Back in February, New Zealand’s own Lamp of the Universe released their first album in about three years, Existence of the Self. Going into my listening session, I was expecting a fusion of classical Indian music, sitar instrumentals, and elements of psychedelic rock. I’m not entirely certain I got that fusion on each song on this album. As described on Bandcamp, this album is touted as “transcendental, meditative, [and] tranced”. I was intrigued to see what this album had in store. The opening track and the second track, “Sceptre of Healing” and “Ship of Eternity”, respectively, felt extraordinarily like I didn’t quite get the mix or fusion I was hoping…
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Terrapin Gun: Transformation, Visions, Incarnations, Ascensions New Album Review
Dandelion deities ascend the orange sky. Electric apparitions jive to bloody fingered bongo jams. New wave papyrus flags ripple in the shockwaves. Lysergic postcards delivered from the underground. The lantern is now out of kerosene. Lights out motherfuckers. Unified illuminated projections light the way. The visions are real. The path is clear. The door is open. If you can't dig it, get yourself a shovel. Tighten your wig, turn on, and tune in. Get in or get lost. - The Terrapin Gun 2025
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Big Smile, Big Heartbreak: My Valentine’s love letter to a band who broke up and broke my heart.
It’s Valentine’s week, and in between eating an entire box of Little Debbie Valentines cakes and crafting cute things with toddlers, I’m grieving a band who gave me one perfect album and then promptly ghosted me. So here’s my love letter to Greer, Big Smile, and my pattern of loving powerpop one-album wonders. Greer released Big Smile last year and it is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the decade for me. But then, just as quickly as they came back into my life, they were gone. No messy sophomore slump. No gradual decline. Just one immaculate full-length and a breakup post on Instagram. Let’s rewind. It’s July 2020.…
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Newsletter #9
Seventeen new singles from the psychedelic-shoegaze-garage rock underground. Discover new music released with-in the last several months from around the globe!
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Death Dial: Endtimes at WCSB
On World College Radio Day, five decades of student-run airwaves were silenced. Friday, October 3, 2025: 89.3, WCSB broadcast its final breath. Now, this once underground stalwart is truly underground. On that October morning, Cleveland State University (CSU) trumpetted a unanimous approval of a new agreement with Ideastream Public Media. The new contract gave all programming authority to Ideastream. Despite their monopoly on classical music — they have two redundant stations, Ideastream wanted a broadcast home for their “smooth” JazzNEO format. Ideastream, the Northeastern Ohio platform for NPR and PBS, killed Cleveland State’s radio station. WCSB was dead. There was no warning. Still, some WCSB associate producers noticed a seeming tech…
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Psychedelicatessen Review #2
Psychic Ills – Hazed Dream (2011) Opening on a jaw harp solo, this album follows a downtempo trend, featuring a plethora of unexpected and interesting elements. Beyond the jaw harp, you can hear an organ, a cabasa or wooden sounder, something similar to an alarm tone, and a shruti box. These elements add interesting tonal variation to the songs off of this EP and create an interesting sonic contrast to the guitars and bass that form a large portion of the soundscape. Facebook, Bandcamp, and Apple Music pages of Psychic Ills The Out Key Hole – Dreams in a Waking State (2010) The debut record of The Out Key Hole…
