Psychlona Premiere “Blast Off” Video; Venus Skytrip out Aug. 21
Bradford, UK, kebab aficionados and groove purveyors Psychlona will release their second album, Venus Skytrip, on Aug. 21 through Ripple Music (CD/DL) and Cursed Tongue Records (LP). It is the follow-up to 2018’s Mojo Rising (discussed here) and sees the four-piece upping their game thematically and in terms of songcraft, presenting eight tracks across 49 minutes that won’t be pushed when they don’t want to go and yet seem to have no trouble whatsoever finding momentum when it suits them. To wit, the seven-minute opener, “Blast Off” — video premiering below — has a head of steam almost before you realize it in listening, and yet even as the subsequent “10,000 Volts” explodes in volume from its quiet beginning, setting up trades back and forth across its eight-minute span, Psychlona in no way sound rushed or out of step with what best suits the song.
“10,000 Volts” takes off in its second half, pushing out out out until finally it recedes to end quiet, and from there the beast that is Venus Skytrip unfolds a succession of shorter pieces, with “Blow” (6:05) making its presence felt through a combination
of earthbound chug and swing and airy vocal melody while the each-under-four-minutes pair of “Star” and “Edge of the Universe” seem set to motor full-on terrestrial desert-style until the latter winds up in atmospheric hypnosis for a stretch in its second half. They bring it back around — to their credit — but the journey’s a joy just the same, and more shifts between languid stoner vibes and massive volume play out through “Resin” and “Tijuana” seems to bring with it a new level of tonal fullness in following, so the band readily break out a series of tricks along the way before they get around to rounding out with “The Owl,” which fills the last nine minutes of Venus Skytrip with a purpose somewhere between heavy psychedelia and hard-edged stomp, at least until the riff builds into its crash just after five minutes in, the bass takes hold and leads into and out of the record’s last build, which like the thing itself, is a trip well worth taking.
If flashing lights, colors or ladies dancing in silhouette isn’t your thing, I guess maybe “Blast Off” is best left to play in the tab so you can listen while you go back to checking the news or staring at other people’s pretend lives on social media or whatever it is hu-mans do these days on their phones. Gotta be something. Maybe you caught a glimpse of Psychlona in Freak Valley‘s consolation stream last weekend. The band showed up to say hi and that they were already confirmed to appear in 2021, so that’s something to look forward to, and one expects they’ll do much supporting of Venus Skytrip when the opportunity presents itself, as surely it will sooner or later.
Until then, there’s nothing like starting an album with a launch sequence, and yes, “Blast Off” has one. I’m happy to host the premiere of the track and the video below.
The band give their own view on things after the player, and you should read that because it rules.
Please enjoy:
Psychlona, “Blast Off” official video
Behind The Trip – Psychlona on Venus Skytrip:
After the unexpected memorialisation (hmm) of our debut, we started to think about where we should go boldly with the next one. We knew we didn’t want to lose too much of the rawness and homespun vibe that defined the scratchy fun of the first album, but we also wanted to go one step further with this effort and really focus the sound. So the two-step plan would be number one: make it heavier and two: turn up the spaciness to the nth. As is tradition around these parts we hunted down a stack of the area’s finest grilled kebabs and various fermented beverages, descending on The Cave – a place of pure tyranny and filth, but also home – for writing sessions taking place between October and January (a leisurely pace was also integral to the process, natch).
The songs were coming on nicely, we had fallen upon a winning formula that was something along the lines of more chilli = better song, but we needed to decide on a venue to match our aspirations of ‘going nuclear’. Step forward Andy Hawkins and The Nave. We were made aware of Andy by our regular sound tech who had recorded his band’s last album with Andy and recommended we work with him. Instantly Andy ‘got’ us and with a punk rock pedigree to boot we knew he was our guy – regaling us deep into the night with chaotic tales of Captain Sensible and traffic cone theft (events may or may not be true).
Anyway, come February Andy began putting us through our paces and by way of the incredible live room at The Nave – an old church hall – we were able to capture some truly huge drum sounds (see The Owl). Technical wizardry abounds (Andy), fuzz pedals galore, sausage rolls and a cauldron full of Yorkshire Tea later guitars, bass and vocals (real tape echo, obvs) were all down. Notwithstanding a much welcome intervention from a global pandemic, we emerged from the back door of the church stumbling towards the light – battered, bruised and with a suspected case of rickets among the maladies – clutching a grubby acetate of spaced out hard rock jams.
So there it was, behold, an album, eight tracks of new Psychlona. When the fog receded from our scorched minds it appeared we’d taken a year long ride through space taking in Venus and Mars before doing a quick lap of the Sun (Blast Off), encountered 27 club rock ‘n’ roll tragedy (Star), drifted around in a smoke fuelled beachside dream (Resin) before taking a lengthy acid trip courtesy of The Owl himself. Who knows where chapter 3 could take us?
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Tags: Bradford, Cursed Tongue Records, Psychlona, Psychlona Venus Skytrip, Ripple Music, UK, Venus Skytrip
