Hanford Flyover - Source

 Friends of the Fish (friends of the fish 73)

Hanford Flyover is one of those bands that I only know thanks to Keith at Fruits de Mer Records... Source is their third album and to be released on CD(r?) and limited lathe-cut LP on FdM's Friends of the Fish sub-label. The LP will include a bit shorter versions of the tracks to fit them all in that format.

Hanford Flyover is a British-American duo formed by Josh and Holly Bowler. Their music has elements of psychedelia, pop and electronic music I got to say I love Holly's clear vocals. They have lots of nice melodies, groovy rhythms and bass patterns, strange sounds effects, nice keyboards and synth pads, lovely guitars and great vibes from the 60s to modern times. There are eight tracks totalling in 46 minutes in length. "Shadows on the Sun", "Shallow  Waters" and "This Is Now" form a great and rather energetic opening trio. Then the slower "Formless" also has some electronica elements although is also reminds me of The Green Pajamas. Wonderful moods and touching lyrics too. "Neutrino" goes deeper into the modern electronic music world  at times but there is also funky guitar and bass work. Maybe it's the vocoder but it sort of reminds me of Air, which is not a bad thing at all. Cool stuff! "Firefly" has a heavy, steady bass line and a nice chorus. "Golden" starts off with peaceful synth soundscapes but gets more intense. Josh does the lead vocals on this one which is a good change for a while. The last piece "Entropy" is another excellent example of modern psych pop/rock. Some wild & fuzzy guitar soloing in there as well! All in all, a very enjoyable album that should get wider recognition in the music business, let's see if the world is ready for Hanford Flyover.

https://www.facebook.com/HanfordFlyover/

Doctors of Space - The Astral Sessions Vol. 5 - Roadburn Redux

 Self-released (DOSASCD 005)

As most of the readers of this blog probably know, Doctors of Space is a duo formed by two musicians (AND doctors) retired in Portugal: Scott "Dr Space" Heller (Øresund Space Collective etc.) and Martin Weaver (Wicked Lady, Dark). Scott plays synthesizers, Hammond and Mellotron and Martin guitars, drum machines and bass. They have released quite a lot of stuff since 2019 and I have only heard some of it.

This limited CD-R release (100 copies) is the latest in their Astral Sessions series and really cool. This set of tracks was recorded in Martin's home studio for Roadburn Redux in 2021 and broadcasted online. I watched the show and liked it really much since it was heavier and more space ROCK oriented than their often more experimental stuff (that I also enjoy a lot!). So just two guys improvising live, but Martin uses loopers to add more layers of guitar and bass so the sound gets fuller than you'd expect. There are just four instrumental jams on the album but they are long so the album is 74 minutes in lenght. Only three of the tracks were shown on Roadburn Redux, and two of them in edited form, so with buying this CD-R you'll get extra stuff. The bonus track "Don't Trust the AI" (great name, by the way!) is not even available on their Bandcamp site at all. Bacause of the looper the pieces are of course rather repetitive but that is okay with space rock! You'll get lots of spacey synths sounds, hard rocking stoner riffs and driving machine beats that will get you to outer space.

They still have some copies on sale on their Bandcamp site but I'd recommend acting fast if you want one!

https://doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/

Happenings in the Astral Magic universe

 Hello Earthlings and Aliens!

Quite a lot has happened with Astral Magic since the last posting. We went to Kozfest with my friend Jaire (Octopus Syng, check out the new album feat. me) which was a blast. I met so many friends I had previously only been in contact in virtual world that it was overwhelming! Also several Astral Magic collaborators like Bridget Wishart, Kev Ellis, Peter Bingham, Scott Heller, the list goes on! Check out my videos of most of the great gigs we saw on this YouTube playlist I made.

At the festival I also received the "Cosmic Man" Astral Magic T-shirts that Skullprint had made. Most amazing! I still have some left over here:

https://astralmagic.bandcamp.com/merch/astral-magic-cosmic-man-t-shir

There also two other desings only available from https://skullprint.co.uk/. All desings by the amazing Andy Wainwright!

I also made a test run of just 25 copies of an Astral Magic patch with the logo. A few still left over here:

https://astralmagic.bandcamp.com/merch/astral-magic-patch

 As always, new releases just keep on coming... 

Sacred Mysteries is an album that has been in the works since 2021. I finally got it finished with the artwork. Eetu Pellonpää did three drawings for it and Andy Wainwright designed it all together. The guests are Anton Barbeau on guitars and Taavi Heikkilä (Malady) on saxophones. I describe the album as melodic, progressive and moody space rock with some experimental, ambient touch. Check it out over here and buy on download or limited edition CD.

I also went back to Black Floyd's Analog Studio to record another single with the Kultti-25 boys. Mind Eater / Lurking in the Dark is a real mind-blower and will be released on the next Bandcamp Friday 6.10.! Only 50 copies on 7" lathe-cut, so might sell out fast...

There is also another 7" lathe-cut coming up shortly but can't say more about that yet... It will be announced  next week so keep your mind, eyes and ears open!

I just wrote answers to an interview in Progressive Rock Journal and am in the process of making a track for Institute for Alien Research compilation so a lot happening indeed.

All Peace to You, Galactic Brothers and Sisters

The Luck of Eden Hall - An Introduction to The Luck of Eden Hall

 Fruits de Mer Records (intro 2)

 

I was first introduced to the wonderful world of The Luck or Eden Hall during their second coming in 2008, when I received their fresh CD  Subterrene for review. This Chicago-based had already started  in early 90s releasing a few singles and tapes. I instantly fell in love with their progressive, melodic and innovative take on psychedelic rock. The band kept on releasing great albums, singles and covers for Fruits de Mer Records until the band seemingly went on hiatus in 2017/2018.

This CD(-R?) compiles together 16 songs the band recorded for Fruits de Mer vinyl compilations and singles in between 2010 and 2018. As a die-hard fan of the band and label I of course had all these before... But it is so cool to hear them all here so effortlessly! And if that was not enough, we also get two unreleased tracks to finish the album! "Stop Stop Stop" (Clarke/Hicks/Nash) was recorded for Re-Evolution - FdM Plays The Hollies but never used and "China Girl" (Bowie/Pop) was recorded with the amazing Welsh space rock band Sendelica in 2015! Lucky days... So we have 18 tracks in total and each is really great. The covers include Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam", Love's "She Comes in Colours". "SF Sorrow Is Born" by The Pretty Things, "The Crystal Ship" (The Doors) and "Starship Trooper" (Yes), just to mention a few of the highlights! What's really remarkable is the fact that their originals like "Bangalore" and "A Drop in the Ocean" don't really have anything to be shamed of in comparison to the classics. Curvey and the boys have always known how to make catchy, melodic psych pop tunes with a twist.

An Introduction to... is a great way to get into the band and also a very nice opportunity to hear all these glorious trcaks in one go, even if you had most of them on vinyl before. Warmly recommended! If you are in the UK you can order this through the FdM website, for others, try Shiny Beast.

theluckofedenhall.bandcamp.com/

 

Monuments in the Horizon - 2005 - 2015

 Bemböle Cassettes

 Monuments in the Horizon was a noisy and fierce, mostly instrumental space/stoner/psych rock band that jammed together for ten years in Helsinki. I think I was involved at least once or twice... Or at least with some of these guys that are mentioned here. Anyway, the personel changed a bit from jam to jam, I think. They also played some gigs.  There is no website or Facebook/Bandcamp site to be found, so the overal info on the band is pretty limited.

Anyway, as far as I know, the band's music has only been featured on a couple of compilations on the mysterious Bemböle Cassettes label and and there was one EP and that's it. All the stuff here SEEMS to be recorded at reahearsal space with pretty primitive equipment but the sound quality is better on some tracks than others. This cool package includes two cassettes full of stuff: 43 tracks in total. Sometimes they bring to mind The Heads, sometimes there are heavier stoner rock vibes but there are also some space effects etc. to add a spacey atmosphere from time to time. We also get some tormented sax etc. Some tracks seem to have actual song structures too so it's not just jamming. Occasionally we also get some screamed and even melodic vocals as well as sort of rap, which is cool. I like the energetic, stoned and heavy vibe of this band, I only wish that the sound quality would be a bit more sophisticated. But if you enjoy the lo-fi esthetic offered on many of The Heads rehearsal jam albums you will for sure like this as well.

I was given this compilation double tape already a couple of years ago so not sure if it is still available, but you can always try Bemböle Cassettes, I guess. Worth the try!

www.facebook.com/BemboleCassettes

bembolecassettes@gmail.com