Psychedelic Psummer is a semi-annual thing here since 2014. In 2017-18, there was no lack of psychedelic releases, but I was feeling Aussie Garage Punk and Sylvan “My Operator” Morris’ lush reggae productions more. This year I got a jump start in February with Dawn of Destruction: The Sonic Dawn & The Best of 2010s Psych Pop. Since then, the new releases have not slowed down, and I also dug deep into the vast catalogs of The Honey Pot and corresponding solo projects, Green Pajamas and The Luck Of Eden Hall. We also see a reissue of late 80s recordings from Seattle’s coulda-beens Chemistry Set. But first let’s look at the solo debut from the new reigning witch queen of psych noir.
Rosalie Cunningham – Rosalie Cunningham (Cherry Red/Esoteric)
One of the best shows of 2016 was at a small club where British psych noir band Purson was working their way through their first North American tour after releasing their brilliant second album, Desire’s Magic Theatre (2016). Little did I know that it would be their last. The band looked stunning in scintillating, gender bending psychedelic costumes, nearly eclipsing the imperious Cunningham, who had recorded all the parts of the last album herself. They performed as a tight, cohesive organism, betraying no indications that there were issues bubbling under. I was sorry to see the band disintegrate, but was confident the music would keep going, with Cunningham being the sole songwriter.
I was surprised to hear the narrative for this solo debut was that she was lost for a time, before teaming up with Rosco Levee, who played with her and her dad in a Beatles cover band called Sky Diamonds. The album was delayed due to Pledge Music going belly up, so her actual downtime seems to have been less than two years. That’s a great sign that her creativity and work ethic will be cranking out new music every year once the engine’s running. And what an engine. The final lineup was not sorted out during the recording, so while it definitely measures up to the standards of her work with Purson, the sound is meticulously arranged, definitely more of a studio creation than a band album. Since then, Cunningham has assembled a crack live band featuring Levee, former Purson drummer Raph Mura, keyboardist Lee Spreadbury, and last but not least, former Hidden Masters/Trembling Bells alumni Alasdair “Alpha Michelle” Mitchell. Hidden Master’s sole album, Of This & Other Worlds (2013) is one of the best psych prog albums released this century, so I look forward to catching this lineup live, and hopefully Mitchell’s songwriting talents will be tapped for future releases.
Along with the breakup of her band, Cunningham went through the end of a major relationship before writing some of her most personal lyrics in “Fuck Love” and “Dethroning Of The Party Queen.” While there’s some requisite bitterness and self doubt, she does so while also throwing on a flashy costume and hosting a sinister, decadent carnavale. While the title of opener “Ride On My Bike” references Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, there’s no innocent whimsey here, just biting lyrics backed by nasty, overdriven fuzz guitars. Concluding with the theatrical wail, “let me take you for a riiide on myyy biiiiiike,” it’s a solid clue to be wary of Ms. Cunningham’s intentions. It might just be a revenge plot involving drugs, light kidnapping and public humiliation. “House Of The Glass Red” continues the noirish, possibly murdery funhouse vibe. There continues to be proggy elements in her arrangements (Curved Air, Renaissance), and a flamboyant theatrical flair that Bowie would have approved of. There’s also enough melodic hooks worthy of a Beatles/McCartney acolyte.
The short, ethereal folk of “Butterflies” leads into the concluding “A Yarn From The Wheel,” a remarkable multi-part 13:43 long epic. Considering that I find it much more listenable than side-long suites from Genesis and Jethro Tull, I’d say it’s a brilliant success.
A few years back I referred to Jex Thoth as the witch queen of psych noir. With her radio silence the past six years, the prolific Jasmin Saarela (Jess by the Lake, Jess and the Ancient Ones, Exploding Eyes Orchestra) would be a contender, but Rosalie’s songwriting has the definite edge. All hail Qween Cunningham!
Custard Flux – Echo (Custard Flux)
Echo is the latest installment of a project that launched last year with Helium, filled with gorgeous all-acoustic (including double bass, piano, harmonium, auto-harp and violin) psychedelic folk psych prog. This is no placid, meandering hippy folk, however. The drums still hit hard, the bass hits floor-shaking tones, and the guitars have aggressive moments as well as lovely picking. This rocks along the lines of British folky psych prog like Fairfield Parlour, Trees and early Jethro Tull. Based in Detroit, the group is lead by Curvey, who fronted Chicago’s The Luck of Eden Hall for 30 years. In the context of that large, impressive body of work, Custard Flux sees Curvey at the top of his game. His vocal melodies on “America” evokes one of my all-time favorites, The Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow. “Pink Indians” recalls a mix of Yes circa their 1969 debut and Canterbury prog (Soft Machine, Caravan). “Gold” is how I imagine Peter Gabriel might have sounded had he released a psych prog epic shortly after leaving Genesis. Despite the presence of three songs extending past six minutes, the album feels concise at 41 and a half minutes, leaving me breathlessly fluffed and chuffed, ready for more. Fortunately there is more, with the aforementioned Helium, and a bonus disc originally included with the limited edition box set, available digitally on Bandcamp. And if that’s not enough, there’s also The Luck of Eden Hall’s catalog (see below).
The Warp/The Weft – Dead Reckoning (Thewarptheweft)
With the gap in albums from two of the best bands this decade, Syd Arthur and Wolf People going on four years, it’s gratifying to discover bands that can scratch similar musical itches. If Custard Flux satisfies the yearning for the shimmering, airy music of Syd Arthur, then The Warp/The Weft has the darker, earthier psychedelic folk prog of Wolf People covered. Despite this being their fourth album since 2013, I could find very little written about this mysterious band from Poughkeepsie. Sure, one could compare them to Fairport Convention (folk) and Jethro Tull (folky prog), but that only scratches the surface. Shane Murphy’s tenor vibrato evokes not only the great Roger Chapman (Family/Streetwalkers), but also Kristoffer Sjödahl of the long forgotten Swedish psych band Dead Man, who released two great albums in 2006-08. The album kicks off with harmonized vocals on “Developing Your Ghost,” featuring Chris Pellnat’s lead guitar lines with a roughed up Television tone. “Milk-White” has a slight Celtic feel, its urgency escalated by the dual guitars after the two minute mark. “A Sun Filled Room” deftly balances delicate beauty with grit, avoiding the pitfall that many contemporary indie folk bands suffer from — overly polished and boring production. There’s plenty of highlights on this consistently strong album, my current favorite being the memorably lilting melodies of “Saline.” The last track belts out a Celtic battle song that surprisingly would fit really well on a Lord Weird Slough Feg album. A quick survey though their back catalog reveals The Warp/The Weft have been a great band since the beginning. Time to stop sleeping on ’em!
Ty Segall – First Taste (Drag City)
I wasn’t sure it was necessary to include Ty Segall, since he already rules the garage psych roost in North American alongside his prolific colleague John Dwyer (Oh Sees). With close to 30 albums released in the past 13 years between his various projects (including Fuzz and GØGGS), listening fatigue is an immediate danger in trying to come to grips with this artist. There’s no denying the dude’s work ethic, and while it’s easy to assume his frenetic sounding music is tossed off, there’s a good amount of craft when you look under the hood. Case in point, the first time I listened to this album, I didn’t realize it was a guitar-free exercise. Thankfully he has not hopped on the bandwagon of substituting the six string with shitty sounding electronics. *Side rant — I brought this up on Psychedelic Psummer: Tame Impala’s Synths Vs. All the Guitars in 2015 — ironically bands trying to sound current and relevant updating their technology to, uh, the 70s with synths and sequencers, are only dating themselves as the bandwagon hoppers that they are.* To be fair, there are some stringed instruments used, which is a bit of a workaround, including the Greek bouzouki and a Japanese koto. There’s much to love here, with the exotic stringed instruments leanding a baroque Led Zeppelin feel, to some T. Rex style chooglin’ boogies, and Segall’s occasionally breathtaking vocal melodies. Still, it’s not as great as say, his self-titled 2017 album, because like the Oh Sees, he could really benefit from woodshedding and working on some truly memorable songs.
Papernut Cambridge – Nutlets II 1978-2001 (Gare du Nord)
Earlier this year I tried to steer people away from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (both their albums this year are weak) toward the much more consistently great Papernut Cambridge. The four albums they released in 2017 was more impressive because pretty none of it was tossed off garbage. Even though this album is strictly covers, every track exudes Ian Button’s enthusiastic love for these formative songs. It’s a continuation of Nutlets 1967-80 (2015), which covered a lot of ground with psych pop, glam (T. Rex, Cockney Rebel) and even early funk soul (Hot Chocolate) and reggae (Mikey Dread). The new collection focuses primarily on post-punk, including Echo & the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Pink Military, Public Image Ltd., Josef K, Orange Juice and The Only Ones, and a pair of great feminist post-punk tracks by Girls At Our Best and E.S.G. The only covers I was unfamiliar with were of 90s songs by Win (odd Britpop from the former member of Fire Engines) and Len (Canadian pop rap!). It’s also nice to be reminded how great Big Audio Dynamite’s “Medicine Show” and Primal Scream’s “Velocity Girl” were. As prolific as Papernut Cambridge has been, there’s a great chance there will be new material before the year is up. I’m crossing my fingers for Button to try his own take on original psychedelic post-punk.
Blue Orchids – The Magical Record Of Blue Orchids (Tiny Global)
Blue Orchids’ debut album The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain) (1982) is a lost classic of psychedelic post-punk, and cherished part of my collection along with their singles. Singer Martin Bramah formed the band in 1979 after leaving The Fall, then fell silent until 2004 when they released Mystic Bud. Twelve years later they came out with The Once and Future Thing (2016) and shortly after, Righteous Harmony Fist. which are decent, but nothing really jumped out and grabbed me. Their third album in three years (with allegedly another album of originals coming soon) “tells a Faustian tale of woe over the course of nine covers and one co-written original” according to the Bandcamp page. The covers are of sixties garage psych bands like The Penny Saints, The Aardvarks and Crystal Stilts that are so obscure that it sounds to my ears like Blue Orchids originals, especially since they’re tied together with the band’s consistent relentless drive, not to mention the interwoven concept of a pact with forces of evil. On top of that, they’ve exhumed newfound Mark E. Smith lyrics for the centerpiece, “Addicted To The Day.”
Full reviews of these were published earlier this summer:
The Honey Pot – Bewildered Jane (Mega Dodo)
The Galileo 7 – There Is Only Now (Damaged Goods)
Sacri Monti – Waiting Room For The Magic Hour (Tee Pee)
Encinitas, CA based Sacri Monti’s debut was a highlight for me in 2015. Despite that, they kind of fell of my radar, and while I was wondering when the next Golden Void album would come out, it turns out I was actually craving Sacri Monti’s second album, on which they continue to toss some prog (with requisite mellotron) and kosmische into the heavy psych stew, but also weave in some nuanced blues folk textures.
Jess By The Lake – Under The Red Light Shine (Svart)
While I’ve been eagerly anticipating the long-delayed solo debut from Rosalie Cunningham (of Purson), Finnish vocalist Jasmin Saarela has been reliable for producing excellent proggy psych noir material with Jess and the Ancient Ones and side project The Exploding Eyes Orchestra. With her solo project Jess By The Lake, she takes the opportunity to explore the capacity of her blues soul pipes, and they are impressive, at the very least on the level with Elin Larsson of Blues Pills. Those familiar with her band projects will certainly recognize similar psychedelic undertones, but she definitely goes for a simpler, earthier approach here that could theoretically do well in the mainstream if she weren’t on a relatively obscure Finnish record label.
Doug Tuttle – Dream Road (Burger)
Former Mmoss man Doug Tuttle released three albums of delicate, jangly psych pop on Trouble In Mind. While the label usually does a great job promoting its artists, Tuttle has remained under the radar compared to former labelmates like RAYS, Sunwatchers, FACS and Olden Yolk. He’s moved to Burger for his fourth album which does not take a great departure, and continues to lack the the teeth of his Television-esque guitar solos in his live shows. Nevertheless, his songs hold up well next to contemporary psych pop troubadours like Jacco Gardner and E.L. Heath.
The Mystery Lights – Too Much Tension! (Daptone)
I’ve been anticipating the second The Mystery Lights album since I saw them live with Night Beats a few years ago. I was somewhat disappointed by the slight lack of consistency in the songwriting, but that may be just my high expectations. It’s a solid album, good enough to be hovering in my top 40 for the year so far. The paranoid, spooky “Someone Else is in Control” is a highlight, like a long lost 13th Floor Elevators tune.
Sugarfoot – In The Clearing (Crispin Glover)
Norway’s Sugarfoot is Øyvind Holm and Hogne Galåen’s (both on vocals and guitar) fascinating exploration of cosmic Americana and psych pop, presented on five consistently gorgeous albums, assisted by Motorpsycho’s Bent Sæther on bass, Roar Øien (Pedal Steel), Thomas Henriksen (organ, piano) and Even Granås (drums, backing vocals). The recordings are smooth and lush, like a collaboration between Crosby Stills and Nash (dig those harmonies), The Eagles and Love in an expensive 16 track studio in 1974. Really, it’s better than that, as long as you are down with the slightly skewed, unique approach these Norsemen take.
Hans Chew & Garcia Peoples – Natch 10 (Black Dirt Studio)
As noted in Jamtropolis, it’s only been just over a year since Garcia Peoples’ debut album, but they are so prolific that by October they’ll have four to their name with One Step Behind (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond, Oct. 18). On this Name Your Price Bandcamp special released on July 16, they collaborate with Hans Chew, a very talented keyboard player who’s lent is chops to a who’s who of cosmic Americana such as Jack Rose, Endless Boogie, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Steve Gunn. He can also write and sing a mean tune, as evidenced on his excellent solo albums, Tennessee and Other Stories (2010), Life And Love (2014) and Open Sea (2017). As expected, the Natch 10 collaboration is more loose and jammy. A great introduction to both artists for the minimum of a dollar.
Jouis – Mind Bahn (None More)
Second album of lush prog and psych pop from this Brighton group who claim early Canterbury sounds of Caravan and Soft Machine as influences. Their production is much more sleekly modern in a mostly satisfying way, a more song-oriented modern approach that would sit well next to Melbourne’s Mildlife. Highlights include the 6:56 “Turtle” featuring smoove CSNY harmonies, and the jazzy “Medievil.” All signs indicate this band can shred live.
Oh Sees – Face Stabber (Castle Face)
It’s easy to take a new Oh Sees album for granted, as John Dwyer has released at least 16 albums under variations of this name since 2006. This one continues the motorik/kosmische thread they’ve touched on to some extent for the past five albums going back to A Weird Exits (2016). Dwyer has a restless creativity that doesn’t allow repeating himself too much, so rather than more of the same, it’s just more, both in length (double album) and density of sounds. “The Daily Heavy” starts out irreverently with what sounds like a squeaky toy being murdered and/or molested. Overall it could be compared to Can’s Tago Mago (1971) reimagined with a whole lot of 21st century sonic baggage piled on top. To some this might be the greatest thing they’ve heard all year, but I’d love to hear him try to wrangle these noisy beasties into some actual songs. That would be something I’d be more than willing to take a couple year break from new Oh Sees product to hear.
CFM – Soundtrack To An Empty Room (In The Red)
CFM (Charles Francis Mootheart) is not yet as well known as the musicians he’s served with in Epsilons, Fuzz, Ty Segall Band and GØGGS, but his third album as bandleader in CFM should help fix that. There’s plenty of noisy, shreddy guitar freakouts and sneering vocals as on Still Life of Citrus and Slime (2016) and Dichotomy Desaturated (2017), but hot off a tour with the noisy garage punk GØGGS, Soundtrack To An Empty Room has a more immediate live feel, and packed with forceful hooks and riffs, such as on the city-in-flames guitar feast of “Street Vision.” “Crashing Through the Static” and “Peace” are other rifftastic highlights, which bring to my mind the dirty garage punk feel of pre-punk era Rocket From The Tombs. The pace isn’t all fuzz-pedals to the metal, as “Green Light” features folky strumming and even a mellotron for a more gentle psychedelic carnival ride. Taking this for a spin is definitely recommended.
The Laissez Fairs – Marigold (Rum Bar)
John Fallen lead LA’s The Steppes in the 80s and 90s, and now he’s on album number four with the Las Vegas based Laissez Fairs, who inject mod, freakbeat and raucous garage into their psych pop.
Plastic Crimewave Syndicate – Massacre Of The Celestials (Cardinal Fuzz)
Steve Kraków is the closest thing Chicago has to a psychedelic guru and scene godfather. Since the 90s he’s lovingly curated psychedelic culture through a variety of media via his Galactic Zoo Dossier magazine, The Secret History of Chicago Music comic, music festivals, and his bands, lead under the nom de plume Plastic Crimewave. Massacre Of The Celestials is allegedly the fourth album under the Plastic Crimewave Syndicate moniker (it’s hard to keep track, only Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom from 2017 is listed in RYM — he also released several as Plastic Crimewave Sound in 2003-13). Recommended for fans of the free jazz skronking side of live MC5 bootlegs from 1968 and the more chaotic space rockin’ side of Amon Düül II, Hawkwind and probably a hundred other more obscure influences.
Acid Carousel – Another Everything (Get With It!)
This sleeper has been lurking on my Bandcamp playlist since May. The second album from Denton, TX garage psychsters Acid Carousel can be a little intimidating — a double album rock opera about a destructive mind control cult. This story sounds familiar, but this one is enticingly murdery with weird supernatural horror (glowing eyes). The hero’s (John Kuzmick, sounding Lennon-like at times) girlfriend (sung by Ariel Hartley) and several of his friends are drawn in. But his plot to take out the leader finds him in the crosshairs of his own significant other. “Who’s the Collector? Oh, you didn’t hear? He’s the little voice inside your ear. Veneration is the ultimate form of penetration.”
De Lorians – De Lorians (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)
I can’t say this Japanese outfit much qualifies as psych, but their Canterbury prog influenced spiritual jazz can feel trippy. Rather than the first two Soft Machine albums, they’re more into Third (1970) and Henry Cow. Some mention a big Frank Zappa influence, but I’ll just leave that thought over in the corner and try to ignore it.
Chemistry Set – The Incomplete Fabulous Stinking (Green Monkey, 1987-89)
Their track “Underground” was a solid track on the famous Sub Pop 200 compilation in 1988. This collections shows the band had a lot going for them, but sadly they were broken up just a year later. This compilation that just came out on August 16 has all their studio recordings, including three previously unreleased and some demos. Would they have had a career arc like Screaming Trees? We’ll never know, but this holds up 30 years later.
Green Pajamas – Book Of Hours (Green Monkey, 1987)
This Seattle psych pop band had staying power. releasing over 21 albums since forming in 1983. This is the best sampling of their early sound. One of their earliest songs, “Kim The Waitress,” thanks to Material Issue covering it and scoring a hit single. Other albums to check out — Ghosts Of Love (1990), All Clues Lead to Meagan’s Bed (1998), Northern Gothic (2002), Box of Secrets: Northern Gothic 2 (2007), Phantom Lake: Northern Gothic 3 (2018). They have toyed with garage, indie and art pop, but remain at their core a consistently great psych pop band. A couple compilations are a good entry point to their vast catalog too.
The Luck of Eden Hall – When The Clock Starts To Wake Up We Go To Sleep (LOEH, 2009)
Before Custard Flux, Curvey lead this excellent Chicago psych pop/prog band for 30 years. The 90s albums have great moments, but the minor key grunge chords definitely date them to that era. While 60s and 70s psych and psych prog become more of a blueprint, Curvey achieves a timeless sound that balances lushness and hardness. This album stands out, but you can’t go wrong with any of the five albums that follow, from Butterfly Revolutions Vol. 1 & 2 (2011) through The Acceleration Of Time (2016). There’s also plenty of great compilation tracks and singles, such as “The End of the Lane,” inspired by the Neil Gaiman story, the cover art blessed by a drawing from the author himself. Curvey has also lent a hand with his old friend Tim Ferguson of The Red Plastic Buddha on their third album, Songs For Mara (2014). Ferguson returned the favor on a Custard Flux track, and hopefully will have new material soon from his band.
Can’t get enough? More bubbling under:
The Darts – I Like You But Not Like That (Alternative Tentacles)
Black Mountain – Destroyer (Jagjaguwar)
Monkey3 – Sphere (Napalm)
Dreamtime – Tidal Mind
Glitter Wizard – Opera Villains (Heavy Psych)
Rokurokubi – Saturn In Pisces
Numidia – Numidia
No Man’s Valley – Outside The Dream (Tonzonen)
Sunwatchers – Illegal Moves (Trouble In Mind)
Ouzo Bazooka – Transporter (Ouzo Bazooka)
The Backdoor Society – The Backdoor Society (Area Pirata)
Juju – Maps And Territory (Fuzz Club)
Olden Yolk – Living Theatre (Trouble In Mind)
The Hare And Hoofe – The Hare And Hoofe (HATH)
TAU – TAU & The Drones Of Praise
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Winter Rundown
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Fester’s Lucky 13: 1989
