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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The Chemistry Set – Paint Me A Dream is a Psychedelic Rocket Ship
Get weird, get wildly psychedelic and get into The Chemistry Set, it's worth the investment!
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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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Kikagaku Moyo – Live At Levitation – Eastern Psych Folk Rock
Kikagaku Moyo Live At Levitation is an incredible live album showcasing the bands ground breaking performances in 2011 and 2019 at Levitation Music Festival. The album has fresh youthful energy, electric sitar, one-off improvisations, blazing fuzz guitars juxtaposed with hushed eastern acid folk. This is a must have for psychedelic rock heads world-wide.
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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…
