ultraviolet Battle Hymns reportedly sees the band taking on British glam, German prog rock, krautrock and Brian Eno-like ambient music interwoven into their psychedelic, melodic hues. The album also features guest spots from longtime collaborator and friend, The Long Ryders‘ Stephen McCarthy and Marcus Tenney, who contributes sax and trumpet to the album’s songs. 

“Where I’ll Stand,” the album’s expansive first single clocked in at a little over five minutes begins with a twinkling, synth-led prog rock intro that nods at Trans Europe Express before morphing into a circular chord progression centered around twangy, reverb-drenched guitars and a slow-burning groove.  “It feels like an attempt–via the lyrics and the circular chord progression–to impose some kind of order and logic on a world that was severely lacking in both respects at the time,” The Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn explained in press notes.

“Damian,” Ultraviolet Battle Hymns‘ second and latest single is a brooding and slow-burning song that may arguably be their most AM Rock-inspired song of their extensive — and still growing — catalog: Centered around a shuffling groove, the song has a California beach sheen but with a gritty and lurking sense of evil and unease. Fleetwood Mac meets Steely Dan, perhaps?

“I wanted to write and record something that would have sounded good coming out of the Radio Shack speakers in my Gremlin. . . the sense of mystery and time time was enhanced by Marcus Tenney’s era-perfect sax and trumpet work and then sweetened by a backing vocal arrangement Stephen McCarthy brought to the session,” The Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn says.

Created by Mike Bourne, the accompany video for “Damien” is a kaleidoscopic and lysergic trip. Tune in and zone out, y’all.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Share Animated, Horror Film-Inspired Visual for New Ripper “Acid Dent”

Throughout their history, the acclaimed Perth-based outfit Psychedelic Porn Crumpets — Jack McEwan (vocals, guitar), Luke Parish (guitar), Danny Caddy (drums), Wayon Bilondana (bass) and multi-instrumentalist Chris Young — have developed a reputation for being one of Australia’s preeminent purveyors of enormous riff-based psych rock.

The Perth psych rockers’ fifth album Night Gnomes officially dropped today through Marathon Artists/What Reality? Records. The follow-up to last year’s critically applauded SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound, Night Gnomes sees the acclaimed Aussie outfit throws the listener into a range of different sonic territories and emotional fields through the exploration of even more sonic influences and creative tangents than before while being firmly rooted in the sound and approach that has won them fans across the world.

Written in Perth during pandemic related lockdowns, and recorded at McEwan’s Perth home and Blackbird Studio with Dave Parkin, Night Gnomes is informed by the sense of isolation and the accompanying mania of being out of sync with the normalcy and patterns of the life that McEwan and the rest of the band had gotten accustomed to over the past few years.

“Night Gnomes is a bit darker than the other four releases. I don’t know if that’s the bi-product (sic) of being locked inside Western Australia for the past two years but it’s definitely given us a lot of time to think,” McEwan says of the new album. “I reckon this record has a bit more of a KID A/Amnesiac vibe to it, it’s a bit weirder, a little left of the ‘psych/pop’ world we’ve been tagged under. I kinda like that though, forever expanding, variety is the spice of life! It starts moody, talks of break ups and new relationships; gets kinda chirpy in the middle and then ends really beautifully, a bit like Jurassic Park 3. I reckon Spielberg might actually rate it, he’s a mixture of a bag, ain’t he.

“All in all, I’m very proud of everyone’s efforts, it’s a step up which is a good direction to be stepping and it’s a good body of work that I’m happy to share with the world, our little patch of darkness. And if deeper isn’t your cup of moonshine, then at least you know the sixth album will be upbeat as F@!#.””

Because the album follows so closely to its immediate predecessor, in some ways the material on Night Gnomes feels a bit like a continuation of the same narrative ideas and story that McEwan initially dreamed up. Unsurprisingly, the album retains elements that will appeal to the band’s oldest fans while providing a peak of where the band is going next sonically. “I stepped up a few recording techniques and tried to hone in on the production side of things a little more, gave my mental train a fresh lick of paint and tried to make the album step up in quality from the previous four releases, while still holding onto that ‘Crumpet’ approach to songwriting,” McEwan says.

“There’s definitely a few moments in older albums where I’ve been lazy and tweaked things after we’ve finished recording but with Night Gnomes, I made sure to stick with Dave’s ethos and polish every track before it was sent to Jelly to mix. I’m much happier with how my vocals are sitting now, I left a lot of room in the tracks to bring them out rather than adding twenty million layers beforehand, it feels a lot cleaner, the idea for each song is present and accessible without too much ear straining. To me, it’s our best work. I feel like we’re moving forward while still learning and these albums are a checkpoint to where we’re at, and for now we’re happy with our little Night Gnome.”

Night Gnomes‘ latest single “Acid Dent” is a head banging ripper, centered around enormous, power chord-driven riffs, rumbling bass, driving rhythms paired with mosh pit friendly hooks and McEwan’s punchy shouts. But while thrashing with a relentless and seemingly carefree abandon, the song sees its narrator offering a bit of a concession to growing older and maybe slowing down a bit from some of the riotous decadence of youth — before its way too late.

Every generation has their means of escapism and for some reason here in Perth, or at least when we were in our heyday you could purchase mushrooms and acid from any decent supermarket,” McEwan explains. “So it’s inevitable we’re gonna be munching jumpers and chatting to fences in a few decades, but as for now, well… we’ve seemed to somehow milk a career out of it. Who’d have thought. But yeah, it’s probably not going to end well, hence my newly appointed position on drug safety. Then again, someone also once told me, “Hell hath no fury like a man who’s pressed pause on his drug abuse”, so now I’m slightly more perplexed as to where I stand. Anyway, good luck to everyone, enjoy yourselves but remember nobody wants to pick up your marbles after.”

“When we were younger, we were carefree and living tall, “McEwan says. “You get home with a handful of stuff in your pocket from whatever festival and just munch all of it, until you wake up in the morning so scattered. If we kept carrying on this way, we’d wind up in mental institutions by 35. So this is a nice little story about slowing down a bit.

Directed by frequent visual collaborator Ollie Jones, the video for “Acid Dent” continues a run of claymation-based animated videos. This time, we follow a mustachioed maintenance man working at PPC Chemicals, who has a terrible accident at work: He falls into a glowing vat of toxic sludge.

After being treated at a local hospital, he returns home to discover that as a result of his accident, everything he touches melts before his eyes. The video ends with some hilarious yet horrifying, horror movie-inspired hijinx. “I’ve always been a fan of the horror sub genre ‘ MELT MOVIES ‘ — films like Street Trash, The Blob and Body Melt,” Ollie Jones explains. “So when I was given the title of the track, I knew what I wanted to do right away. A simple story of a guy who after a freak accident is granted the powers to melt everything he touches and how it escalates in a comedy of errors throughout the video. Think the Skittles advert only more gruesome.” 

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Contemplates Cosmic Time in “Halley’s Comet”

Over the course of the past two or three years or so, I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering the Israeli-born, Paris-based singer/songwriter, guitarist and JOVM mainstay MAGON. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over that period of time, you may recall that with the release of Out in the Dark, the Parisian-based JOVM mainstay quickly established a sound that at the time, he dubbed as “urban rock on psychedelics.”  

Late last year, the Israeli-French artist released his critically applauded sophomore album Hour After Hour, an album that sonically was a decided change in direction with the material being “somewhere between Ty Segall, Allah-Las and The Velvet Underground” according to the Israeli-born, Parisian artist.

Magon closed out the year with his third album In The Blue, an album that saw him drawing from two completely different sets of influences — 70s rock like Lou Reed and Led Zeppelin and contemporary influences like Mac DeMarco and Devendra Banhart. Written around the birth of the artist’s daughter, the album is centered around what may arguably be some of the most introspective songwriting of his growing catalog — paired with a bit more assertive delivery. 

In the lead-up to In The Blue‘s release, I wrote about three of the album’s singles:

  • “The Willow,” an introspective bit of 70s-inspired art rock, that follows its characters on a trip to Egypt, where its primary narrator sees the titular willow. But interestingly, the trip serves as a larger and deeper metaphor for its characters, who are all desperately trying to find something — perhaps themselves or a deeper, hidden truth? 
  • “Egyptian Music,” a slow-burning vibey ballad of sorts, centered around shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars paired with impressionistic yet introspective songwriting — with the song equally evoking nostalgia and regret. 
  • “Forever,” vibey, mid-tempo song that’s one part AM rock, one part post-punk centered around impressionistic lyrics touching out regret, forgiveness, love and time and its inevitable passing sung by a narrator, who seems burnt out by just about everything.

Continuing upon a remarkably prolific period, the Israeli-born, French-based artist’s forthcoming album A Night in Bethlehem will be releasing within a few short months of last year’s In The Blue. A Night in Bethlehem‘s first single “Hailey’s Comet” is a dreamy bit of psych pop centered around glistening, reverb drenched post punk guitars, a simple back beat, fluttering intergalactic-like feedback.

The song touches upon cosmic time. The song’s narrator spends the song wondering how life and humanity will be the next time Hailey’s Comet passes by our part of the cosmic neighborhood in 2061. How many of us will be around? What will we say about this moment to our descendants? Will history be kind to us?

Directed by Mihaela Minder and Mason and featuring trippy, space-inspired animation by minder, and starting Titouan Pouliquen as an astronomer, studying Hailey’s Comet, preparing for its eventual return.

A Night in Bethlehem is slated for a June 3, 2022 release.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Pink Mountaintops Cover Black Flag

Founded by British Columbia-born singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Black Mountain frontman Stephen McBean in 2004, Pink Mountaintops has always supplied him an outlet for his more arcane fascinations and obsessions.

The 12-song Peacock Pools, the first batch of new material from Pink Mountaintops in over eight years, is sparked from his self-described magpie-like curiosity for a diverse and wild array of pop culture: the sci-fi boy horror of David Cronenberg, Disney Read-Along Records from the 1970s, early Pink Floyd, mid-career Gary Numan, John Carpenter movies, Ornette Coleman live videos, a 1991 essay on the cult of bodybuilding by postmodern feminist writer and thinker Camille Paglia, and more.

Featuring contributions from Redd Kross‘ Steven McDonald, Melvins‘ Dale Crover recorded live in the studio, the Peacock Pools‘ material took shape from a bath of songs McBean first pieced together during the pandemic’s early days: “I’d moved into this cool little ’50s rancher house outside L.A. and was just mucking about in my bedroom studio, and pretty soon I started reaching out to some friends who were also shacked up and craving broadband sonic collaboration,” Black Mountain and Pink Mountaintops’ Stephen McBean recalls.

Over the next few months, McBean began working remotely with an All-Star lineup of indie rock, psych rock and garage rock players that included Destroyer and Black Mountains’ Joshua Wells (drums, piano); Feels and Death Valley Girls‘ Leana Myers-Ionita (violin, vocals); Ryley Walker and Steve Gunn‘s Ryan Jewell (drums); Ty Segall‘s and Emily Rose & The Rounders’ Emily Rose Epstein (vocals); and Black Mountain’s and Sinoia Caves‘ Jeremey Schmidt (keys).

Produced by McBean and mixed in Vancouver by Dave “Rave” Oglivie, Pink Mountaintops‘ fifth album may arguably be the most eclectic, strangest and unpredictable batch of songs to date.

Peacock Pools‘ second and latest single sees McBean and company crafting a piano-laced and bluesy, garage psych take on Black Flag‘s pent-up and wiry “Nervous Breakdown” that unspools with a cool, surfer dude on shrooms-like insouciance.

“Steven McDonald used to always play a disco version of that bassline to annoy [Black Flag co-founder] Keith Morris when they were sound-checking for OFF!, and it ended up fitting perfectly with the demo I’d made,” McBean reveals, referring to McDonald and Morris’s hardcore supergroup. Speaking of Morris, he emphatically approves of the Pink Mountaintops cover, sharing the following: “Great job taking a song that’s been beaten to death by numerous punker dunkers and turning it into your own song! BRAVO!!!!”

McBean created a mischievous accompanying visual for “Nervous Breakdown” that features found footage and appearances from McBean, Red Kross’ Steven McDonald, Feels and Death Valley Girls’ Leana Myers-Ionita, Destroyer and Black Mountain’s Joshua Wells and Ryley Walker’s and Steve Gunn’s Ryan Jewell rocking out in their respective homes.

Peacock Pools is slated for a May 6, 2022 release through ATO Records and Cadence Music Group.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past two or three years of this site’s almost 12 — 12! — year history, I’ve managed to spill a copious amount of virtual ink covering the acclaimed and legendary Los Angeles-based psych rock act and JOVM mainstays The Dream Syndicate.

Tracing its origins back to the early 80s, The Dream Syndicate currently features founding members Steve Wynn (guitars, vocals), a critically applauded singer/songwriter and solo artist in his own right, and Dennis Duck (drums), along with Mark Walton (bass), Jason Victor (lead guitar) and newest member Green On Red’s Chris Cacavas (keys) have split up and reunited a couple of times throughout their history, including their most recent reunion in 2017, which began a run of critically applauded, forward-thinking, mind-bending releases.

Their most recent album, 2020’s The Universe Inside marked the first time in their long and storied history in which every song was conceived and written as a collective whole. Sonically, the album’s material was unlike anything they’ve done together or even individually. The material draws from each individual member’s eclectic interests and passions — in particular:

  • Dennis Duck’s love and knowledge of European avant garde music
  • Jason Victor’s love of 70s prog rock
  • Mark Walton’s experience in Southern-fried music collectives
  • Chris Cacavas’ interest in sound manipulation
  • Wynn’s love of 70s jazz fusion.

The Universe Inside‘s six songs came from one completely improvised recording session in which the band came up with 80 continuous minutes of soundscapes. “All we added was air,” Wynn explains in press notes. Aside from vocals, horns and a touch of percussion here and there, every instrument is recorded live as it happened.

The Dream Syndicate’s fourth post-reunion effort and eighth overall, Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions is slated for a June 10, 2022 release through Fire Records. Continuing to push their sound and approach in new and varied directions, Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions reportedly sees the band taking on British glam, German prog rock, krautrock and Brian Eno-like ambient music interwoven into their psychedelic, melodic hues. The album also features guest spots from longtime collaborator and friend, The Long Ryders‘ Stephen McCarthy and Marcus Tenney, who contributes sax and trumpet to the album’s songs.

Clocking in at a little over five minutes, the album’s first single “Where I’ll Stand” is begins with a twinkling synth-led prog rock into before morphing along a circular chord progression featuring subtly twangy, shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars and a slow-burning motorik-like groove. Interestingly enough, the end result is a song that sounds like an atmospheric and contemporary take on their sound that simultaneously hints at CAN and Berlin Trilogy-era Bowie.

“It feels like an attempt–via the lyrics and the circular chord progression–to impose some kind of order and logic on a world that was severely lacking in both respects at the time,” The Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn says.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Chemistry Set Shares a Trippy and Anthemic Single

London-based psych out outfit The Chemistry Set was founded back in 1987. The original lineup — Ashley Wood (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul Lake (guitar, vocals), Henry Taprell (bass) and Dave McLean (drums, vocals) with Neil Pond (harmonica and percussion) as a recording and touring member — featured members of several Manchester-area based psych rock bands.

Acid Tapes released an eponymous cassette of bedroom demos in 1988. They followed up that up with several flexi discs released between 1988 and 1990, which received attention internationally — including fanzines across the UK, Spain, Italy, Holland, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and here in the States. And some of their songs were included on compilation albums released in the UK, Spain and Germany.

The London-based psych outfit — now a duo featuring McLean and Lake — celebrate their 35th anniversary together with their 61st release, Pink Felt Trip, which is slated for a June release through Fruits de Mer. Pink Felt Trip will feature a cover of Mark Fry‘s “The Witch,” which they give a unique and mischievous twist.

The album also features a 10 minute trilogy titled “Self-Expression Trilogy.” The trilogy’s first song, the instrumental. “Cesar Manrique,” is a tribute to the Spanish surrealistic artist. The trilogy’s second and third part “Once Upon a Time” and “Liberation” thematically touch upon the subjects of freedom and self-expression.

Pink Felt Trip‘s latest single, “Paint Me a Dream” is a jangling and anthemic bit of Paisley Underground meets classic 60s era psych rock centered around anthemic hooks, some shimmering and glistening guitar work and gorgeous multipart harmonies. The song is a perfect example of excellent and seemingly effortless craftsmanship.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Elephant Stone Go on a Trippy Journey Through Space in Visual for “M. Lonely”

Rishi Dhir is a Brossard, Quebec-born, Montreal-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He’s a grizzled Montreal indie rock and psych rock scene vet with stints in bands like The Datsons and The High Dials. Dhir is also an in-demand sitar player and bassist, who has collaborated with the likes of Beck, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Dream Syndicate, psych rock supergroup MIEN and countless others.

The Brossard-born, Montreal-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist founded the acclaimed JOVM mainstay psych rock act Elephant Stone back in 2009. Along with collaborators and bandmates Miles Duper (drums), Gab Lambert (guitar), Robbie MacArthur (guitar) and Jason Kent (keys, guitar), the Canadian psych rock outlive has released five albums centered around a sound that incorporates elements of traditional Indian classical music with Western psych rock, rooted in his own personal experiences.

Dhir’s own journey in music, frequently found him trying to find a place that fit him until he decided that what he made was worth sharing in the space that he had created for himself. “I only write about what I know and think I understand. As long as there’s Rishi, there’s going to be Elephant Stone,” Dhir says in press notes.

Slated for a February 18, 2022 release through Elephants on Parade, Elephant Stone’s soon-to-be released EP Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune reportedly picks up on the personal aspects of survival explored on their previous album Hollow and what that means on a dying planet with — or without people. “I built this storyline about a hermit who is very content in his solitary world, until a world event happens that causes everyone else to stay home as well…sound familiar?” Dhir explains. “He sees this as a mockery of him and his choices, deciding instead to build a rocket ship to the moon to be left alone.” 

Over the course of the EP’s four songs, the EP’s main character M. Lonely “ultimately realizes he was happier back on imperfect earth with all of its imperfect people,” Dhir says.

The EP’s latest single “M. Lonely” is centered around an expansive and mind-bending psych rock arrangement with rousingly anthemic hooks, some blazing solo work, a dreamy acoustic-driven bridge, and Dhir’s propulsive bass lines. While most of their output features lyrics written and sung in English, Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune is a departure for the band, as the material is written and sung exclusively in French. According to Dhir, the EP doubles as a love letter to Montreal and to all of their Francophone fans around the world.

“M. Lonely” actually sets the stage for the EP’s storyline: the EP’s titular character is upset about a worldwide epidemic that forces the rest of the planet’s population to stay home for their safety. M. Lonely decides that he needs to leave Earth for his own reclusive sanity.

“The riff from this song dates back to my time playing with The Black Angels in 2012,” Dhir explains. “Following our gig in Nashville, Christian Bland (The Black Angels’ guitarist) and I proceeded to get drunk backstage and started jamming. Coaxed by Alex Mass (The Black Angels’ vocalist), we came up with the idea of creating a new band called The Woodpeckers: playing primal 60’s garage while wearing Woody Woodpecker masks. We both came up with tunes on the spot and, 10 years later, mine ended up evolving into ‘M. Lonely.’ Anyhow, I’m still waiting for those Woody Woodpecker masks…” 

Directed by Daniel Ross and Vincent Gauthier, the recently released video or “M. Lonely” features the band in mod-style outfits playing in front of trippy animations and effects by Vivid_AV. The video hints at the EP’s larger story with Dhir dressed in an Elephant Stone spacesuit, and a spaceship traveling through the cosmos.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Toronto-based psych rock duo Lammping — founding members vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mikhail Galkin and drummer Jay Anderson joined by guitarist Matt Aldred and bassist Scott Hannigan — can trace their origins to a gig where Anderson’s and Galkin’s previously bands shared the bill. The pair connected over their shared tastes, which included a love of an eclectic array of genres and styles, including mid-90s boom-bap, Tropicalia and library music.

Deriving their name from Public Enemy‘s “Cold Lampin’ with Flavor,” the Canadian quartet started as an attempt to bring a multitude of musical influences and ideas together under a psych rock umbrella and expand the sonic possibilities of heavy music.

Since their formation, the Toronto-based psych rock outfit has been busy: 2020 saw the release of their critically applauded full-length debut Bad Boys of Comedy, an effort that featured “Greater Good,” a noise rock meets shoegaze track that seemed inspired by Tropicalia, Turkish psych pop, old-school New York boom bap hip-hop and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Shortly after Bad Boys of Comedy‘s release, the members of Lammping started working on new material that found them pushing the boundaries of psych music in bold, new directions: Flashjacks. While being inspired by Stereolab, De La Soul, Kraftwerk, Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer and Sleep, the Toronto-based psych outfit’s sophomore effort managed to still be rooted in Anderson’s thunderous drumming and Galkin’s melodic riffs. But the material also saw the duo adding sampling, drum machines and a wider variety of instrumentation to their sonic palette.

The band’s forthcoming EP Stars We Lost is slated for a March 4, 2022 release through We Are Busy Bodies. The EP’s material is a collection of 70s space rock-inspired rippers centered around the sort of songwriting that draws from the bandmembers’ rich and diverse history in Toronto’s music scene: Anderson’s contributions to the band’s ouevre is informed by the various rock acts he has played in, including Biblical, Badge Epoque Ensemble, Stonegrass, Marker Starling and Comet Control. Galkin’s background is rather unique. “In my late teens, early 20’s, I had a career as a sample-based beat maker, under the name DJ Alibi,” Galkin explains. “I was signed to Tres Records and put out One Day, and worked with J-Live, People Under The Stairs, Insight and other hip-hop acts.”

Stars We Lost‘s first single “Everlasting Moor” is mesmerizing song featuring a relentless motorik groove bolstered by a forceful backbeat, fuzzy power chords, some easy-going yet muscular Steely Dan meets Black Sabbath-like riffage, and glistening rhythm guitar. Galkin’s surrealistic, stream of consciousness delivered lyrics based on his own experiences as an immigrant to Canada, and a real life observation of something that actually happened ethereally float over the mix. The end result is a song that’s rooted in a fantastical realism while meshing Abbey Road era Beatles, krautrock, 70s yacht rock and space rock into a seamless and trippy freakout.

Discussing the meaning behind the song, Galkin says, “‘Everlasting Moor’ begins with ‘See a man, he’s popping and locking in a parkette gazebo.’ I saw a dude one afternoon doing just that, at a small parkette close to my house, where I bring my daughter to play. He brought a boombox and was just breakdancing by himself in this little gazebo, with no one around. For whatever reason that sparked a stream of consciousness song that was about finding our place in the world, and if unable to, creating a world in your mind you feel at home in. I’ve always wanted to write a song about my own immigrant experience, and after the first line, the words just spilled out.”  

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Oliver Future Returns After 14 Year Hiatus to Release a Brooding Fever Dream

Split between Austin and Los Angeles, psych rock outfit Oliver Future — currently founding members Noah Lit (guitar, vocals), Josh Lit (vocals, keys), Sam Raver (guitar), Jesse Ingalls — was founded in Austin, back in 2002 featuring a lineup of Noah Lit, Josh Lit, Raver, Ingalls and Jordan Richardson (drums). While in Austin, the band wrote and recorded several albums before their management company relocated the band to Los Angeles in 2005.

The management company (and their stipends) disappeared quickly, and the band was stuck in Los Angeles, too broke to get back home. Luckily, they met producer and engineer Adam Lasus, who has worked with a who’s who list of contemporary indie rock acts, including recording a hit record with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, had just relocated to Los Angeles.

Lasus worked with the band on 2007’s Pax Futura, an effort that was released to widespread critical praise and received airplay on KCRW and NPR Music. The band, who were by then a fixture at Spaceland and The Echo, supported the album with several national tours, as well as stops at Austin City Limits Festival, SXSW, Sunset Junction Music Festival — and a live set on Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Just as the members of Oliver Future started working on Pax Futura‘s follow-up, a famous touring artist hired the band’s rhythm section. Ingalls and Richardson wound up touring the world and winning a Grammy while the remaining members of the band went on to write and record 2008’s In Event of Moon Disaster. Shortly, after In Event of Moon Disaster‘s release, the band broke up. Josh Lit, Noah Lit and Sam Raver returned to Austin.

Shortly after returning home, Noah Lit and Josh Lit became co-owners of popular East Austin craft beer and kolaches bakery, Batch Craft Beer and Kolaches. The successful brothers and business partners were still eager to create new music, and in 2019, they asked Jesse if he wanted to return to Austin to play what was intended to be a one-off, goodbye show at The Continental Club. The show was sold out, and although it was meant to close the book on the band, the fun of playing together was undeniable.

As the drudgery of lockdowns continues into last summer, Josh Lit, Noah Lit and Raver started regularly getting together to jam in their studio. The music instantly sounded like Oliver Future. They contacted Richardson, who remembered two of the songs they were working on before their initial breakup “Phases of the Moon” and “I Can’t Take It.” The rest of the material, which would eventually comprise their forthcoming album A Year at Home was written remotely between Austin and Los Angeles over the past year with the band sending tracks and ideas back and forth through text and email. Studio pro Jimmy Paxson played drums on the album.

The band describes the A Year at Home sessions as “the most effortless recordings they ever got to do.” The final touch was that the band recruited Adam Lasus to mix the record. Although the album is the first album from the psych rock outfit in over 14 years, the album’s material sees the band seemingly continuing where they left off.

“Phases of the Moon,” A Year at Home‘s first single is a slow-burning and brooding song, centered around glistening synth arpeggios, the Lits’ ethereal harmonies, shimmering guitars and a steady yet hypnotic groove. Sonically, “Phases of the Moon” will most likely draw comparisons to Dark Side of the Moon era Pink Floyd and Young Narrator in the Breakers era Pavo Pavo — it’s anachronistic take on retro futurism, which seems to reveal the rot, anxiety, and unease just underneath,

The recently released video for “Phases of the Moon” is an eerie yet gorgeous fever dream inspired by modern life in quarantine doldrums: evil phantasms are everywhere, so the video’s protagonist is left at home trying to hold on to the old normal, and to entertain herself — but she eventually she goes mad.