I attended Psyched! Fest 2023 show at the Knockout on October 27th, one of multiple shows sponsored by Psyched! Radio SF. This was the sixth show in their series of shows in San Francisco. This was the smallest of all the shows, showcasing bands in a smaller and more intimate venue, where they could interact with the crowd in all their Halloween costumes. There was a DJ set by 13 Angels, playing some good standards like The Smiths and others, to set the mood of the show in between sets, “spinning melodic enchantments that will transport you to otherworldly dimensions,” but it’s also hard to hear the DJ at the…
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They Blinded Me with Psych! The Chemistry Set’s “Pink Felt Trip”
As a mom of an 8 month old, most of the music I’m currently listening to is “Baby Shark” related. And while those “doo doo doo doo”s are admittedly pretty catchy, it’s incredibly refreshing for me to get to hear something complex, ephemeral, and COOL. Pink Felt Trip, the latest album from The Chemistry Set is all of those things and more. The Chemistry Set are no newcomers to the scene- this year marks their 35th anniversary making music. The cult London Psychedelic band The Chemistry Set have quite a history. Founded by Dave Mclean and Paul Lake in 1987, the band are veterans of the alternative Manchester label “Imaginary”…
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Lockdown Licks and Teenage Kicks with The Recalls’ “There Is No End”
Psychedelic music is having a moment… Or perhaps more appropriately, an eternal cosmic now. Whether it’s post-post-modernism’s accelerating stylistic-shuffle or part of some kind of Covid-culture’s self-isolated journey inwards to a post-human future; psyche, garage, punk or whatever ultimately futile bid to categorise its puissant energy you care to use, the form seems an ironically sober response to modern times. As it was in the Year of Our Prophet, Lord Lenny of Kaye back in ’72 when the Village Voice music critic and future Patti Smith Band guitarist laid Nuggets on a nascent Punk scene and blew everybody’s, technically already, blown minds. Kaye’s hoard of rough cut yet majestic sonic…
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Dusty Trails and Tall Tales with Tele Novella’s “Merlynn Belle”
Hold onto your cowboy hats, paper crowns and powdered wigs! Small-town Texan charmers Tele Novella are riding back into town with Merlynn Belle, another technicolor time-traveling record packed with all the quirky characters and dramatic scenery your quarantine dreams can hold. It’s been four years since last we heard a note from Natalie Ribbons and partner Jason Chronis, who made names for themselves in the bands Agent Ribbons and Voxtrot respectively, and their long awaited second full length album opens with a question that many fans may have been asking themselves: “Where did you go?” Judging from this new collection of mournful odes to witches, shrines and pearls, it sounds…
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New Week, New (Old?) Release: Junk Ranchers’ “86” is 35 years late, and right on time
In today’s world of affordable home recording equipment and easy access to worldwide distribution, it’s easy to forget that music was once extremely difficult to release. Recording in a top-notch, professional studio was cost-prohibitive to many, and before the digital revolution many projects simply did not see the light of day for a variety of reasons. By the 1980’s, things were beginning to change, and indie music was gaining momentum towards its eventual mainstream acceptance. Many “unsigned” bands were beginning to record self-released albums, EPs and singles that rivaled their major label counterparts in quality, even as they labored in obscurity and worked with severely limited budgets. Junk Ranchers were…
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New Year, New Writers, New Reviews: Donna Kern reviews Gyasi’s “Walk On”
When original power groupie Bebe Buell sets her doe-eyed sights on a new artist, you’d better listen up. Her impressive lineup of exes includes Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Todd Rundgren and Iggy Pop, after all, but back in February, Bebe wrote on Instagram, “This is @gyasitheband … it’s safe to say that there’s no one like him in Nashville. Our very own rock God!” That’s some high praise from the high priestess of rock star muses. Bebe and Gyasi live in Nashville now and so, it increasingly seems, does rock ‘n’ roll. From the moment you land at the Nashville airport, spinning guitar displays, live music stages, and an entire…
