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On the Radar: Whooping Crane

At this point, psychedelia from Brooklyn is hardly a rarity, but Whooping Crane veer away from the apathetic shoegaze posturing of many of their contemporaries in favor of guitar-led boogie rock of the highest order. The bassline of the aptly-titled “Hang Loose” tells the story: it’s a jive not everyone’s gonna dig, but the Riffin’ for Rent (probably not true) EP has some killer old is the new new vibes and the cave reverb on Michael “Big Sir the Conductor” Lo‘s vocals is just right. Not too thick, not over the top, but right in line with the late-’60s ritualizing in the music.

You can check out their MySpace if you’re so inclined, or listen to Riffin’ for Rent on the Bandcamp player below. Whooping Crane have also started taking donations via Kickstart in hopes of releasing two more tracks, and if the harmonica that shows up on “Tomm Tapp” from the EP is anything to go by, it’s a worthy cause. They’re working with a time-tested formula for sure, but I think Whooping Crane have touched on an unpretentious niche of psych rock that’s been begging for further exploration. The layered guitar flourishes of “One Hit Sally” alone are enough to make me want to tune in, turn on and all the rest of it.

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