Cosmic Fall - In Search of Outer Space

Self-released

This is the third album by Berlin-based psychedelic stoner rock band Cosmic Fall. I have somehow missed their two first albums as well as the split with Aphodyl that was released last year. I really should have payed more attention as this is great stuff! As my readers know, I tend to prefer the really trippy, out-there bands out there and Cosmic Fall might not exactly be one of them, but they have a cool, groovy and mind-altering enough style. Their line up is now just a three-piece of guitar, bass/vocals and drums so don't expect spacey synthesizers or full orchestration here. It's more like back to the basics but done with style and emotion. The jamming and use of guitar pedals make sure that there still is enough psych vibes.

This new album that is already out on CD (vinyl version will follow at the end of next month) has seven tracks on it. The lenghty opener "Jabberwocky" is a groovy heavy stoner rock piece somewhere in between Monster Magnet, Gas Giant and Earthless. This track also has vocals unlike most of the pieces. I'm a sucker for long guitar solos and this is one of the bands that I enjoy the most during those. There are also some more laid-back, dreamy moments in there to keep things interesting and varied. Very nice! "Narcotic Vortex" is another heavy, mid-tempo stoner rock blast with some very cool jamming. On "Purification" the band stays rather tranquil and easy and I like it. "Lumberjam" has some more energy and brings to mind Earthless a bit. Never a bad thing, mind you! One of the most psychedelic tracks for sure must be the hypnotic and experimental "Spacejam" where the band gets closer to space rock. The last track "Icarus" still wins my vote for the album's best track. It starts off in a rather intense way, then gets spacey and chilled-out with some vocals and then bursts out into heavy psych again towards the end. Excellent! If you are a fan of heavy stoner jamming then this band definitely should be on your radar.

www.facebook.com/cosmicfallband

Us and Them - From the Corner of My Eye 7"

Mega Dodo (Mega 17)

This is a brand-new 7" by my favourite Swedish psych folk duo Us and Them. As always with Mega Dodo this is a limited edition release and there are only 250 hand-numbered copies made. The actual 7" has just two beautiful, emotional songs but the download has two more. The melancholic title track "From the Corner of My Eye" is perhaps the one I love the most: it really is touching and pretty. Nice acoustic guitar and organ, slow drum beat, simple bass and amazing female vocals, what else do you need? Okay, some string sounds in the chorus and more instrumentation later on, of course! Just wonderful. On the B-side, "The Iron Maiden" has a more traditional folk vibe that I also really like. I didn't even first realise that it's a 1970 Barclay James Harvest cover.

The download includes one more original and one cover song. The just over two-minute "When Life Begins" has a more positive mood and David Bowie's "All The Madmen" has received a very cool folky Us and Them treatment. This one also features guests on flute and drums. Too bad that these bonus tracks are not on the vinyl, since they would have fitted on 33 1/3 RPM. Get this 7" soon before it's gone and while you're at it, the new full-length On Shipless Ocean is also now on pre-sale so you can get them both at the same time to save on postage!

www.facebook.com/usandthemmusic
 

Timetable for Berlin Desertfest online!

You can now check out the full timetables for Berlin Desertfest (4.-6.5.2018) over here:

www.desertfest.de/timetable

Astral Visions Mixcloud Show #79 now online

New Astral Visions Mixcloud Show #79 now online with tracks by Dungen​ & Woods, Dreamweapon, Stephen Bailey, Pharaoh Overlord​, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs​, Crypt Trip, Anthroprophh​, Permanent Clear Light​, Beautify Junkyards​, Domboshawa, The Oscillation​, Cosmic Fall, ZONG - Band​, Sound of New Soma & Malditos. Have a nice trip!

www.mixcloud.com/AstralVisions/astral-visions-079

Tracklist

• 1 Turn Around (from Myhths 003) by Dungen & Woods
• 2 Monte da Virgem (from SOL) by Dreamweapon
• 3 Demure (from Silo) by Stephen Bailey
• 4 Revolution (from Zero) by Pharaoh Overlord
• 5 Sweet Relief (Feed the Rats) by Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
• 6 Soul Games (from Rootstock) by Crypt Trip
• 7 Omegaville/Thothb (from Omegaville) by Anthroprophh
• 8 Maurice (from Maurice N'est Pas La 7" EP) by Permanent Clear Light
• 9 Shelter (from The Invisible World of Beautify Junkyards) by Beautify Junkyards
• 10 Saturdaze (from Minds Electrix by Domboshawa
• 11 Flight Sequence (from U.E.F.) by The Oscillation
• 12 Spacejam (from In Search Of Outer Space) by Cosmic Fall
• 13 Giant Floating Head (from S/T) by Zong
• 14 Weinende Eidechsen (from Live at the Green Mushroom Festival) by Sound of New Soma
• 15 Disparu (from II) by Malditos

Magic Bus – Phillip The Egg

Back to the Garden Records

Once again I'm about one year late with a review but better late than never I guess... Magic Bus is a new U.K. based progressive rock band playing a very cool version of Canterbury Scene Caravan styled jazzy, psychedelic prog rock fusion. I have reviewed their previous album over here and they have also released a couple of excellent 7" singles on Fruits de Mer.

This 45-minute CD includes eight tracks. The album kicks off with the almost nine-minute "Mystical Mountain" that has a lovely, sunny and positive vibe before the more mystical, heavier instrumental ending. I'm mostly reminded of  Caravan and later all also Gong and I really can't complain about that. "Fading Light" is a shorter, slow and peaceful instrumental piece that somehow brings to mind Mahavishnu Orchestra, very smooth and nice. Next we've got the semi-acoustic, beautiful "Trail To Canaa" and I'm in Camel wonderland. I really like the vocals and flute on this one and the solo part towards the end is killer. "Zeta" has a cool, swinging rhythm and bit Oriental vibe. "Distant Future" is the second longest track on the album at 7:11 and it must be one of the most progressive. Things get rather intense and heavy at times, but there are also more atmospheric parts. Superb! The space sounds later on bring to mind Gong. "Kepler 22b" is another rather long track and perhaps closer to King Crimson than Canterbury Scene. There's maybe some Gentle Giant influnces in there too for good measure. On "Kalamazoo" the band chills out for nice, acoustic moods. The great album is finished with "Yantra Tunnels" that starts with a minute of drone before going into very cool, sort of Indian style prog rocking. The end of the track seriously rocks out! A good way to end an amazing album. I just realized that this is out on vinyl as well, I really need a copy.

www.facebook.com/magicbusbandofficial

Various Artists - Goldfish

Fruits de Mer (crustacean 84 & 85)

Goldfish is a massive 3LP + 7" set of some of the best tracks that Fruits de Mer Records have put out since rising from the sea in 2008. Since most of the original releases are long gone and highly collectable this is a very welcome addition to their catalogue. There is only one previous compilation LP with tracks from different early Fruits de Mer releases: Plankton put out by Record Collector in 2013. Keith himself states that "Goldfish focuses mainly on what Fruits de Mer originally set out to deliver - classic and wilfully-obscure songs taken from, or heavily influenced by, the 60s and early 70s".

It would take me whole night to go through all the tracks included here and you can see the song list with data where they originate from over here. Fruits de Mer have been one of my favourite labels since the beginning but only listening to the promo CD-R version of this release has made me really understand what an enormous amount of magnificent, beautiful and mind-blowing music they really have put out during their ten years of existence. Also, most of my favourite modern bands have been covering most of my 60s and 70s favourites! In addition, several 60s/70s psych rock/folk masters have contributed with some fresh, new recordings as well as rare tracks from the past. It really is almost too good to be true. I would have possibly picked a few different tracks for the compilation, but I still like them all a lot. It's actually impossible to even pick ten favourites among the 30 tracks included. Let's just say that this a perfect opportunity to get some of the very sought-after songs that Fruits de Mer have released and also a great introduction to the label for the uninitiated. Goldfish should be available at the beginning of May. The price is not too bad either for such a massive release so I'd warmly recommend preordering it right away!

www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/index.html

Permanent Clear Light - Maurice N'est Pas La 7" EP

Regal Crabomophone (winkle 31)

Finally a new release by Finland's moody psychedelic masters Permanent Clear Light! While drooling in anticipation for the band's long overdue second album fans of PCL can soon caress their ears and minds with this very cool 15-minute EP on Fruits de Mer's sister label.

On side A there is an eight-minute track "Maurice" sung in French. The track has a very 80s vibe bringing to mind Nick Nicely and even some mainstream 80s pop/post-punk/funk bands. But fear not: it's still 100% psychedelia. The dirty, killer bass line and steady, almost disco beat is enhanced with cool, airy keyboards and weird synthesizers and surprisingly little guitar. The vocals are drenched in mind-blowing effects and the eight minutes go past like a blink of an eye leaving you wonder what the hell just happened. This is a psychedelic dance classic from some other dimansion, I love it!

On the flip side we've got two little beauties. "One in Five" is also rather up-beat and tells about Finland's common mental issue, depression. One out of Five Finns suffer from that, sadly. Maybe it's in the genes but I bet the long, dark wintertime and insane alcohol consumption rates don't help. More cool guitar on this one! The great EP is finished with the slower "This Quiet Smiling Man" that sounds more like the band's debut album. It's about Robert Oppenheimer, so not very positive lyrics here either. There are some pretty far-out moments in there, and I especially like the melancholic, beautiful instrumental outro. Wow, what a great little release! This limited 7" EP is put out with two different covers, collect them both and make your neighbours jealous. Sad news is that the band will apparently stop making music after the second album is released sometime later this year... They will be missed!

www.facebook.com/PermanentClearLight