The Narcotix is a five-piece Brooklyn band lead by two childhood friends whose parents came from Cameroon and Cote D’Ivoire. Among a wide array of influences, they mention African wedding music, choral symphonies, Afrobeat, Paramore, Kofi Olomide, No Doubt, Nirvana, and Warpaint. That last band is the one that clicks for me, with their dubby trip hop grooves, not to mention the Raincoats at their most shapeshifting and ethereal, Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s global post-punk fusion on Mambo Nassau (1981), and The Slits circa Return of the Giant Slits (1981) where they fuse their dub roots with skewed African rhythms. Each track is named after a member of the band, and it’s a powerful introduction, bursting with haunting atmosphere, melancholic harmonies, skittering beats and Adam Turay’s elliptical guitar that bubbles and boils. It fits nicely into my Trip Jam playlist, which hungers for more lucscious grooves. It’s hunger is sated for now (hello Warpaint, Peluche, Patio and Body Type, let’s get cookin’!)
A couple belated entries to the Spring Rundown.
Magic Castles – Sun Reign (A Records)
Discovering a new favorite band is exciting, but then I get mixed feelings when I realize I’d dropped the ball on hearing their previous half dozen albums for the last decade, especially coming from a scene I was once a part of. It’s just part of the process, attempting to sift through the vast explosion in musical content that has become available the past decade, as album releases have reached an all time high, surpassing 100,000 albums a year. Minneapolis’ Magic Castles started about as underground as you can get, releases a couple cassettes in 2008-09 that weren’t even available on Bandcamp. Their officially released albums on Anton Newcombe’s (Brian Jonestown Massacre) A Records, however, are all sparkling psych folk/dream pop gems — Magic Castles (2012), Sky Sounds (2014), and Starflower (2015). Sun Reign had a long incubation period, with Jason Edmonds taking a break from live shows and recording in his studio and with a new lineup. The album was delayed not only by the pandemic, but a car accident in 2019 that he eventually recovered from with help from a Gofund me campaign. Their roots in 60s jangly psychedelic folk from both Britain and California, breathy vocals and gauzy atmospherics drawn from shoegaze and dream pop along the lines of Spiritualized and local mates The Flavor Crystals, combine into a creamy and dreamy sound that’s consistently ethereal, but with memorable hooks and melodies. Along with the obscure cover of Danny and the Counts’ “Ode to the Wind,” this is their best batch of songs yet. I even heard Iggy Pop play them on his BBC 6 show the other night! Their music has been pulled from Bandcamp, which I think is a mistake. | Buy
A Better Tomorrow – Spiritual Crossing (La Taniere)
This French band has a unique twist on psych prog that’s based in both soul and jazz fusion. It’s a direction Danish band Fuzz Manta hinted at, but folded before they could properly explore this new territory. I also hear some of The Devil’s Blood, but with more of a stoner/desert rock vibe than occult psych noir. I’m chuffed to see A Better Tomorrow pick up on this unique hybrid and push it forward.
June releases:
Night Beats – Outlaw R&B (Fuzz Club)
When Night Beats released their first two albums in 2011 and 13, it seemed a given they would be one of my new favorite garage psych/noir bands, confirmed by an early tour. Yet they faltered on the next couple albums, with Dan Auerbach’s Nashville style production on Myth of A Man (2019) in particular muzzling their power and menace. As if to shake it off, they recorded an entire album of grungy Sonics covers a few months later. Thankfully, the grime is back on their fifth album of originals, with their best batch of tunes yet, from singles “Revolution,” “New Day” and “Ticket” to the truly trippy “Cream Johnny.” Leader Danny Lee Blackwell is able to stretch out his creative reach beyond garage psych, dabbling in Spaghetti Western, hippie jams and classic rock, all the while holding together a cohesive vibe along the lines of White Denim at their eclectic, chaotic best.
Nephila – Nephila (The Sign)
Nephila are a Swedish seven piece, with Jacob Hellenrud and Christoffer Erikkson from Children of the Sün, with Stina Olsson and Josephine Asker sharing lead vocal duties while the rest of the band lurk in the background wearing plague doctor masks. Like The Devil’s Blood and Jess and the Ancient Ones, they delve into occult/noir subject matter, backed by organ heavy psych prog. What sets them apart are the energetic harmonizing of the lead singers, and more melodic hooks that you’d expect from a gaggle of spooks. “Mushroom Creatures” features a nursery rhyme chorus that could easily have come from early sessions from Rosalie Cunningham’s psych noir band Purson. “Belladonna” brings to mind solo Stevie Nicks, which makes me think how awesome would have it been had a band this cool and heavy were available for her 80s solo albums. Despite the fact that “Alla Galaxers Centrum” stretches to an epic 9:37, at only seven tracks and just under 36 minutes, the album is pretty concise, and an excellent introduction to a new band that will leave you wanting more.
Delving – Hirschbrunnen (Stickman)
Having been recording his ideas since he was twelve years old Elder’s Nick DiSalvo probably had a lot of material to choose from for his solo project. Not his first side project, he released Azurite and Malachite (2014) with Gold And Silver, with Elder’s Gold & Silver Sessions (2019) continuing with the Kosmische jams. The Delving project can be differentiated by more space and less rock, with DiSalvo’s delay pedals and electronic effects entering the territory of Popol Vuh’s movie soundtracks. A perfectly realized pandemic album in homage to the stag fountain that he likely saw every day when he stepped out into his neighborhood in Germany to stretch his legs during lockdown. It’s no secret that Elder is big favorite of mine, each of their five albums hanging about in the top 13 for the year, and the wait for the next album for the band is made that much easier with whatever Nick chooses to release into the wild.
April 2, 2026
Fester’s Lucky 13: 1986
February 27, 2026
Fester’s Lucky 13: 1976
