Straight
outta Cambridge! An album to blur the lines between space-rock,
shoegaze, trance and indie.
One album that's had
repeated listens round our house over the Yuletide period has been
the second long-player from Cambridge based trio Psychic Lemon. They
may have formed a stone's throw from Syd Barrett's home but their
music is not so much The Madcaps whimsy
and a trip through Carroll's Looking Glass,
as it is a foray into how far a four-piece band can push into
uncharted sonics. More outward looking expansion than an examination
of the inner-self.
This is apparent from
the album's opening track 'Exit To Death Lane', a driving mix of
spaced-out indie rock with low-in-the -mix vocals, a baggy-era
drumbeat, pulsing bass, and guitar lines that are not afraid to
experiment with whatever effects are at hand and can be turned up to
eleven. This commitment so sonic adventure is a thread which
permeates throughout the rest of the album.
Each listen seems to
throw up something new, a fill I'd not noticed here, subtle use of
effects there, the way the bassline pushes and pulls into new
sections and possibilities. There's plenty of drone and soundscaping
going on but always with a pulse, a drive and a direction. And always
a promise that as a listener you're going to be taken somewhere. If
pushed to guess influences I'd say My Bloody Valentine's Glider
EP, Hawkwind, Goat, a healthy dose of Kosmische Musik, and some
dancefloor vibes – the repetition and altered states aimed for in
trance and rave music.
This is not about
genres or influences though, it's music that has the power to
transport, music that is both big on energy and ideas. It's
meditative and expansive, yet also has the power to move your feet.
Also worth checking out is the saxophone on 'Satori Disko' courtesy
of guest musician Iain Roddick, which adds a new and unexpected
dimension to their palette. Do please have a listen.
Click here for more on
Psychic Lemon.
Click here for Tonzonen
Records.
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