Psychedelicatessen Review #4

Midday Veil | Subterranean Ritual II [2011]

A psychedelic meditation awaits you in this EP. Midday Veil creates a psychedelic, drone, trance-like feel with their mix of guitars, synths, drums, and vocalizations on this two-track release. Spacey, haunting, ethereal, hypnotic, and futuristic are all words I’d use to describe this release. “Moon Temple” begins to draw you in with spacey, trancelike vocals and psychedelic instrumentation, and suddenly that all melts away to reveal this heavy, sci-fi-esque beams of sound that cut across the song, all before the second half of the EP, “Naxos” begins, taking you further into the trance-state.

You can find Midday Veil on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp.

The Myrrors | Burning Circles In The Sky EP [2008]

If you were looking for something desert-y and psychedelic, you wouldn’t have to look much further than this EP by The Myrrors. Arid and groovy, this album uses a variety of instruments, like a sitar and a digeridoo(?), that you wouldn’t expect to make a sort of trance-y drone layer on songs like “Mind’s Eye” and “Plateau Skull”. Self-described as “Sonoran trance music”, this EP is great for a chill, contemplative listen or an elevated exploration of the self. The song “Warpainting” stands out the most to me: gritty guitar “wah-wahs” float over reverbed vocals and tinny synths, crafting an interesting blend of something old and something a bit futuristic.

You can find The Myrrors on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp.

Melody Syndrome | New Life Without You [2009]

This single by Melody Syndrome feels like acoustic Psych mixed with the gentle, melodic sensibilities of 2010s Jangle/Twee Pop. It doesn’t try and reinvent the wheel, but is instead has a consistent, Jangley melody underlaid by a groovy bass and a jingly tambourine. Soft and dulcet, “New Life Without You” is perfect addition to your library if you favor late-60s psychedelia.

You can find Melody Syndrome on Facebook and Bandcamp.

The Confederate Dead | It Was Meant To Happen [2012]

Not uncommon for the era, The Confederate Dead are another example of utilizing elements of Jangle Pop and Twee Pop in conjunction with sounds reminiscent of late-60s and early-to-mid-70s Psych. “The Girl I Never Knew” is the closer of the album, and it resolves the heavier, punchier grooves from the back half of the album with the dulcet melodies of the front half by thrusting the sounds of the back half through the melodic structure of the first half.

You can find The Confederate Dead on Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, YouTube, and their website and Linktree.

Velvet Morning | Green Whale [2014]

Opening with moody guitars and fuzzed-out vocals, Velvet Morning delivers a distinct, familiar flavor of psychedelia we all know and love: trippy and surreal with layered melodies and a grounded bass line. “Green Whale” was instantly added to my ever-growing playlist of Psych tracks. I really love the opening guitar melody – it creates a retro-feel in this contemporary track.

You can find Velvet Morning on Facebook and Bandcamp.

The Spyrals | OUT OF SIGHT [2013]

Starting out pretty heavy and gritty, “OUT OF SIGHT” sits at an intersection where Blues, Garage, and Psych Rock all meet. A bluesy harmonica interlude, rock-y guitar riffs, and a very garage-y vocalist come together and create a fantastic song. Is it something I’d expect to hear from a late-00s-early-10s garage band? Absolutely. Did I enjoy every minute of it? Most definitely.

You can find The Spyrals on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Bandcamp, and their Linktree.

The Sufis | Sri Sai Flora [2012]

If you take just a quick look the comments section on the YouTube video for “Sri Sai Flora”, you’ll find many comparisons to Revolver-era Beatles. I can both understand and agree with the comparisons, especially to songs like “I Want To Tell You” and “And Your Bird Can Sing“. Layers of guitars, tambourine, organ, and breathy vocals create a late-60s Psych feel.

You can find The Sufis on Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, and YouTube.

Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor | Spectra Spirit [2011]

Much darker toned than many of the other releases on this edition of the Psychedelicatessen Review, Spectra Spirit evokes something much heavier and intense. Some tracks, like “Black Mind” and “Untitled”, take a Heavy-Psych approach, whereas tracks like “Howlers on the Roam” and “Hole in Your Brain” feel a bit more like Blues Rock and Garage-Psych. Tonally, the album does read a bit like a dark Garage-Psych album that can, at times, read a bit like Swamp Rock – almost like a psychedelic Creedance Clearwater Revival.

You can find Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Bandcamp, their website, and Linktree.

DEAD SKELETONS | Dead Magick [2011]

One place you don’t normally expect to find psychedelic music is Iceland, though there is no denying how cool this Icelandic outfit’s album sounds. The album leans into some experimental elements and shoegaze, especially on tracks like “LJÓSBERINN” and “Kingdom of God”. Dead Magick is a really interesting album for a few reasons – to start, you do hear Icelandic language songs. That isn’t something we’re used to from even the most well-known Icelandic acts, like Bjork or Laufey. Decidedly dischordant, clashy, gritty, yet punchy and cathartic, this album is a harmonic convergence of trippy psych and experimental rock.

You can find DEAD SKELETONS on Facebook, Instagram, the site formerly known as Twitter, Bandcamp, either of their two YouTube channels, or either of their two websites.

Far-Out Fangtooth | The Thorns’ EP [2013]

A bit more on the hazy and shoegaze side of the spectrum, The Thorns’ EP is drenched in the reverb, fuzz, and haze of shoegaze, yet is saturated in the essential clear-cut riffs, trippiness, and sense of introspection of psychedelia. The intensity of “Occasion of Sin” is paired with the dark-toned goth-gaze of “Patience” and the haunting and gripping “The Thorns”, which is the standout track from the EP. The YouTube audio doesn’t do it justice, so I recommend listening to the ~15 EP on Bandcamp.

You can find Far-Out Fangtooth on Instagram, Facebook, Bandcamp, YouTube, and their website (hint: scroll to the bottom of their homepage and see some featured Pow Magazine videos!)

The Strange Flowers | Vagina Mother [2011]

This Garage-Psych album plays with tension really well. Building and releasing it through each song, playing with different sonic textures and motifs, Vagina Mother is a great time capsule of the 2010s Indie and Psych movements. Songs like “Underneath Electric Wires” and “Blue Mothers” are great examples of this, each track playing with different textures on the lead and rhythm guitars while balancing melody on top.

You can listen to the album here. You can also find The Strange Flowers on YouTube.

Black Market Karma | Upside Out Inside Down [2014]

This album is a fuses of something I really didn’t expect to see paired with Psych sounds: electronica. The best example of this successful fusion is “Omnipersist”, where the pairing is introduced nearly immediately. Though it’s very unexpected and takes a second to meld in your mind, everything about it that shouldn’t work does. “Omnipersist” is not the best track, however. That honor falls to “Heady Ideas”, which is one of the most solid Neo-Psych tracks I’ve heard in a while. The melody is both sweet and gritty, with introspective lyrics and vocals floating over a guitar drone and fuzzy percussion.

You can listen to the album on Bandcamp, and you can find the band on Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, the platform formerly known as Twitter, YouTube, and their Linktree.

Paul Messis | The Problem With Me [2011]

Self-described as a “[well-established] underground musician who writes 60s garage, folk-rock, psychedelia and 60s punk sounds”, Paul Messis certainly delivers on that in The Problem With Me. Some songs, like the title track, “The Problem With Me”, and “Live and Die”, sound very much like the Beatles in the early days, whereas others sound like surf rock and folk rock. Messis’ work emulates the source of his sound very well, so much to the point that you could mistake it for a release from the 60s.

You can find Paul Messis on YouTube and Bandcamp.

Jacco Gardner | The End of August [2013]

Multi-instrumentalist Jacco Gardner crafted a soft, wistful composition with “The End of August”. Combining gentle, acoustic guitar, cool-toned synths, and Gardner’s dulcet vocals, this single about the summer coming to an end. I really love the instrumental composition – there’s a sense of sadness underneath the finger-picked chords on the guitar, accentuated by the synth melodies that float across the track.

You can find the artist on Facebook, the platform formerly called Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp.

The Grease Arrestor | VOLUME TWO [2015]

Rooted in Jangle Pop, 60s Psychedelia, and 90s Garage, The Grease Arrestor come in swinging on their sophomore release. Tracks like “That’s What’s Happening, Baby” and “Come Together” borrow more heavily from the 60s Psych traditions, such as the usage of organs and pace of the track, whereas songs like “Let It Go” and “Are You In?” feel much more like a blend of the influences of the group. I really enjoyed “Come Together” – the organ was a really nice addition to the track, and I really liked the guitar riff that is played during the breakdown in the last third of the track.