“Psychedelicatessen Review” marks a nostalgic and celebratory return to the foundational years of POW, reflecting on the era before the magazine established its dedicated website. The journey of POW originally began on Apr 15, 2011, sparked by our founder, Dennis Gonzales inaugural radio broadcast on KFJC 89.7 FM in Los Altos, California. This broadcast served as the initial platform for the magazine concept before it transitioned into a digital format. Between 2012 and 2016, our efforts were largely concentrated on building a presence through social media, where we focused on curating music videos, conducting in-depth interviews with emerging bands, and meticulously documenting their performances on video. Following 2016, we expanded…
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Fusing Psychedelia and Classical Indian Elements – Lamp of the Universe’s Existence of the Self
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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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…
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Neo-krautrock and Psychedelic – Vibravoid’s REMOVE THE TIES
Dusseldorf neo-krautrock and psychedelic outfit Vibravoid released their most recent album, REMOVE THE TIES, in late September. I was really looking forward to give this LP a listen. Dusseldorf has always been a big hub for artists and creatives in Germany, and is home to a number of well-known German acts, including electronic/krautrock giant Kraftwerk. I always prefer to talk about a select few of the tracks from each release; I feel this allows you, the reader, to be better acquainted with each one. The sonic journey we go on with this album is really interesting, and it’s definitely a journey you want to take. That said, let’s get into…
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Psychedelicatessen Review
Fungi Girls – Some Easy Magic (2011) This rock fusion LP boasts a spunky sound across this album. The instrumentals on this album, especially the guitars and the bass, are really fantastic. The surf rock influence is quite prevalent throughout the whole album, with certain licks and riffs feeling like they’re straight out of the 60s. The slacker rock influence is also felt throughout the album, with the fuzzed-out guitars taking center-stage on many of the tracks. Bandcamp, Blogspot, Facebook, and X pages of Fungi Girls Shapes Have Fangs – Dinner in the Dark (2012) This release from the Austin-based rock band, Shapes Have Fangs, is a great example of…
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The Love Dimension – Balance Album Review
San Francisco has long produced great psychedelic music, and The Love Dimension’s newest album – Balance – is no exception. A little blues-rocky, a bit surf-rocky, and a whole lot of psychedelic, Balance is a journey into the San Francisco soundscape of the 60s through a modern lens. The journey through Balance was really enjoyable – all of the tracks are fantastic in their own right. However, I feel it’s better to take time to go into depth on a few select highlights of the album rather than each song on the album. This album had really unexpected opening and closing tracks: Frogs of Meadow Creek and Frogs of Meadow…
