Aalto- Ikaro (Uulu Records UULO009)

Aaolto is a new 6 piece Finnish psychedelic folk rock band. All the info in the digipack CD is in Finnish but the band plays a lot of diverse and interesting musical instruments from all around the world and sings in Finnish. Uulu Records is a cultural collective that is involved in a lot of really cool and different artistic things, including releasing music. The CD features 8 songs in 50 mins. Ikaro starts things off with a repetitive line played on a string instrument and a drone slowly creeps in as the tension slowly builds up. The voice begins to creep in and then the drums and other instruments as sort of American Indian like tribal feeling takes hold. What a super cool track and it fades out the way it faded in. Vapahtaja is next and has a clarinet that takes the lead to start this trip to Morocco or a similar place. The female vocalist sings the lead on this track in another magical trip, which has a really cool middle section with harp and other cool instruments. Now it is time for Heijastumia and to go a bit further east with a bit of sitar and some sort of other string instrument leading the way to start before the male Finnish vocals come in and is traded with the female voice. Wonderful psychedelic music. Kastepisaroita I and II are next and it starts pretty mellow with just hand drums, clarinet and female vocal. The 2^nd part has a sort of funk riff played on a string instrument and then the sitar comes in.Antero, who plays sitar, tambura and other instruments actually writes nearly all the songs. He had gathered together a great group of people to execute his vision. Sateentuoksuisia Unia features acoustic and pedal steel (or slide guitar), digeridoo and floating vocals. I really like the guitars and folk music vibe on this one. Metsätaloushöömei features some throat singing and an uptempo rhythm and also features banjo! Kuum Tytär ends the album. It starts very slowly with bits of almost all the instruments you have heard on the record at times mixed into a very melting, floating, breathing psychedelic flow. I was just melted away completely while listening to this… This is for sure one of favourite record I have heard so far in 2014…

http://uulu.fi/en  http://etnoaalto.blogspot.fi/

The Tower- Hie Abundant Leones (Bad Omen Records OMEN004)

The Tower is a new Swedish four piece playing slow, dark melodic 70s rock. Side A has 6 short songs and starts off with short instrumental track Non Omnis Moriar. Adrenalawine has a very catchy groove and gets things started in a great way. I was hooked right a way with the cool guitar riff. Exile is catchy track and could be the single if there was going to be some radio play from this record. Lucy is a slower bluesy track with a nice wah guitar solo and really builds up at the end to a massive freakout with Tommie really pounding the drums. Lions at the Gate is another really melodic track with some great bass playing by Viktor a nice guitar solo, again, heavy on the wah! Pinetree Mary starts slowly but then really picks up again driven by Viktor’s bass lines. Side B starts with the long track, Moonstoned, which has a very tasteful guitar solo and in general I really like the guitar playing of August. Wounds starts off in a quite psychedelic way before the sound changes and the track develops. The guitar and bass section is really cool on this track with a far out effect on the guitar. The Tower ends this album with again a bit longer track and this is slow and a bit spacey and then really speeds up and then comes back down. There is not much of a solo but what great dynamics and vibe and cool lyrics. How to describe them? Let’s just say they have listened to a lot of 70s record records like Black Widow, November, and probably their country mates in Sweden, Graveyard, Witchcraft, etc...  They have their own vibe though. Eric has a special voice, a bit like Jon Oliva from Savatage at times without the screams, but it fits well with the vibe of the music and the whole band really sound great. Some compared them to the Doors but I don’t hear it, check them out for sure. Great record.

http://www.bad-omen-records.com/ https://www.facebook.com/thetowercult

Second Grave- Antithesis (Pariah Child MLP006)

Second Grave are a four piece US band and this is released on the cool Northern Ireland label, Pariah Child. It is a limited edition 2 song 10”. Each track is a long and goes through many different movements and moods. Mourning Light is an uptempo and melodic NWOBHM style rocker. Krista, the female vocalist has a fantastic voice. The highlight of this track though is the beautiful and long melodic guitar solo section. Flip the record over and the slow building track, Drink the Water is next. IT starts off slow and doomy but slowly builds up and there is a lot of singing of the lyrics 2x and then a Candlemass like section that builds up the fast guitar solo section. The ending is really a big shift as it gets really heavy and doomy with this intense female growling. I really like the intense drumming on this track. A very cool EP if you like female fronted heavy rock bands you should for sure check this one out. They have a bandcamp site as well.

http://www.secondgrave.com http://www.pariahchild.co.uk http://secondgrave.bandcamp.com

Spiralmaze- Back to the Center (Spiralmaze 2014)

Spiralmaze are back with their 2^nd release of mostly instrumental Ozric tentacles inspired music. This is a private release by the band on CD. It features 7 tracks in 40mins (so maybe it comes out on vinyl??). The CD starts off with the excellent Multiuniverse starts things off with a trance techno like synth line and a very fast drum rhythm and a guitar solo right out of the Ed Wynne handbook. Hwang Ho has a really nice bass line by Aris mixed up front and driving the this track. It also features more guitar solos than the previous track and a guest one by Stel Andre.  Remipede has a riff that is very close to an Ozric song but which one (Vita Voom). There is a vocal sample on this track that sounds like a Middle Eastern singer. The synths are very nice on this track as it floats and spaces for a while and then the guitar riff changes and slowly morphs into the solo section as the track builds up, which features a very melodic solo. Myraid Small Creatures has a sort of reggae skank guitar riff to start things off and lots of nice synth layers. This track featues some additional percussion by Vangelis Kalatzis and another vocal sample. This is a lovely track. The Longest Day is next and split into Part 1 and Part 2. It starts very spacey with lots of floating synths and a bit dreamy. They might even have a Novation supernova like Ed as the synth sounds are quite similar. Part 2 picks up the pace and it takes a while before the guitars kick in and the groove is very tight and funky. The delay guitar is really cool that goes along with this track. It really speeds up at the end and Ed Wynne like guitar returns with a really cool wah guitar solo. The title track, Back to the Center ends this cool record. It starts off with some drums with some effects on them, some vocal samples and a tribal like rhythm before the dreamy synths and bass line roll in. It gets quite heavy at the end. While the band is very Ozrics inspired they use some more heavy metal style riffs on some of the songs like Remipede, which is very heavy at the end. Fans of the Ozrics, Quantum Fantay, and Mantric Muse, will probably really dig this album. I think it is better both sound wise and playing that the band’s first record.

http://facebook.com/spiralmazemusic http://www.soundcloud.com/spiralmazemusic

Jakob Skøtt- Amor Fati (El Paraiso Records EPR016LP)

Jakob is best known as the drummer in the instrumental Danish band, Causa Sui. He has also been involved other electronic music projects like September. This is his 2^nd solo record and this one is really totally different from the first one. The opening track Mantis in Lace is driven by a quite garagy drum session over which many layers of synths are layered for quite a psychedelic effect. Synthemesc is much more synthetic with the percussion rhythm being driven by a very special percussive sound (quite cool, actually) but with the bass synth taking the real lead that you follow as another synth layer brings the melody. Like the first track, it has a quite spacey ending. Araucaria Fire ends side A and is the longest track at 8½ mins. This track again starts with Jakob playing some intense drums and then synths gradually become your main focus of attention. This track is really quite trippy as more and more stuff and different kinds of synths get layered in. Wow.. Side 2 features 4 tracks and this first starts off quite a bit like the first track with some great drumming but not as low fi a sound and then Jakob experiments with different layers but lets the bass synth often take the lead. Omega Oscillator starts with a few synths sounds with some long delays before the main synth groove begins. A totally different vibe to the previous track. The melodic line jumps in and out at regular intervals to make your brain neurons react in just the programmed way. The title track, Amor Fati, brings back the more raw drum sound as the first track and a quite driving rhythm with a very psychedelic synth line driving the freaky part while many might hook their ears into the bass synth line. This track gets quite funky at the end like he was having a really fun jam with himself! Earth of No Horizon ends this record with one last 7 min space out. It starts very slow and droning and then the repeated bass synth starts to oscillate. Fans of early German electronica will dig this stuff. Very relaxing in one sense yet challenging in another.. You decide..

http://www.elparaisorecords.com

Fribyttedrømme- Drone, København March 20th, 2014

It had been half a year since I saw this young new Danish band play. I was really surprised that the place was totally packed with people and a lot of women. The shows are free here and the place is a sort of dump. The cheapest beers are 25kr but mostly people come because you can just smoke freely downstairs. It is horrible place to see a show due to this but I suffered through it. The band played a lot of the same stuff as when I saw them open for Carlton Melton but they debuted a new song and announced they would have their first single out soon on the local psych label, Levitation Records (Kasper from the label was there). Check out the video below.

The band has three guitarists (two who do all the lead work and one rhythm guitar player, who on this night seemed a bit out of it and was doing strange stuff), keyboards (he mostly plays the organ sounds), bass, drums and a short bald guy who sings back up vocals and tambourine. I think he took the lead in a few short sections. They have a very retro sound, and started with two uptempo tracks that had the kids in our area dancing. Bits of it sound like the Doors meets Alrune Rød.  Frybyttedrømmen, is a long 15min track that sounds a lot like classic Pink Floyd. Great stuff. The last track of the concert was a sort of long freak out but sadly the main lead guitarist was turned down on the prior and this last number so you could not hardly hear the psychedelic stuff he was doing (We were right in front of him, Tom and I.). They played one hour and that was it.. This is a very promising new band and probably my favourite of the current batch of young Danish bands playing psychedelic rock. Oh yeah.. they sing all in Danish like Elevatorfører and Spids Nøgenhat.

The Temperance Movement and Graveltones- BETA, Copenhagen March 15th, 2014

I was not at all sure I would know anyone at this show tonight but I wanted to go and check out the Temperance Movement. I had read a lot about them in Classic Rock Magazine and bought the double vinyl record. My friend Anders is working at the club so he was there and later Freddy (Fuzz Manta) and Morgan (Shiva’s Nat) showed up but other than them I knew few people. It was nearly sold out this show so a lot of people (120 or so).

          At 22 the Graveltones hit the stage. They are a duo of drums and guitar and from the UK. I think they played 35mins or so and just now have their debut album out. The singer/guitar player has a cool guitar tone and he had a lot of pedals but stuck with this gritty sound and an octave sound he used in like three songs. I really liked the lyrics to his songs and he was really passionate. The drummer was a heavy set guy and really pounded his kit and had great dynamics. They were tight even though I wanted them to be more loose and jamming. I enjoyed the set but still don’t understand and never will why these bands choose not to have a bass player. It can only be better, not worse if they choose the right person and it opens up your options of what you can do so much more. I heard others say they reminded them of the Black Keys (I never heard them) and White Stripes.

Set List: Bang Band, Off Shelf, St. Lucia, Money, CMOTF, No Good, Newby, I want your Love, Boom Boom

All the gear was setup for the Temperance Movement (no moving of amps or changing the drum kit) and the band did not come out for over 30mins. The crowd was more than ready for their 2^nd show here in Copenhagen. They played KB18 last year, apparently. 23:05 they hit the stage. They opened up with Pride and it seemed a bit extended with a longer guitar solo from the short haired guy on the left. Singer has a great voice a bit like Chris Robinson meets Joe Cocker or something. He was a bit hoarse or sick tonight and you could see he struggled a bit. The band has some great bluesy grooves and you can really get pulled in at times but they also use all the predictable sing alongs (“hey, hey.. oh..oh.. etc..) and stick very close to their record. I had read in Classic Rock they like to mix things up and jam but it was not really apparent to me at this show, where if the singer is not doing well, what better chance to give him a break and do some longer jamming and play less songs. They did two songs in the middle of the set where the singer played acoustic guitar. One, the guitar player on the right, he did a really nice longer solo. The singer, he really seem to get into the last couple of songs but otherwise he was pretty boring as a frontman but he sang his heart out. Anyway, it was a fun show but not sure I would go see them again unless I check out some shows on line and find out they are jamming more but I guess they will go in a more not less mainstream sound after this. Let’s hope not..

Set List: Pride, Ain’t no Telling, Midnight Black, Fight with a Smile, Know for Sure, Smoldering, Lovers and Fighters, Chinese Lanterns, Only Friend, Take it Back, Serenity (Battle Lines was on the set list but the singer said he needed to rest his voice so they did not play it). 

The Movements- Like Elephants 2 (Crusher Records CRCd014)

 About 6 months ago, this psychedelic rock group from Göteborg released the first part of this two part series. This CD is only 37mins long and although they could have combined it into one, they split it into two records. This one has 11 tracks and starts off with Six Feet Under, which is really spacey to start and then it floats into the beautiful track with wonderful vocals, acoustic guitars and nice synthesizer complementation.  Stolen Love reminds me of a track from Baby Woodrose and includes a short psychedelic guitar solo. Ice Cold is a short ballad with acoustic guitar and piano (at the start). Give it to Me reminds me of the US artist Phideux, except the drum sound is more raw. Everybody needs Something is a more uptempo and dynamic psych track. I just love this guys singing. Man, he is so expressive and cool. Again, it reminds me abit of Phideux, the way he sings sometimes. Redemption is an mellow track with some pedal steel now and then that gives it this slight country flavour. Yesterday, Now and Forever picks things up and this track features some brief slide guitar parts to compliment the sound before the farfisa solo takes the lead. Like Elephants 2 is a bit droney and has this feeling for winter and one you could play at Christmas!  Winter’s Calling has a very cool bass groove as the band jams it out a bit. I hope they play this one live. What would happen if I Tried ends the CD with a relaxed track with organ, shaker, acoustic guitars and a nice build into a psychedelic ending..   Another cool record..

http://www.crusherrecords.com

Electric Moon- Mind Explosion (Sulatron Records st1402-2)

This is a new live release recorded at the cool club, Graf Hugo in Feldkirch, Austria last September. It features 4 intense jams over 70mins and is released on CD (500 copies) and a double vinyl in 1000 copies. The recording is very raw and in your face but great. The opening track starts mellow with some keyboards but then it just builds into a screaming psychedelic guitar freakout like you have never heard by EM.. This is going more into the direction of the Heads, Acid Mothers temple direction. Dave eventually departs from freakout mood and plays some more melodic parts. Very intense drumming and repetitive bass lines help to create the intensity of the track. The keyboards return at the end. Kaleidoscopeephole starts slowly with some delay guitars as the 22min trip begins. The mid-section the band are trying to find a new path but eventually head back to the tried and true very heavy riffing space guitars with lots of effects before the track reaches its end with a nice come down. The Picture continues with more heavy, repeated and stoned riffing as Dave experiments with what other effect combinations he can come up with to blow your mind… The last track Mind Explosion starts with some keyboards, layers of effects from Lulu and Dave before it attempts to turn it all up a bit higher with the intensity and the band burning up and collapsing on the stage… Maybe….

http://www.sulatron.com

BONG vs the Bots (Fuckin’ Amateurs 83)

This is a new cassette release from BONG and the Bots. IT was made in an edition of just 30 copies (I have #17). The BONG side is recorded in Newcastle in Oct 2013 and is one long jam, with not the best sound quality. There are much better quality ones out there but the vibe is heavy and stoned as ever and this is supposed to be the debut of the new record (Stoner Doom?). At the end of the track, there is an interview of BONG by one of the guys from the Bots. A very intense sound on this recording and some crazy guitar. I like this new direction of BONG.. Yes......

http://www.ritutalproductions.net

Schnauser- As long as he stays perfectly Still 7" /Schnauser- As Long as he stays perfectly Still 7" (Fruits de Mer Records)

 Schizo Fun Addict- theme from Suspiria 7” (Fruits de Mer CRUSTACEAN48)

                This is a new band for me but they were the labels first band back in 2008. The 72 contains two tracks for a total of under 8mins and starting with the Theme from Suspiria ( I love Argento and the Goblin soundtracks for his movies).  The special Susperia organ sound that you will recognize right away is kept but then layers of wild and crazy stuff are happening in the background to make is pretty psychedelic but sadly it ends at 4mins, just as I was totally into it. The B-side features In the long Run (from a Russ Meyer’s movie, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls). The vibe is totally different now with this strange psychedelic funky soul track. I liked both tracks and they would fit into these movies for sure..

http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com

Schnauser- As long as he stays perfectly Still 7” (Crustacean 46)

This is a very cool and interesting 7” with a Soft Machine cover (from Vol 2) and Yes (from Time and a Word). By the Bristol based band Schnauser. Astra Traveller starts things off and it is a pretty cool rendition and it is different enough to be interesting. Covering YES is no easy feat. The band says this is a fun one to play live. Next up  is the title track, an old Soft Machine track from their 2^nd record. This one is a bit more psychedelic and has a nice guitar solo section.

http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com

Mindwarp- Mindwarp EP (Acid Cosmonaut Records ACD-004)

There was not a lot of information about this band in the promo sheet except they were formed in 2012 and are from Brindisi, Italy and play instrumental heavy psych. Ok, so I just cranked the 4 track EP to see what it revealed.. Haarko-Haari starts things off and the band really seem to be in search of a direction on this track with it all finally coming together towards the end. Check out this video: 

 Adrenochrome is pretty simple stoned riffing and like the first track without any real solos by the guitar, just switching riffs and in search of a groove, which they occasionally hook but again not that interesting of a track until the wah guitar at the end but this section was far too short. Excuse Me, I have to go to Space Now is by far the coolest track on the EP with some really beautiful music leading up to the heavy rocking section. Iramocram ends this 20min EP. It has the heaviest groove of any of the tracks but not much that really grabs you. I guess this band is pretty new and clearly still searching for where to go with their melodic stoner rock. I would say this is not psychedelic at all and not very heavy either. Check them out and make your own decision…

http://www.acidcosmonautrecords.blogspot.com

Crystal Jacqeline and The Honey Pot double 7” (Crustacean 47)

There are 7 tracks, 6 of which are covers from very famous bands. Some of the cover versions are credited to Crystal Jacqueline and other The Honey Pot. Things get started with Pink Floyd’s Remember a Day. Jacqueline has this airy dreamy voice which suits this song well and this is a very cool version with lots of unique elements tossed in. Wow… It’s Raining (Icarus Peel) is an uptempo and happy track and features Crystal (the man of the group!) on lead vocals and features a really psychedelic section of music before returning to beauty. White Rabbit (guess who?) is served up in a quite extended version of nearly 5mins and this is really fantastic as well with an almost like Spanish music vibe where they repeat the lyrical section again. Tick Tock (The Fleur de Lys) has a very funky vibe and somehow sounds familiar. Egyptian Tomb (Mighty Baby) also has a quite dreaming feeling to it but also is a very happy and uplifting track. Puppets (Curved Air) is another beautiful track. The double 7” ends with I had too much to Dream Tonight. I highly recommend this record. Every track is totally skilfully performed and delivered in this group’s own unique but also accurate renditions.

http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com

Planes of Satori 7” (Who can you Trust)

Not sure where this band is from but I guess the San Francisco bay area since it contains members of Golden Void, Parchman Farm, Voices and Cousins The 7” starts off with Son of A Gun, which has a guitar line that steals a bit from the Flower Travellin’ Band and reminds a bit of Satori (just a little). The sound production is quite strange with the drum toms mixed quite high. Cool song. Dichotomies changes the vibe totally and is more laid back and wandering, in a way but still pretty spacey. This band is one that needs longer times than this 7” gives them in order really create a good trip for you. It simply just ends too quickly! Enjoy..

http://whocanyoutrustrec.bandcamp.com http://whocanyoutrustrec.wordpress.com/   

Bronco Bullfrog- Time Waits for Norman (Regal Crabomophone 15)

 Another totally new band for me and one that the label says is channeling the vibe of England circa 1966/68, which sounds like a cool thing to me. The 7” contains two original tracks and one 60’s cover of a band called Sands. It starts off with Time waits for Norman and it retains the vibe of the Beatles meets the Kinks but with a more modern sound production. It fades out when it sounds like the band is going into a more improvised jam or something.. I wonder if we ever hear the full version? Rocking Horse Mender (inspired by Kaleidoscope) is only 2½ minutes of 60’s music but without the psychedelic edge. Listen to the Sky (Sands) is a catchy track about listening to the Sky…  Enjoy..

http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com