Sun Dial - Mind Control

Sulatron Records (st 1510)

This is the first CD issue of the latest studio album by U.K. neo-psych rock legends Sun Dial. Mind Control was originally released in 2012 on vinyl only and limited to 500 copies, so I guess this was in order. I reviewed the album back in 2012 so I'm using some of that now being a lazy bastard...

The UK based Sun Dial was formed in the beginning of the 90s and is a great example of prime neo-psychedelia. Their 1990 debut Other Way Out is one of the most legendary releases in this genre. The band led by guitarist/singer Gary Ramon made several other great albums in the first half of the 90’s before fading out after the 1995 album Acid Yantra. You can read more of their history from the interview I did with Gary in 2003, for example. In the 00s this band that is one of my favourites luckily started to rise from the dead and I think that especially Zen for Sale (2003) was a very good album. The untitled official studio album from 2010 on the other hand was a sort of disappointment for some of the fans since the band seemed to be trying to reach the metal audience which meant less psychedelia. But that album still has its moments! It’s also worthwhile to get at least some of the compilations and reissues with bonus tracks that have been coming out during the recent years.

Now Sun Dial has very consciously returned to the moods of their first album since the producer is Hugo Chavez-Smith who also produced Other Way Out, their early record label Tangerine has been resurrected to release Mind Control and the music is maybe even more mind-expanding than ever! Recorded in 2011-2012, (the original) Mind Control includes six tracks and I really like them all. The over nine-minute “Mountain of Fire & Miracles” is very hypnotic, druggy and mystical stuff that somehow brings to mind the brilliant Inside the Acid Temple album by Liquid Sound Company. Gary’s voice sounds really good. What an excellent and psychedelic track! The instrumental “Radiation” starts off peacefully and there’s also some flute sounds like on the debut album. Soon the groovy drum beat joins in and then also some electronic soundscapes appear and finally some heavier electric guitar. Great! “Burned In” is a short, experimental sound collage and then Sun Dial goes for a Neu! styled kraut rock jam on the long, instrumental title track “Mind Control”! This is another one of my favourites on the album and is guaranteed to make you feel dizzy in the head. ”Last Rays of the Sun” is a beautiful, tranquil and atmospheric track that doesn’t have any vocals either. ”In Every Dream Home a Heartache” begins acoustically in the same style than many of the songs on their recent semiofficial CD-R EP’s. The chord progression reminds me of Hawkwind’s “Assault & Battery” and there is also some violin in there. Gary’s singing is not that on-your-face but still very efficient. Right in the middle the track starts to move in a heavier manner and works very well. We still get to hear Gary’s wah guitar soloing too which is always nice...

What's special for this CD reissue are the two previously unreleased bonus tracks at the end! "Seven Pointed Star (Short Version)" and "World Within You" were both spawn from the same recording sessions than the six tracks on the original LP. The first one is a hypnotic, apocalyctic instrumental that would suit perfectly a Satanic horror movie. The other one is a slow, hazy psych rock song with some signature fuzz guitar work by Mr. Ramon as well as floating flute. A cool, otherwordly atmosphere to end this very nice reissue that's worth getting even if you have the LP already. It's also great to know that the band have been working hard on a brand-new album so beware...

www.facebook.com/Sun-Dial-44127734642

The best albums in 2015!

Top Ten Finnish albums (in alphabetical order):

Black Lizard - Solarize
Circle - Pharaoh Overlord
Dark Buddha Rising - Inversum
Death Hawks -  Sun Future Moon
Domovoyd - S/T
Galacticka - S/T
Sammal - Myrskyvaroitus
Seremonia -  Kristalliarkki
Tuliterä - Tulikaste
Tähtiportti - S/T



Top Twenty Foreign albums (in alphabetical order):

The Bevis Frond - Example 22
Carlton Melton - Out to Sea
Cranium Pie - Mechanisms Part Two
Dungen - Allas Sak
Electric Moon - Theory of Mind
Giöbia - Magnifier
Golden Void - Berkana
Hills - Frid
Jacco Gardner - Hypnophobia
Kosmischer Läufer - The Secret Cosmic Music Of The East German Olympic Program 1972-83 - Volume Three
Lamp of the Universe - The Inner Light of Revelation
Monster Magnet - Cobras and Fire (The Mastermind Redux)
Ozric Tentacles - Technicians of the Sacred
Polska Radio One - Early Broadcasts
Sendelica - Anima Mundi
Space Invaders - Dreadnaught
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper
White Manna - Pan
Zone Six - Love Monster
Øresund Space Collective - Different Creatures

I made a rule of not including any live albums or compilations. It sure was a grear year what comes to music!

Happy holidaze everyone...

The Honey Pot - Lisa Dreams / Into the Deep 7" / Inside the Whale

Mega Dodo Records (MEGA2 / DODOLP/CD14)

The Honey Pot is an English psych rock/pop band formed in 2012 in Devon. They have a deep love for psych rock from the late 60s and you can hear that in their wonderful music. Their sound has both U.S. West Coast vibes as well as strong British elements, and bands like The Yardbirds, The Doors, The Small Faces, Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, The Kinks, The Flaming Groovies, Spirit, The Hollies, The Jeff Beck Group, Love, Kevin Ayers and The Rolling Stones have been mentioned as their influences. I first heard about them when their wonderful female singer Crystal Jacqueline released a solo 7" on Fruits de Mer and soon after that her debut solo album on Mega Dodo. She has now also released another solo album and they both are excellent. While Crystal's solo stuff is mostly more acid folky psych, The Honey Pot is more rock and pop oriented, but still usually rather gentle and very pleasant stuff. They released their first album To the Edge of the World in 2012 on Psychecandy Records, and there is also a split double 7" with Crystal Jacqueline with some great cover tracks on Fruits de Mer that I like very much. This stuff has also been re-released on Mega Dodo with bonus tracks on CD as Electronic Memory (sold out...).

Lisa Dreams / Into the Deep 7" is the first edition in Mega Dodo's singles club that will also feature Finland's Octopus Syng among other superb artists. If I have understood correctly, it's also possible to purchase individual singles but the numbers are very limited. The A-side is a simple, cheery, melodic and catchy pop psych treat that only ends too fast. Great lead vocals by Crystal. "Into the Deep" is a slower, longer and sort of bluesy number that has male lead vocals and a stronger, more energetic chorus. I'm reminded of Spirit a bit, I think, not bad at all! This marvelous 7" should be out in January and I recommend you to preorder it right away.

The full-length album Inside the Whale includes nine previously unreleased original compositions in 40 minutes and will be released on LP and very special 3CD set. Both formats will be ultra limited, how ever, so hurry up if you don't want to settle for the digital download. All the songs are just amazing, but I'll try to find a few highlights. The opener "The Outskirts of Your Mind" is definitely one of them. If you like the sunny, trippy vibe of the 80s UK Festival Scene faves The Magic Mushroom Band you will love this as well. I'm also reminded of The Byrds etc., just great melodic psych rock/pop stuff. The longest track is the title track that also has flute and more prog/Canterbury mood. Excellent! "Psychedelic Circles" is a very cool, a bit whimsical track with some weird backwards guitar & other psych effects. Some of the tracks are rather laid-back and dreamy, like the beautiful "Walking on Eggshells". There are also some more folk vibes towards the end. All in all, Inside the Whale is a wonderful, atmospheric and deeply emotional album that works and sounds really well as a whole. A future psych classic for sure!

www.facebook.com/thehoneypotband

Jack Ellister - Tune Up Your Ministers and Start Transmission from Pool Holes to Class O Hypergiants

Fruits de Mer (Friends of the Fish 5)

I was first introduced to the very nice and talented psych rock/folk musician and singer Jack Ellister when he sent me a CD by his psych rock band Yordan Orchestra for a review about five years ago. Jack (real name Jacek Janiszewski) is originally from Poland, but was living in Holland for a long time. He's been going solo for some time now releasing a few 7" singles and contributing on many compilations on Fruits de Mer Records and also playing quite a lot of solo gigs including one at Crabstock on Ice festival in Helsinki. Jack has now relocated in London and seems to be doing great. Tune Up Your Ministers and Start Transmission from Pool Holes to Class O Hypergiants is his first full-length solo album and features nine songs in 32 minutes. Jack plays guitars, synthesizers, percussion, violin, mouth harp and sings lead vocals being helped by some friends on drums, bass, backing vocals, horns, piano etc.


The album starts off with the rather hard rocking, 60s styled psych rock number "The Man with the Biochopper" that brings to mind early Pink Floyd among others. We have already hear this song on his first solo single, but this sounds like a new, fresh version, and I love it. "The Sun Sends Me Hails, Victory, Power, Peace and Shelter" has a more folky vibe but grows on its way. "Saddle Up the Horse" sounds a bit like early David Bowie or Tyrannosaurus Rex and also has lots of acoustic guitar as well as sax and piano. A rather nice song! "Calm Adapter" is minimal, atmospheric, experimental and very peaceful piece to end the A side. "Great Esmeralda" is one of Jack's best and most effective songs with a superb chorus and a definitive highlight on the album. "Curator" is a short, weird, trippy and experimental piece a bit in The Beatles style, and then comes the beautiful, melancholic acoustic psych folk masterpiece "Wishmachine" that I really like a lot. "Old South" is one of the most experimental pieces on the album, and sounds like an old steam train going very slow on a hazy, mysterious landscape. The album is finished with the pretty and psychedelic, organ driven "A Hunter Needs a Gun" that again remains me of early Pink Floyd and has an epic ending. What a great song and a perfect way to end the album, I'm in awe. I'm afraid it might be impossible to get a copy of the first LP pressing that is due out soon since there will be only 111 copies made, but I get the album will be available in other formats as well.

www.jackellister.com

Sula Bassana - Shipwrecked

Sulatron Records (st1602 / st1602-2)

This time David Schmidt aka Sula Bassana has gone to the more electronic side of space/kraut/psych music again. Shipwrecked is his latest solo album and it differs quite a lot from his latest, more rock oriented studio solo album masterpiece Dark Days released in 2012. Of course having an electronic beat on the new LP/CD doesn't make the music any less hypnotic, psychedelic or spacey. In addition to electronics, lots of vintage instrumentation (mainly synthesizers) is also used. This, actually, is very trance-inducing, hallucinatory, kosmische and spacey electronic krautrock.

Shipwrecked includes six instrumental (apart from some sampled spoken word) tracks that vary in length from just under three to almost eleven minutes. The opener, the pulsating, hypnotic and trippy "Moonbase Alpha Alpha" is a very suitable soundtrack for astronauts and you can feel the space ship taking off and flying though space. Wow, I love this vibe! The longest piece "Shushi Express" is another great hypnotic, motorik and spacey number that puts you in trance. The slower "No Time : No Eternity" chills things down in a cool way. I'm reminded of Helios Creed's Dark Matter ambient project a bit. "Planeta Bur" is a nine-minute psychedelic, electronic space journey and also rather peaceful stuff. Great! The most relaxing pieces are the last two: the beautiful, floating and laid-back title track "Shipwrecked" that also has some soothing strings sounds (Mellotron?) and the shortest track "No Way" that has nice organ and very ambient atmosphere. Personally I usually prefer the more "rocking" output of Sula Bassana, but he really knows how to make this kind of electronic stuff interesting and trippy too and I must say I enjoy this album enormously. This will be out in February, make sure you'll get a copy!

www.sulabassana.de

The Grand Astoria - The Mighty Few

FireStorm Production / Setalight / Robust Fellow / Voron Nest (FSP 0915 / 697)

The Grand Astoria from St. Petersburg, Russia have for sure produced their most ambitious album so far. The Mighty Few includes just two massively long tracks that feature everything from heavy, doomy stoner rock through prog rock/metal, psych rock, space rock, hard rock, heavy metal all the way to folk, funk, reggae, experimental and free jazz! The instrumentation includes guitars, flute, synths, bass, electric and acoustic pianos, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, percussion, drums and then some... Even a choir! The CD and vinyl versions differ a bit, since the CD has two separate tracks "Curse of the Ninth" (28:19) and "The Siege" (21:19) and the vinyl three: A1 "Curse of the Ninth (pt 1)" (22:39), B1 "Curse of the Ninth (pt 2)" (5:28) and B2 "The Siege (Vinyl Edit)" (15:48), so the CD buyers get a little bit over five minutes' worth of more music.

Two long tracks that have some much different stuff in them might not sound that easy for the listener to absorb, and this really isn't an easy-listening experience. Having said that, you get sucked into the music rather easily, and time just flies by. I especially adore the way "Curse of the Ninth" develops and takes you on an amazing journey through space and weird landscapes.  I think fans of Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Devin Townsend, King Crimson, Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment etc. will love this album. The vocals are now better than ever, and the playing and sound quality is top-notch. It would be interesting to see how they perform these two mega tracks live since the studio versions feature 10 persons... Check this out!

www.facebook.com/TheGrandAstoria

Bread and Circus - Born Again Again

SlowBurn Records (SBR 061)

  








Bread and Circus is an American indie rock band with some punk and just enough psych vibes for me to include this review on my psych blog. Another reason of course is that this CD was released on SlowBurn Records, who have given us great albums by Black Sun Ensemble and Sun Zoom Spark etc. and it also features several psych rock musicians from the Tucson scene. The promo sheet compares this album to Jayhawks (never heard them...), Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac and Blue Cheer, and maybe they know they are talking about. Personally I like the fact that some songs (and great guitar solos!) remind me of British indie psych heroes The Bevis Frond and maybe also Neil Young, especially the last, rather heavy and great track "Tired". Some of the songs and melodies also bring to mind some Irish folk/indie rock acts and well as country music. Highlights for me are the energetic opener "Black Wing Bird" that has plenty of psychy, fuzzy guitar work and the slow, bluesy and melancholic ballad "You Were in Love". "Clumberland Farms" is pretty straight forward punk, and I also like the mid-tempo and bit darker "Scarecrow". This is not the kind of music that I usually listen to, but I still like it.

www.breadandcircusmusic.com