Say Psych: Playlist 3/2016

Here are a few tracks that have been wowing me at Psych Insight towers this month. Like always a mixture of new, recently found and new.

Enjoy!

Kogarashi by Kikagaku Moyo

The biggest news of the month was definitely the impending release of a new Kikagaku Moyo album, “House in the Tall Grass”, to be released by Guruguru Brain on May 13th, 2016. The lead track, released at the beginning of March is both stunning and beautiful…

In This Unforgiving Heat by Menimals

Through Menimals we have witnessed a moment in time, an experiment which somehow seems to change with every listen of this quite unique album, an album that demands to be listened to in a state of studied contemplation. This is an album to escape into and live through…it is an album that grows.”

Read the full Menimals album review here. Pre-order here now on Riot Season records.

Phantamonium by Hotel Wrecking City Traders

“All in all this is an album of four tracks that, while all sharing the band’s DNA, each have their own characters and approaches. It’s not necessarily an album which progresses from track to track, but where each and every track has its own thrill and in that sense is really a must listen for through who love riffed-up psyched-out repeats-jams.”

Read the full Hotel Wrecking City Traders album review here. Pre-order here now on Evil Hoodoo records.

The Great German by Early Mammal

My favourite track from last year’s Early Mammal album on Riot Season records, well worth coming back to again, or discovering if you missed it. Like much of the label’s output it ain’t complicated by its great rock done well.

Black and Gold by Hey Colossus

After a number of failed attempts last year I finally got to see Hey Colossus live this month, and I was totally blown away by them. They released two amazing albums on Rocket Recordings last year, ‘In Black and Gold’ and ‘Radio Static High’, both or which would be a credit to any collection. This track was just immense live.

Hawkdope by Black Rainbows

Another band that I’ve only recently come across, but man are they good. Often described as a cross between Hawkwind and early Monster Magnet, this Italian trio really rock. This track is from the album of the same name released last year on Heavy Psych Sounds records.

Silver Current by White Heaven

Amazing track from the legendary Japanese psych band White Heaven, found on PSF Records ‘Tokyo Flashback 2’ compilation. This track is one of my favourites with its soaring guitar, acoustic interludes and fantastic melodies…just brilliant.

Samples from Supernormal Live by Blown Out

“In one way this album is pretty much what you’d expect from Blown Out, huge monster tracks that grab you by the brain, melt your face, and the leave you in a wibbling wreck on the floor. What I perhaps wasn’t expecting is how different the tracks are to their studio counterparts to there extent that they sound like different numbers that explore divergent aspects of their core themes.”

Read the full album review here. Pre-order here now on Evil Hoodoo records.

Back To The Monastery by Grails

This is from the Important Records release, ‘Black Tar Prophecies Vols 1, 2, & 3″, an amazing album by any measure. Julian Cope rated them thus: “Grails’ Middle European music exudes a dark occult mystery few are capable of achieving. Like some East German ensemble of the early ‘70s, their heathen Ur-klang combines acoustic guitars, banjos, bouzoukis with drums and samples that summon up the Ancients…This is truly The Shit!”. And that’s good enough for me

Do You Wanna/ Death and Night and Blood by The Stranglers

I was recently asked by Andy over at Dayz of Purple and Orange to name ten of my favourite albums. One of the first on the list was The Stranglers’ Black and White, on which I recently wrote a retrospective piece:

‘Death and Night and Blood (Yukio)’, is possibly the most clear congruence between Burnel’s two passions of music and martial arts. He has described this as a warrior’s song and if you listen to the bass on this track it is front and centre driving the track, not as part of a rhythm section but almost as a second vocalist; you get the feeling that it is his weapon of choice. This is like a duet, with the rest of the band a consistently and menacingly backing him before Greenfield’s keyboards emerge near the end like a rallying cry.”

See here for the full piece.