Posted in Whathaveyou on December 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
So to pick up the thread where we left off: last time around, UK heavy rocker Psychlona were getting confirmed for Desertfest London 2024. That was just a couple days after revealing they had swapped out half of their lineup. Today comes the news that the Bradford-based four-piece have signed with Magnetic Eye Records — as regards Psychlona news stories in the last two weeks, this is the big one — to release their next album sometime in 2024. Apparently somewhere in there they were confirmed for Stoned From the Underground next July too. One might speculate it feels pretty good to be in Psychlona right now.
Not the least because their new single “Liberty” absolutely oozes vibe. And the vibe is ooze, so that works out too. Molten psychedelia, dug-in tempo but not too slow it loses you, mellow but sure of where it’s headed. If it ended up opening or closing their new long-player when the time comes, yes.
Congrats to band and label. The PR wire has it as follows:
PSYCHLONA sign with Magnetic Eye Records & release new video single ‘Liberty’
PSYCHLONA have set their signatures under a multi-album deal with Magnetic Eye Records, with the British desert rockers planning to release their fourth album via the label later in 2024. See below for statements regarding the signing.
In celebration of joining Magnetic Eye, PSYCHLONA also release a new video single today. Please see below for further details of the smoking track ‘Liberty’.
PSYCHLONA comment: “We are stoked to be joining Magnetic Eye”, guitarist and singer Phil Hey writes on behalf of the band. “We had a few offers on the table but we all knew that this label was the way we wanted to go. We have already worked with label director Jadd Shickler under various guises over the past few years and he has become a trusted confidant and friend. That was probably our primary reason, very closely followed by the fact that Magnetic Eye has a great roster including Greenleaf, who are one of my all-time favourite bands. It made perfect sense. We’re looking forward to a long relationship with Jadd and the guys!”
Jadd Shickler welcomes PSYCHLONA: “I’ve been working with Psychlona for several years in different capacities, and admire the fast leaps forward they’ve taken in a short time”, the Magnetic Eye director explains. “In 2020, they gave even Lowrider and Elephant Tree some tough competition for a lot of folks’ favorite record that year. Then they played back to back at Psycho Las Vegas, and I saw people go crazy for them firsthand. I dig their effortless desert vibe despite the guys being as British as it gets, and I love the dynamic they bring to our carefully curated roster of driven, sonically unique acts. I can hardly wait to hear what they’ll do on their first full album for us next year!”
Live 17-19 May 2024 London (UK) Desertfest 11-13 July 2024 Erfurt (DE) Stoned from the Underground
Line-up Ian ‘Izak’ Buxton – bass guitar Scott Frankling – drums Phil Hey – guitar, vocals Martin Wiseman – lead guitar, backing vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
I haven’t seen a lyric sheet, but the lines I can pick up from the new track “Weed Machine 2023” are gold. “I never leave this house/My brain is numb/Only difference is, boy, my opposable thumbs.” I could go on. The track originally appeared on Ironrat‘s 2015 debut, Monument, and the doom rockers give it a refresh with Chris Fielding (Conan, etc.) producing, rolling out a clarion riff and stoner-bluesy psychedelic midsection amid the lumbering heft of the riffier parts. “And you’ll see me vanish in a cloud of smoke…” leads to the ending section of solo and riffing, and in the crashout, frontman Chris Flear informs, “there is no fucking hope.” Well yeah, dude. Why do you think we’re here in the first place?
The forthcoming second Ironrat LP is titled Beneath it All and I don’t know if “Weed Machine 2023” (2024?) will feature on it when it releases next year, but I do know the record’s coming out through Argonauta, because why on earth would the PR wire lie about that kind of thing? I mean, really. Would just be mean.
Info and the song follow for your perusal and hopeful enjoyment:
UK Doomsters IRONRAT Sign With Argonauta Records, Unveil New Version of Band Old Classic Song
UK doom heavyweights, IRONRAT, proudly announce the signing record deal with Argonauta Records.
Drawing influences from the likes of Red Fang, Alice In Chains, Corrosion Of Conformity, and Mastodon, IRONRAT is gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated album, “Beneath It All,” scheduled to drop in 2024. This marks the band’s return after their impactful debut, “Monument,” in 2015.
In celebration of this partnership, the band is excited to unveil the re-release of an old classic, providing fans with a taste of their upcoming musical direction.
While the band faced a temporary setback with the departure of vocalist Chris due to health reasons, IRONRAT utilized this time to regroup and revitalize. The result is a strengthened and revamped lineup that is now more than ready to make a powerful comeback with their upcoming record.
Despite the hiatus, IRONRAT remained active on the gig scene, sharing stages with renowned acts such as Orange Goblin, Phil Campbell, OHHMS, Kal-El, Psychlona, Desert Storm, and more. Their memorable performances at events like Bloodstock, SOPHIE Fest, and Manor Fest have solidified their status in the heavy music landscape.
Recorded at Foel Studio with Chris Fielding of Conan at the production helm, the new album captures the essence of IRONRAT’s signature sound with massive riffs and unparalleled heavy tones. A notable transformation in the vocal approach brings a fresh sense of melodicism and emotional weight to the core of their sound, allowing the band to expand their songwriting.
“We feel that this new record offers an exciting blend of sludge, doom and grunge influences,” says the band. “We’re super happy to be signing with Argonauta. They have some incredible artists on the roster (past and present) and we’re honoured to be part of that family. We’ve recorded an album that we’re really proud of and we’re extremely grateful to Argonauta for giving us the opportunity to share it with the world.”
IRONRAT’s collaboration with Argonauta Records signifies a union of musical forces that is poised to elevate their unique sound to new heights. Stay tuned for the release of “Beneath It All” as IRONRAT embarks on a thrilling chapter in their musical journey.
UK heavy rockers Psychlona release their third album, Palo Verde, on Aug. 19 through Psycho Waxx. That’s just in time for their appearance at Psycho Las Vegas 2022, from which the label is an offshoot. And Palo Verde is perhaps trivia-question-fodder as Psycho Waxx‘s first non-compilation release, but the eight fuzzed-out trippers, rockers and vibers that the Bradford four-piece led by guitarist/vocalist Phil Hey answer the promise of 2018’s Mojo Rising (discussed here) and 2020’s Venus Skytrip (review here) with a more expansive take overall across its 48 minutes.
To some that might mean psychedelia, that the record’s more bliss than shove, and I don’t know that that’s necessarily the case; there’s plenty of both. And in some cases it’s about how the balance is tipped to one side or the other. The side A shift from “Rainbird,” which has some push by the time its six minutes are through but starts out all languid, open-spaced tell-your-friends-to-come-to-this-party, hypnotic mellow bliss, to the clearly-Monolord-influenced “Meet Your Devil,” for example, allows the band — Hey, guitarist/vocalist Dave Wainfor, bassist Martyn “Turns Out it Was Food Poisoning” Birchall and drummer Scott Frankling — to mold and reshape the impression they leave behind while working roughly with the same basic sonic ideology: go big, go far out. But go.
And they do, with a clear intent at the outset for “Gasoline” to rev itself, the band and the listener up as its careening riff is joined by tense keyboard strikes in post-“Go With the Flow”-style, but its swelling and receding layers of guitar drop hints of some of the more lysergic fluidity to come later on with side B’s counterpoint leadoff “Purple River,” which has a build but is so much more about the drift than the payoff, or even the finale “Warped,” which tops seven minutes and lands one more solid hook through an ether of tonal swirl, sounding likewise jammy and structured. Again, that balance.
Palo Verde‘s first single, “1975,” takes hold after the opener’s feedback fades out and is led by Frankling‘s drums into a likewise-Songs–for–the–Deaf-ian burst to life and a riff that’s worth digging as deeply into as Psychlona does. The first two songs both have a long instrumental break that gives way back to the verse as clue to the underlying structure of songwriting from which the we-came-a-long-way-to-get-lost-in-this-desert-so-we’re-gonna-do-that spirit of the songs alights. In that context and in shifting from the opening salvo to the next stage of the record with a greater sense of breadth, “Rainbird” is right on time, with “Meet Your Devil” waiting right behind to bring it crashing down on your head.
There’s a kind of narrative there, in the classic nature of how Palo Verde presents itself, and it speaks to the band’s will to engage their audience. The rockers up front pull the listener in, the jammy flow entrances and then the big riff swings down. It’s a method that is both tried and true and Psychlona‘s own here as they contort their style to serve these varied purposes, and the plotline continues on the second half of the album, with “Purple River” leading into the fuzzy start-stop urgency of “Jetplane,” which brings Hey‘s vocals more forward from where they are on the song prior and resets with its outright catchiness the procession ahead of the penultimate “La Tolvanera” (premiering below) and “Warped” at the finish.
As the last of the chapters in the musical story, “La Tolvanera” and “Warped” are particularly intriguing, the former for its relatively concise 5:40 execution of a heavy psychedelic rock, which echoes like some of Elephant Tree‘s work but remains loyal to desert ideals, the riff surrounded by a wash that includes Hey‘s vocals but still very much at the core. “Warped” builds on this while summarizing the multifaceted sides of the tracks before it and directing its solo-laced payoff jam toward what I’ll assume is the heart of a hot, beating-down sun and letting it be all the way gone. No coming back and all that.
And not that the above isn’t relevant to how Palo Verde works, but what I haven’t mentioned yet is that the record is a blast. Psychlona have known all along where they wanted to head as a band, and even as these cuts provide outlet for that, they also cover some new ground for them, as both manifestation of craft and a look at what might come next. Psych suits them. Heavy suits them. Riffs suit them. Desert, crunch, shove — there isn’t any element being wasted here, and for an album that sounds as laid back as it does, that is not a minor accomplishment. If Palo Verde is what Psychlona have been moving toward all this time, the acclaim they’ve reaped as a result is well earned.
Enjoy “La Tolvanera” on the player below, followed by a few words from Hey and live dates, album info, etc., from the PR wire:
Psychlona, “La Tolvanera” premiere
Phil Hey on “La Tolvanera”:
“‘La Tolvanera’ was a tune I was messing around with for a while. I wanted it to be kind of spacey, spooky, and chilled out, but with some heavy as hell breaks in there too. Lyrically it’s loosely a sort of ‘big brother is watching’ covert mission to get across the desert, avoiding sinister beings and doing as you’re told if you want to eventually meet St. Peter. Bit tongue in cheek really. La Tolvanera is Spanish for dust cloud which adds to the secrecy of the mission.”
Formed in Bradford in the summer of 2016, Psychlona have fast become one of the UK’s most coveted heavy psych rock bands. Stealing influence from punk; the Palm Desert scene and 60s/70s psychedelia, two chapters deep into their cosmic journey (following 2018’s Mojo Rising and 2020’s Venus Skytrip), their highly anticipated third is on the horizon and could well be their most electrifying yet.
Teaming up with Psycho Waxx, the in-house label of Psycho Las Vegas Festival – America’s leading and legendary weekend of rock ‘n’ roll debauchery; matchless curation and aural attitude – Psychlona have well and truly found their spiritual home.
Arriving next month, Palo Verde is their third studio album of original material and Psycho Waxx’s first, following on from their inaugural release, Löve Me Förever: A Tribute to Motörhead; a compilation that featured contributions from the likes of Phil Anselmo, Nick Oliveri, High on Fire, Eyehategod, and many more.
Psychlona’s Palo Verde is released 19th August with vinyl pre-orders for the “GALAXY” variant – limited to 700 copies – available exclusively here at Psycho Waxx:https://psychowaxx.com/
PSYCHLONA Tour Dates: 13/8 – Sonic Blast Festival – Viana Do Castelo, Portugal 15/8 – Starline Social Club, Oakland, CA 16/8 – The Roxy Theatre – West Hollywood, CA 17/8 – The Wayfarer – Costa Mesa, CA 18/8 – The Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ 19/8 – Brick by Brick – San Diego, CA 20+21/8 – Psycho Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV 17/9 – Riffolution Festival – Sheffield, UK
Psychlona: Phil Hey – Guitar, Lead Vocals Martyn Birchall – Bass Dave Wainfor – Guitar, Vocals Scott Frankling – Drums
I wasn’t born in the 1970s, and neither I suspect was the majority of UK heavy rockers Psychlona, but I don’t necessarily believe that lessens the ideal they’re speaking to. Led by vocalist/guitarist Phil Hey, the four-piece will release their new album, Palo Verde, through the Psycho Las Vegas-affiliated Psycho Waxx imprint, and though I’ve yet to hear it — maybe a Fall release? — I was fortunate enough to see them live at Freak Valley Festival in Germany a couple weekends ago, and the single “1975” well represents their desert-style intentions fluidly, the accompanying video set in a kind of caricature of the era, a rock club at which even the boredest-looking attendees end up playing Twister by the middle of the song.
And I’m pretty sure that counted as sex in 1975, so yeah. Life is short. Go get some.
The thing about ’75 in particular though is that it’s easy to think of as a point of transition. The heavy rock boom of 1969-’72 had abated, and yeah, KISS were out doing the thing, but the NWOBHM that would emerge in the wake of Judas Priest and Black Sabbath (etc.) had yet to take shape. Punk was on the way up first, at least how historical pop culture narrative has it — things are never actually so black and white — and disco was about to do to funk what glam would do for heavy metal in the ’80s in stripping back its edge in favor of a more accessible and in this case danceable product.
It’s a subcultural peculiarity of heavy rock that it references the ’70s even as the sound is primarily derived from the ’90s, but if you know, then you know, and that’s enough. Psychlona‘s preach to the converted is righteous here and if you’d listen and observe that “hey derp derp there’s no desert in Bradford,” you’ve missed the point. I offer a friendly recommendation to go back and start again.
And please, enjoy:
Psychlona, “1975” official video
The 1970’s were a trip. The end of the 60’s was a cold, hard slap in the face by reality for psychonauts everywhere but the era’s psychedelic drip still trickled down to inspire some of the greatest rock and roll mankind has ever produced. Strapping you into their sonic time machine, Psychlona reproduces the sound and vibration of rock’s most decadent, mystical and formative decade with “1975”, the first single off their third album “Palo Verde”.
As the second track off their highly anticipated first release with Psycho Waxx, the band shares with you the music video for “1975” which, under the masterful direction of Sam Drake, brings us all back to a time when distraction was never devoid of human connection. When rockers were good to each other and music reigned supreme. Desert groove and peaking guitars were the universe’s song, guiding humanity into uncharted artistic direction and now in 2022, Psychlona brings these desert rock essential elements to new heights of cosmic psychosis with “1975”.
Check out “1975” on all streaming platforms. Grab a Digital Download of “1975” for every psycho in your circle to enjoy. And if all that doesn’t launch you deep enough into outer space, vinyl preorders for the “GALAXY” variant are now live at PsychoWaxx.com with only 700 copies available to our most devoted psychonauts.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 27th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
If you’re talking a pedigree in UK doom, being able to namedrop Solstice is a good way to catch the eye. I’ll add to that Monolith Cult and Lazarus Blackstar as well, but however you come at it, Wolves in Winter signing to Argonauta for a to-be-released-sometime-ever debut album is notable. And really if not talking about a pedigree in UK doom, why not? It’s fun. You should try it.
There’s no audio or details for the impending long-player yet, but Wolves in Winter have a 2022 version of the prior demo track “Sobering Thought” on their Bandcamp — also streaming at the bottom of this post — and it promises blending of classic and modern doom methodologies that the PR wire further hints toward, verses sounding like the record Danzig should’ve made with Chris Fielding before opening to the layered harmonies of the chorus and subsequent shifts. Then they break out the BIG riff. It’s a good time and hopefully heralds more to come.
Signing announcement follows from the PR wire:
WOLVES IN WINTER (feat. members of Solstice, Lazarus Blackstar, Monolith Cult & more) Sign With Argonauta Records!
Epic, emotional, eloquent… Newly formed UK doom metal quintet Wolves In Winter have hit the ground running. Forming between lockdowns in 2020, Wolves In Winter have worked tirelessly to forge a crushing fusion of traditional and contemporary doom metal. The band is comprised of seasoned veterans from the UK heavy music underground, including former and present members of Solstice, Lazarus Blackstar, Monolith Cult, Slammer and more, effortlessly building on a wealth of experience and carving a fully realised sound and vision. Today, the heavy doom collective has announced their worldwide signing with Argonauta Records, who are proud to release the band‘s upcoming, first full-length album during 2022!
“We’re really excited about our collaboration with Argonauta – they’re a great label, who are easy to work with and they have some really cool, quality bands on the roster,“ the band comments. This is a great opportunity to bring ourselves to a wider audience, with the help from an established and respected record company and we’re looking forward to our journey with them.“
Wolves In Winter have written and recorded their forthcoming debut album with Chris Fielding (Conan) at Foel Studios. Working with Fielding has allowed them to capture enormous tones and crushing riffs. The quintet seamlessly honour doom metal traditionalists such as Cathedral and Candlemass, yet go toe to toe with contemporary favourites including Pallbearer and Windhand. Wolves In Winter land on both sides of the coin, building dynamic, weighty and nuanced lengthy tracks that are as heavy sonically as they are emotionally. With riffs and chord progressions that are contemplative and melancholic, a subtle yet driving rhythm section, and a powerhouse lead vocal performance which brims with emotive and passionate gravelly harmonies akin to Alice In Chains, Wolves In Winter have already crafted a versatile, engrossing and powerful sound.
Wolves In Winter are currently working hard behind closed doors and have already attracted a buzz from metal publications and record companies. Watch out for many more updates and album details to follow, as with their recent signing with powerhouse label Argonauta Records, Wolves In Winter will undoubtedly make a huge impression in the metal scene holding onto an album that will turn heads!
Wolves In Winter are: Izak – bass Adam – drums Wayne – guitar Enzo – guitar Jake – vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 18th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The name of the new Psychlona album is Palo Verde and it will be their first release through Psycho Waxx, the label wing of the venerable Psycho Las Vegas festival, which had previously announced a Motörhead tribute — in which Psychlona also took part — and intentions toward picking up bands. Well, here we are.
Having two prior LPs — the last one was 2020’s Venus Skytrip (review here) — and a slew of Euro and UK fest appearances both behind them and currently slated, the band will perform a handful of West Coast US shows before they ultimately land at Psycho itself, and if that was going to be a to-do before, no doubt that’s moved on, perhaps even to hootenany level. Should be a good time. They’re the hometown team now.
Their announcement follows:
*MASSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT* We’ve kept schtum long enough – we are hugely, hugely proud to announce we have signed with Psycho Waxx !
Not only is #PsychoWaxx Psycho Las Vegas ‘s in-house label, but as you’d expect, they are music fans through and through. We can’t thank them enough, especially when you get a rousing review like this:
“Psycho Waxx and Psycho Las Vegas sometimes find a band’s sound so magnetic and expressive of all things Psycho, that we bless them as a pure extension of our vision. Britain’s Psychlona are Made Men now, their desert rock is the feel good anthemic rock of the Psycho summer. They may be from across the pond, but in their sound, we’ve found new psychedelic directions to the heart of the American dream. Just before they play Psycho Las Vegas 2022, they’re releasing their 3rd album, Palo Verde. In addition to seeing them at the festival, the band is going on a North American tour packed with Psycho alumnists. Lose yourself in Psychlona’s epic, technical trip, where psych, desert rock, and stoner/doom fill the airwaves with fresh new noise, flying the Psycho flag loud and proud. So hear this signal now, Psychos worldwide, this is your clarion call, Psychlona will be rocking and rolling on these dates in a city near you.” Cheers guys.
And, on top of that, our first order of business is to hit the West Coast with Church of the Cosmic Skull , Black Box Revelation and Lord Buffalo , ending our stint at our new label’s home in #vegas, at #psycholasvegas . You should pop by.
8/15 Monday – Oakland, CA Starline Social Club
8/16 Tuesday – West Hollywood, CA The Roxy https://www.axs.com/events/432712/church-of-the-cosmic-skull-tickets
8/17 Wednesday – Costa Mesa, CA The Wayfarer https://www.eventbrite.com/e/332057120787
8/18 Thursday – Phoenix, AZ The Rebel Lounge https://wl.seetickets.us/event/CHURCH-OFTHECOSMICSKULL/481589?afflky=TheRebelLounge
8/19 Friday – San Diego, CA Brick By Brick https://bit.ly/COTCS-SD
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 25th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
There was some drama or some shit this week on the social medias about Cursed Tongue Records. Someone on the label — I honestly don’t even remember who it was; it was the kind of thing where I rolled over in the middle of the night and dicked around on my phone for probably longer than I needed to before falling asleep again — was unsatisfied with the level of promotion or whatever. Whatever it was. I don’t think you can do what any record label does and not have someone gripe along the way, that’s the nature of the business and you’re never, ever, ever going to meet everyone’s expectations, but as someone who’s watched this imprint grow from its inception to where now they’re sharing releases with Ripple Music and selling out quality vinyl pressings on preorders, I’ll throw in my two cents to say I respect their work.
Obviously my dealings with them aren’t the same as someone putting out music through them, but for what it’s worth, I’ve never heard of them ripping anyone off, and they’ve always seemed like passionate, forward-looking individuals to me. Whoever that was might have a legit argument to make, again, I don’t remember and don’t really care enough to go back and search out that post from the depressing miasma of misinformation that is my Facebook feed at this time — once it’s gone, it’s lost — but if I was putting 0ut a record, I’d be stoked to work with them.
I’m not putting out a record, but you know what I mean.
Couple represses coming up for Wolftooth and Psychlona, and I’ll have a new signing announcement from Cursed Tongue next week too, so keep an eye out for that:
WOLFTOOH – ‘VALHALLA’ AND PSYCHLONA – ‘VENUS SKYTRIP’ VINYL REPRESSES ON CURSED TONGUE RECORDS RELEASES WORLDWIDE NOVEMBER 27, 2020
Cursed Tongue Records is super pleased to announce the repressing of two of 2020’s best performing releases, name Richmond, IN based riff-welding behemoth Wolftooth and Bradford, UK kebab-slinging, fuzz-riff, space-traveling stoner desert rockers Psychlona.
Earlier this year both Wolftooth and Psychlona released their sophomore album that both were immediate barnburners, and both vaporized from the record store shelves and online stores quite rapidly.
We thus look forward to the repressing of ‘Valhalla’ and ‘Venus Skytrip’ and to be able to bring both albums out again on premium, heavyweight 180 grams coloured vinyl and get it into the hands of the fans that missed out on the first pressing. Vinyl pre-orders start from the label’s webstore October 2nd at 6PM CET:https://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
WOLFTOOTH – ‘VALHALLA’ REPRESS OUT NOVEMBER 27, 2020 [VINYL PRE-ORDER OCTOCER 2ND]
On their sophomore album Wolftooth has truly upped the ante, expanded on their already tested and tried formula, added more layers of sound and variation in the song writing and overall musical execution. The production has improved markedly and the tracks oozes of the much attention that has gotten into capturing both detail, feel and vibe during the recording. As the band members, they express it: “We started work on this album back in August 2019; it is our masterpiece haha”
‘Valhalla’ is everything you would come to expect from a follow-up album to Wolftooth’s über popular self-titled debut album – and then some! And even more! Seriously, we have been heavy-nodding, headbanging and fist pumping on a daily basis since these four hoosiers submitted their new stellar opus. God damn ‘Valhalla’ is great, oh yeah! As if there would ever be a more suiting set of rock hymns to accompany the Aesir Gods to their sacred halls at Asgard after having slain all giants (Jætter, ed.) at the battlefield it has to be ‘Valhalla.’
PSYCHLONA – ‘VENUS SKYTRIP’ REPRESS OUT NOVEMBER 27, 2020 [VINYL PRE-ORDER OCTOCER 2ND]
With ‘Venus Skytrip’ Psychlona has truly taking everything they have come to stand for and kicked it to a whole new level of fuzzy stoner rock space ecstacy. Standing on the pedigree the foursome gained with their critically acclaimed ‘Mojo Rising’ album they have build an entire new spaceship of might and power, but also of bloody coherent beauty and memorability. There’s no escaping from the hum-worthy refrains and hypnotic grooves.
Behold eight tracks of new Psychlona, and as the band expresses it themselves: “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. We’re beyond proud of this album. Comments we hear regularly at live shows mention the power of the sound and the energy in the performance. We believe we’ve captured that power and energy in this record. Oh yeah – we’re still space truckin’ desert rockin’ kebab eating mofos so no change there.” So get your trip on and head for Venus…
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?
