New Release Radar: Psych Eval
Get psyched for an aural journey through some of the best new releases so far this year
Mr. Bison – Echoes From the Universe
Tuscan rockers, Mr. Bison, offer up an intriguing combination of heavy psych, krautrock, prog rock, blues rock, and stoner rock that scratches all those itches and more. On a personal note, the album enhanced my mood during a really rough patch and was on repeat for a while, helping to take me to another place mentally just when I needed it. That connection wasn’t necessarily lyrical, but musical. The soundscapes leave the listener at the helm to drive the psychonautical vessel at will. The brain’s synapses may be a launching point, but the journey presents an angel’s eye view of the expanse of the interconnected mind. I say all this as someone who’s never experienced the effects of hallucinogenic drugs. I don’t expect anyone else on the planet to have the same takeaway from this album as I did. But it speaks to the power of this music as a catalyst for escapism.
Mountain Caller – Chronicle II: Hypergenesis
Providentially, I found myself switching vessels from Mr. Bison to Mountain Caller rather seamlessly. It’s a similar trip, but this time without worrying with a lot of vocals. This leg of the voyage starts in London with a mostly instrumental trio providing the propulsion. The view on this pilgrimage alternates between light and dark, imposing an almost strobe effect of sound. But it’s not just noise; it’s a carefully guided tour that ascends to melodic heights and descends into doom-laden chasms. It slows the pace at opportune times to allow for sighs of reflection, then frenetically hurries the experience as though simulating a high-speed chase through hyperspace. This trek may be a bit more anxiety inducing than the previous one as it mimics the satisfying, death-defying thrill of a good rollercoaster.
Nake – Nake
By now you may be all tuckered out and just want a rest from joining me in all this interplanar travel. I do not, however, regret to inform you that we’re in for another epic jaunt. This time we start in Copenhagen, where instrumental heavy post-rockers, Nake, will tractor beam our tired, nearly-lifeless consciousnesses into the nether regions of the psyche. This time there’s no illusion of control. This quartet leads the way with copious analog synths, cinematic strings, and galloping percussion. As we find ourselves at this point in a catatonic state, the album could easily induce a fever dream involving tumbleweed, horses, a spittoon, and a duel outside a rundown saloon. But there’s no player piano. Instead there’s a hovering platform outside manned by a rugged Dane playing his Moog through a thousand floating speakers spinning about above the heads of the bewildered townsfolk below. I don’t know if we’ll wake up from this one.
Hunden – A Calming Press
Sometimes the best remedy for the daze and dysphoria of a spinning head is riffs. We need big rock riffs. Torche-like riffs. Cleveland rocks, or so I’ve heard, so let’s go there. That’s where we will find Hunden, a three-piece stoner band that seems to have perfected the compelling art of the riff-powered heaviness. The sway of those catchy riffs alone will settle us into the right headspace for the anti-psychedelic purgation we seem to need at this point. This is an absolute jewel of an album that reminds me much of one of my favorite albums of 2022, Vultoro’s A Violent Daydream. So I expect that I’ll be revisiting it often as the year drags along. If you dig Steve Brooks’ Meanderthal -era guitar tones, you’ll love this album; and although it includes a track entitled “Healer,” it is not a cover of the Torche song of the same name.
Sundrifter – An Earlier Time
I’m not used to hearing vocals in operatic vocal stylings (à la Matt Bellamy of Muse) over desert rock riffs, but Sundrifter’s talented Craig Peura brings both to bear in a tasteful way. The guitar tones often bring Steve Brooks to mind, but here I pick up more comparisons to his work with Floor. The riffs are often frenzied, at times unsettlingly giving the perception of being out of step with the rest of the music, but never going to the point of seeming completely out of place. A meticulous use of effects lends to space rock and heavy psych aesthetics. The rhythm section keeps things grounded, providing a sturdy backbone for the many layers of sound that the front man adroitly creates on every track.
Big Scenic Nowhere – The Waydown
I hope you’re rested and now ready for some California-based interplanar exploration, because Bob Balch and crew are back with one of the most riffalicious, smoke-tacular albums you’ll hear this year. As captivating as the music is on its own, knowing some of the juicy tidbits of information behind the music makes it all the more special. Read this description from the Heavy Psych Sounds shop to get the details. If your musical tastes, like mine, have Venn-diagram crossover from Hall & Oates to stoner rock, you are in for a real treat. The vibes, man; the vibes on this one are legit.
Deadyellow – What Was Left of Them
…and now for something completely different. Philadelphia’s Deadyellow is a post-black metal band that is as menacing, cacophonous, and raw as it is beguiling, rich, and graceful. Artistic ambience offsets the moments of measured convulsion. The album is rife with dissonance, yet never ceases to be melodic and pretty. It’s equal parts post-metal, shoegaze, atmospheric, and terrifying black metal, making it one of the most enthralling albums of its class at this point in the year.
Guiltless – Thorns
As a final palette cleanser for today’s post, I think this Guiltless EP is an appropriate selection. These four tracks are deep, heavy, and executed with great precision. Catharsis is what we need and Thorns delivers in post-hardcore fashion. It’s predominantly sludgy and a bit doomy, low and slow, but ambling along at a meaningful pace. The production value is top notch, as crisp as an award-winning lager, making it obvious that this project is made up of a bunch of veterans of the trade. Perhaps most notable to my eyes and ears is bassist Sacha Dunable (Intronaut), whose tone is impeccable and whose contribution to this album vaults it into the early running for EP of the year.