Custard Flux - Helium

Self-released

Custard Flux is a new project by The Luck of Eden Hall psych/prog/pop guru Gregory Curvey. It's easier to let the man himself tell you how this happened: "This project was born out of a vision I had after acquiring a 100 year old Harmonium, and the ability to be able to set up in the park and play progressive psychedelic pop without any electricity. Newly located in Detroit, I've set out to find a group of like minded musicians, including a Double Bassist, Drummer, Keyboardist and Guitarist. It's taken some time, but the spark has been lit, and I'm pleased with the music. I hope you like it too." So the idea was to make psychedelic prog pop in an semi-acoustic way without electric instruments and the Harmonium definitely adds and extra baroque flavor to the music. This is still definitely not "classical music" in any way, although you can hear classical influences in some of the melody lines etc. The drum set and wonderful, rather complex compositions still make it sound more like modern stuff. There's also been some cheating so you can hear a few marvelous fuzz guitar solos in there... Just check the beautiful "Forevermore" for a taste of that.

All the 11 tracks on the main CD were written, performed and produced by Curvey himself. I love the way he can make rather complex melodies and rhythms seem and sound so natural, flowing and effortless. His soft vocals are perfect for the music and caress your soul. There's lots of excellent acoustic guitar work throughout the album. The magnificent, progressive instrumentals "The Shire of  Gingin" and "La Mort" are great example of this. Curvey is also an able drummer and has visited several of the recent Sendelica albums as a second drummer, for example. Other instrumentation includes at least piano and double bass, I'm not sure what else, but the overall sound is very lush and well-balanced. The acoustic nature of the music makes some tracks sound more like folk, especially the ones without actual drums. The fans of The Luck of Eden Hall will for sure also enjoy this project since you can hear the similarity with Custard Flux. The music is maybe not THAT psychedelic but songs like "Out of Phase" will still make your head spin a little. As usual, it's almost impossible to name any highlights since I just love all of Curvey's tunes. Warmly recommended! If you want to go all the way, there's also a limited deluxe edition in a beautiful hinged wooden box including a bonus CD with five more tasty tracks as well as a card set and 16-page booklet. Hopefully a double LP version will follow!

custardflux.bandcamp.com/releases