We're Late For Class - 2011 - Music of the Spheres

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.25 out of 5

These psychedelically-minded musical bloggers have been blasting a few tunes our way every now and again for a few years now, but I think this is one of the better efforts I've heard from them. We're Late For Class is a rather free-form grouping that records whatever abstractions fits their mood at the moment, and it seems that they were in a jazzy, space rock mood for this one. The production quality here is also a nice step up, with a hazy, crisp vibe propelling the sounds into interstellar space. I'm also a sucker for the kind of cosmic cover art that this one sports, and the music reflects it pretty well.

We've got two tracks here that almost form a bit of a musical suite. "Blood Queen of Sun Ra" shuffles along the rings of Saturn, and includes some groovy samples from god knows where. "SOL's Time and Space" drifts along a more conventional, but well played Floydian strut. There's some vibraphone, or xylophone, or somethingmaphone that brands the track with a nice, unique musical identity.

When you need a quick fix of modern psychedelic jamming, We're Late For Class serves well as your sonic dealer with almost 60 shorts sets to tickle your ear. Have a gander at their offerings here: We're Late For Class

Listen to Me:
We're Late For Class - 2011 - Music of the Spheres

Some Groovy Web-Based Music

While I still highly enjoy writing this blog, I do find my time is at more of a premium than when I started two and a half years ago. This means that I tend to focus more on the classic oddities. Still, plenty of folks send newer music my way and I find a good portion of it quite groovy. I'd like you to hear them, so I'm going to try a mini-review format. Here are the ones that I've found myself listening to the most.

Blancanus - 2009 - Singles

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

This Spanish fellow makes music that I feel is very much in the same vein as my Glaze of Cathexis recordings. You'll hear some homemade, relatively clear sounding psych rock with an 80's tinge. Blancanus also strikes a chord of envy as he's adorned these tracks with some live drums. There's a clear progression of quality as we reach the more recent singles, with "The Sea of LSD" standing out as overtly awesome. My only complaint is that these recordings really deserve some proper cover art (I'd be willing to do it, but my covers are a little half-assed).
http://www.blancanus.blogspot.com

Caregiver - 2008 - Letters 1

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

This is an analog synth fantasy well entrenched in the Berlin School, especially the mid 70's Tangerine Dream stuff. While I do wish for a few more organic sounds, music of this nature doesn't necessarily need them. Just be forewarned that you're in for a coldly beautiful ride. The arrangements are pretty spot on with old-school trance sequencing underpinning the whole affair. I'm especially partial to the first ten minutes of "ABC," and the whole of "GHI." That's more than half of the album.
http://fictionband08.blogspot.com/


Catasto Elettrico - 2009 - Infinite

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

These jazz-psychonauts have been grooving along on the internet for a few years and eight releases now. This is their most recent. It's got a serious experimental edge to it, and quite a few electronics at the forefront. I tend to enjoy their jazzier parts the best and have an affinity towards the first track. It all depends on what your bag is. Head to their website for more, especially my favorites, Micro and Radio.
http://catastoelettrico.blogspot.com/


Sister Waize - 2009 - The Lights Come From Above

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.25 out of 5

This sounds like the soundtrack for a super-trippy, lost Mega Man game. Now this is coming from a guy who was made his way through all the Mega Man games and even a few of the X's, so I mean this as a compliment. Sister Waize has an enjoyable way of filling up the soundspace with lots of super quirky bleeps and bloops. Although lacking the lush wall of sound, I hear a few echoes of early M83 bouncing around in here as well. Like Caregiver, this is very cold sounding music for the most part. The difference here is that I get to play video games in my head while it's playing.
http://www.myspace.com/sisterwaize

We're Late For Class - 2009 - Opium Den Music

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

This is the most recent release from the prolific collegiate stoners. My favorite is still the one that re-appropriates Jim Morrison, but I'd say that this one ranks in their upper-tier. Prepare yourself for an enjoyable brain-vaporizing, tranced-out psychedelic jam as these intrepid musicians try to take you along for a ride in the seedier parts of Asia. At least that's what they say. For me, this track would be right at home in one of David Lynch's more surreal bars; that or the Titty Twister.
http://werelateforclass.blogspot.com/

We're Late For Class - 2008 - Trippin' In A Plymouth Belvedere

Hi, everyone. My posts will be a bit sporatic as I just moved and my internet connection is a little dodgy right now. For now though, let me point you back in the direction of We're Late For Class, who have recently posted their latest opus. It's sort off a mini odds-and-sods collection, and is a nice primer to their particular brand of improvised psychedelia. Click on the link below to voyage onto their site and download the thing!


We're Late For Class - 2008 - Trippin' In A Plymouth Belvedere

We're Late For Class - 2007 - Live in the Theater of DisBelief

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 5 out of 5

Digging through the archives of these internet psychedelic troubadours, I found this gem hanging out among the group's many recordings. At base a 32 minute collection of wild, improved psychedelic racket, this one presents itself as a pretty oddball concept album. Apparently, this is based on a random idea for a sci-fi television show whereupon a group of Star Trek-style explorers cavort about the galaxy searching for oddball radio waves out in space. This performance, therefore, would be an example of this interstellar noise. I'd say that the band pretty well achieved their goal.

Never truly coalescing, these sounds really seem to ride the strange waves that float through the emptiness of space. It's really hard for me to even make out what instruments I'm hearing, which is always a plus for me. This is a true tightrope walk of an improvisational performance, with no core holding the sound together and the musicians forced to plow further in their sonic exploration or fall apart. I'd say that 32 minutes is a pretty good run to hold together. Last year I reviewed the Pyramid album, which presented itself as a 1974 krautrock performance, although its authenticity was in question. This does not come with the krautrock label, but if it did I'd be pretty easily convinced that it was the real deal.

Live in the Theater of DisBelief is not comfortable music. It probes pretty deep into the unknown and will probably not be playing at your next dinner party (if it is, invite me). For those of you that like to hear the stranger end of those 'bleepy-bloopy' sounds, this should be right up your alley.

Listen to Me:
We're Late For Class - 2007 - Live in the Theater of DisBelief

We're Late For Class - 2008 - The Jim Morrison Seance Tapes

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.75 out of 5

We're Late For Class is an internet-based psychedelic improv group which manages to deliver an unadulterated psychedelic maelstrom on their better recordings (there are 30 so far, so you have plenty to choose from). This latest release is fortunately one of their better ones, complete with the unwilling participation of the ghost of Jim Morrison; better known as some of the poetry readings that Jim did while about to slip of this mortal coil.

What we've got here is basically one 14-minute track... twice. I guess it's wise to pass along the non-Jim version, but it's the one with him that really works. The music here is simply a jam from college-related folks (students? professors? hard to tell). The musicians are clearly listening to each other well, but the entire 14-minutes is based on a repeating bass line. I have to say that I prefer something a little more free-form and without a net, but these guys pull it off about as well as anyone's going to. There are lots of weaving delayed and de-attacked guitars at work here, and it's a pretty hypnotic affair. On top of all of this we are treated to the strange rantings of Mr. Mojo Rising about indians and blood while an engineer occasionally chimes in to keep Jim on tracks ("How about the post-death stuff, man?). I have to admit that I'm a bit of a Doors junkie (they very well be my most listened-to band) and this does it for me. In fact, these folks do a better job with Jim's poetry reading than the Doors themselves did on An American Prayer. The second track is the Jim-less version. It's nice to listen to in order to hear exactly what the musicians are doing, but the magic is definitely on the first track.

A lot of people, myself included, are whoring away their music on the internet but this is one of the better ones I've come across (side note: if you've sent me your music and I haven't posted it, it doesn't necessarily mean that you suck; just that I'm busy). In fact, I'm a touch jealous of this band. The only real strike against them is the somewhat terrible band name; I really hope they change it because they deserve more than a novelty. Give them a listen... and, uh, me too.

Listen to Me:
We're Late For Class - 2008 - The Jim Morrison Seance Tapes