The Roving Sage

Scott Atkinson, the other member of Glaze of Cathexis, has a lot of words to say, and gets them out with his project as the Roving Sage.  Dig some of his tripped out poetry over at his youtube playlist, which you;ll find over yonder:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdqtky15oTgfuY0QGRtFelA

Glaze of Cathexis - A Few New Videos

We want you to find transcendence through our new psychedelic tunes here at the Psychedelic Garage.  Groove to the new Imaginary Being EP here:

https://glazeofcathexis.bandcamp.com/album/imaginary-beings-ep

But the point of being here are a few new videos punctuated by Scott Atkinson's trippy photographic vibrations:





Our LP, Trade Wind Navigators, will be heading your way early next year.  The mono mix will be free, with the stereo carrying a $5 fee if you are hep enough to back our sounds.

Bob Dylan and the Band - 1967 - The Basement Tapes Raw

Quality: 5 out of 5
Trip-o-Meter: 2.5 out of 5

It's not psychedelic, and it's not really obscure, but I'm here to pratter away about the Basement Tapes.  I think I found my way towards the 1975 album sometime in the late 90's.  It didn't really do it for me, and I never bothered to find my way to the bootlegs.  Turns out the reason was that the 1975 album has bundles of overdubs, it's missing some key Dylan tracks, and it has several contemporary recordings by the Band (I think I basically gravitated to those Band tracks).  That pretty much took the air out of the affair.  The whole point of the tapes is that it some guys dicking around in a basement with a dog sleeping on the floor.  I guess the powers that were needed to make it "marketable" for a mid 70's audience.  We've got official recordings to prove otherwise now, though.  I'm not a rich man and I went for the two disc version, but based on that I think it's worth your time and money for the six-disc epic.  It's a little counterintuitive here since the music diffused 1967 psychedelia, but when it's this good it doesn't matter.

Tunes like "Quinn the Eskimo" and "Nothing Was Delivered" find there way here finally, and this set ranks comfortably in with Dylan's 60's zeitgeist.  The Band are really just backing the Man, but their input is still indispensable.  No, drummer Levon Helm didn't show up until the tail end of the sessions, but we're best off making due with what we've got.  I've done my own basement recordings (as heard with Andrew Bland on "Paper Tigers," and I can dig just how much inspirational juice is fueling these recordings.  Damned if we could have touched it.  I've been obsessively listening back to front of the two discs, and I can't say that for a whole lot.  It perfectly distilled Americana.

Take the plunge.  The best music needs no qualifiers and we can't be psychonauts all the time.  Still, it transportative sounds, and that's what we're all looking for in the end.  Give it a shot in one of these spots:

Six disc version:
http://www.amazon.com/Basement-Tapes-Complete-Bootleg-Deluxe/dp/B00MXILU3S/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1418399041&sr=1-2&keywords=basement+tapes

Two disc version:
http://www.amazon.com/Basement-Tapes-Raw-Bootleg-Vol/dp/B00MXILUH4/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1418399041&sr=1-3&keywords=basement+tapes

Glaze of Cathexis - 2014 - Imaginary Beings EP

Psychedelic rock to prime you for the Glaze's full-length release, Trade Wind Navigators, due early next year.  We're on a mission of musical enlightenment for both you and us.  Dig our musical shamanism with tripped out lyrics and echoes of the Beatles, Sonic Youth, and Manuel Gottsching.  You can listen to the music over at our Bandcamp site.  It's free, but we would really appreciate any contribution you can muster if you groove to the sounds:



There's a direct download at this link:

https://glazeofcathexis.bandcamp.com/album/imaginary-beings-ep

And Scott's got a video featuring his transcendental photography that may spark up your eyes:



And finally, it took us until 2014 to start a Facebook page, but here 'tis:

https://www.facebook.com/GlazeOfCathexis

Head on back in February for the Trade Wind Navigators LP, featuring "Imaginary Beings."

Terence McKenna with Zuvuya - 1993 - Dream Matrix Telemetry

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

I was going to suggest that this disc was ripping of Shpongle, but the date on it is 1993, so I guess it's the other way around.  Anyway, place this mentally between Shpongle ans Alan Watts and you'll have a good idea of what you're getting into.  Terence McKenna is one of the modern world trippiest thinkers, so there's no questioning his cred.   So the trick is that he hooks up with the right musicians.  Hooking up with Zuvuya probably wasn't an archetypal event in the cosmic cards, but their ambient electronic soundscapes serve well enough.

Anyway, ol' Terence wants to talk to you about DMT, and that's just what he does for neigh on an hour.  Don't see myself giving it a shot - not that I'm opposed to the idea - more that I'm not really in a life position to take that trip.  You'll be jetting through the prismatic tunnel of reality to meet the crystalline aliens who hold the secret knowledge of our DNA.  But only for a few hundred seconds.  Listening to the track will take an hour, though.  I don't think Zuvuya's electronic accompaniment breaks any major ground, but I suppose it's a complement that I assumed this was recorded in 1993 and not the early 2000s (and wiki says he passed away in 2000 - oops).

This could change your reality - I don't know.  My first pick would be for Alan Watt's "Om," but you've got to leave McKenna in the running, jah?  This sonic film will appeal to all you true psychonauts, though.

Fairport Convention - 1970 - House Full: Live at the L.A. Troubadour

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-o-Meter: 3.25 out of 5

Well, they're pretty straight up folk rock by this point, but we did the last one so let's do this.  The angelic-voiced Sandy Denny left just before Fairpoint Convention's "Full House" album, but they retained their classic status until guitarist Richard Thompson left a year or so later.  Apparently Denny hated flying, so this window of time gave the band a chance to tour properly while still in their prime.  This recording is smooth, if a touch muddy (as opposed to Heyday's crisp, but slightly warped sound) - it is in a echoey club.  You'll hear Richard Thompson debuting the signature Fender Stratocaster sting that he's been successfully pushing for over forty years now (although I must admit I slightly prefer his 60's P90-driven Les Paul crunch), and Dave Swarbrick's fiddle is nicely front and center.  You'll miss Denny's (and Ian Matthews) vocals if you think about it, but Thompson and Swarbrick are still pretty classic British folk rock vocalists in their own right.

"The Lark in the Morning Medley" and "Jenny's Chickens" are very folky instrumentals that have every right to be cheesy, but the fire under the collective ass of the Convention pushes it into the realm of amazing instead.  Then "Sloth" develops into a twelve minute jam out that give the frontline instrumentalist to absolutely explode your minds.  It's a little odd to hear Thompson belting out "Matty Groves."  We'll get back to my earlier statement, though, that you'll only miss Sandy Denny if you really think about it.

This is not quite as essential as the Heyday set, but it's another one whose existence eluded my until my trip to the Ueda Departo last week.  While Heyday lives up to its title, this one displays the fully focused instrumental firepower that the Convention possessed at their best.

P.S. - Pour out a little bit of your 40oz. for Dave Mattack's drumming here as well.

Fairport Convention - 1968-1969 - Heyday: BBC Radio Session

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

I came into Fairport Convention backwards.  I've been a fan of Fariport's legendary guitarist Richard Thompson since high school and caught him and Roger McGuinn live in 1995, but I never really got to the band until a few years ago.  Oops.  The Convention has the rep of being Britain's prime folk rock band, but folks often forget that they started off as the country's answer to the Jefferson Airplane.  With some serious instrumental firepower and Sandy Denny's fantastic vocals, they may be better in a live setting than on their already great studio albums.  As a set of BBC sessions, there's a touch of studio work, but these recordings are basically live.  The sound quality can be a touch iffy in places, and there are a few annoying on air announcements, but I might peg this disc as the best way to hear Fairport Convention (er... second best - I'd still give to top spot to Leige and Lief).

First off we've got some of the Convention's album tracks coming off fire-breathing here.   "Fotheringay" and "Autopsy" sound fantastic, and "Tam Lin" is better than the studio track with Thompson's guitar ripping a hole through the universe.  Would've done nice with "A Sailor's Life," but you can't get them all.  The value added here is with the cover tunes.  Producer Joe Boyd says in the liner notes that he basically told them to piss off with most of their cover choices, but they got them rolling at the BBC.  I totally dig their takes on Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire," and they don't do so bad with Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" and Joni Mitchell's "I Don't Know Where I Stand," which they did on their debut album, but without Sandy Denny, who knocks it out of the park here.

Is this actually obscure?  Maybe not.  But it does need to be better known.  I've been properly diggin' the Convention since 2010, but I only came across this in an oddball used record store last week.

Comminique

Gettin' properly moved deep into the mountains of central Japan.  The reviews will start rolling again properly in November.  Might I interest you in our trippy advert for Glaze of Cathexis in the meantime?  The keep the psychedelic rock groovin', we've got to justify it to our, uh, wives with some return (the new Psychedelic Garage is very groovy, but is currently equipped with nothing but my Epiphone Casino).  Fortunately, you can do this by watching our youtube videos, or if you're a real solid sender, downloading out (mostly) free music from Bandcamp: https://glazeofcathexis.bandcamp.com/

Stan Brakhage

Hi, folks!  I'm in the middle of a move right now and haven't had any time to write up any reviews. While you're waiting though, have a gander at a few phantasmagorically trippy short films from experimental demigod Stan Brakhage.  I dig him enough to have named my band after one of his films.  In fact, a lot of his films are silent.  In fact, may I be presumptuous enough to suggest augmenting them with some recordings by Glaze of Cathexis?

Glaze of Cathexis - 2014 - Focus on the Sun EP

We do hope you've been grooving on the videos for our psychedelic, shoegazin' soundblast during August.  Here's the free download for the tunes.  The tunes are a little older, but the recordings are new.  We're only trickster clowns, but our goal is still to expand all beings spiritually through the sound of music.  Take the space trip with us.  Scott ripped the images out of a bunch of Japanese astronomy magazines, and I wrote the tunes in various states of strange.  "Spinning Top" is the accusatory glance that ultimately looks inward, while the title track and "Endless Sky" endeavour to open the eternal eye of the cosmos.  It all get pulled back into the nexus of the throbbing, surfy "Black Holes."  Do share your vibes with us, and please share around and spread our altruistic virus.  The road may have an ending, but we'd like to follow it as far as we can.

Bandcamp link:
https://glazeofcathexis.bandcamp.com/album/focus-on-the-sun-ep

Download directly:
http://www32.zippyshare.com/v/43844171/file.html

Baldiun - 2014 - All in a Dream

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

A few months ago, we looked at a career-spanning compilation of Balduin.  The psychedelic troubadour can knock it off pretty well for a complete album as well.  It's totally authentic sounding 1967 vintage psyche pop.  One of those albums with a psychedelic cover running away with McCartney's music hall catchiness run through a prism of technicolour sound.  It doesn't quite fill the stomach of your mind all the way, but it leaves you with the candy coloured grooves to make your trip worth it.

The music is pretty solid all around, but the tracks that lend a trippy gimmick serve the songs and stand out as the highlights for me.  "Which Dreamed It" grabs my attention with the sitars, but stays put there because the songwriting is high quality.  Even an instrumental like the loping drums of "Prisma Colora" makes for a groovy soundworld, although I can't help but think that the track is just waiting for the layer of prime Brian Wilson-sounding pop symphony vocal which could push it over the top.  "Father" goes Lennon on us for a bit, making for a happier vibrations of the influencer's primal screaming "Mother."  No need for the screaming with the vocally satisfying Balduin, though.  A bit of the twee acid folk creeps through on the later tracks, and they occasionally pour on a bit too much syrup.  "Waves, Stars, and Moon" bring on that kind of sound, but in the end it's more like a super happy tune coursing from the Barrett-led Pink Floyd.

This is the kind of album that really does wear its influences on its sleeve.  Balduin's got enough songwriting and production punch to warp it all into a voice that is distinctive enough to command your attention.  It's the aural soma that we all need in our chaotic world.  This is one to dig a pony on.

Bring on the happiness here.  The actual release date is October 10.
th:
http://www.balduin.org/2014/06/all-in-dream.html

Glaze of Cathexis - Endless Sky Video

Here's our video for the last track that'll be on next week's free Focus on the Sun EP.  Bringing on the Cure vibes for this one:



Do dig our sounds and lend some support at our Glaze of Cathexis Bandcamp page.  Everything but the last three LP's are free:

https://glazeofcathexis.bandcamp.com/

Glaze of Cathexis - Spinning Top Video

Moving on towards the September 2nd release of our free "Focus on the Sun" EP, here is the video clip for "Spinning Top," which takes on the images of Scott spinning around in a Tokyo park:



Along with an odd little promo clip featuring a baby rattle:



Dig our sounds over at bandcamp:

https://glazeofcathexis.bandcamp.com/

Glaze of Cathexis - Focus on the Sun Video

Here's the next video to consider for our upcoming, FREE Focus on the Sun EP release on September 2nd.  Hope you groove on it.

Glaze of Cathexis - Black Holes Video

We'll be releasing our new, FREE EP "Focus on the Sun" on September 2nd.  These are new recordings of older Glaze songs, which most likely means they'll be new for you anyway!  Dig the psychedelic music and photography of the tracks on youtube as we'll unleash one each week in August.  Let's get it kicked off here:

Seeds of Orbit - 2014 - EP

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

I can't think of too much psychedelic music from the Kiwi state that wasn't kind of twee, folkish stuff.  These Aucklander's, however, are straight on bringing the noise with a pretty tight sound.  They're dancing along the late 60's/early 70's axis, but do peg it more sincerely than most.  They are able to evoke the 'groovy' vibe, but just as often hit on the scummy, cycle gang grind personified my the feller on the cover's beard.

The first couple of tunes hit on the twin slipstreams of vintage chiming, guitar sounds and a Marshall amp pummeling.  Your first guess will probably be correct as to what "Purple" sounds like, but that doesn't mean that it's not a jolly time.  "Oh Long John" pushes that vibe a little further down the empty, sunstreaked New Zealand highway, while "I Stoner" is that Wild Angel party at the end of the drive.

There's definitely a whiff of the debut EP at work here, but the music does constitute a nice journey, and the groop adeptly mixes a few more fashionable influences like the San Fran scene with a few way off the trending charts like Deep Purple and Foghat.  You've gotta respect that!

Listen here:
http://powertoolrecords.bandcamp.com/album/seeds-of-orbit-ep-2014

Pith and the Parenchymas - 2014 - Song of the Neverending Ugly Lizard

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

I probably mentioned it already, but I spent four years DJing at the University of Georgia's WUOG, and I feel justified pegging this release as straight up "college rock."  Some of this music reminds me a bit of the Dead Milkmen, which I must admit doesn't happen very often.  It's got that sort of that acquired taste, thin late 80's indie production sound, which is pretty groovy if you're down for that.  It sounds pretty influenced by Pavement as well - but in a "we're being influenced by Pavement back in 1989 before they were even a band, even though we're recording this in 2014" sort of way.  This is the sort of thing that blasts out of your car speakers from college radio on a blistering summer day, and you've got to wait for the DJ announcement because you have no idea what the hell you just heard.  Word on the street is that college radio is hitting some rocky shoals back in the States, which is a shame.  Atlanta's venerable Album 88 apparently just bit most of this bullet, and the dominoes behind it may very well begin falling (those in the area still have WREK for now!).  I guess other towns are having more and more similar tales.  You can find anything you'd possibly want to hear on the Internet, stream it, or get tips from blogs like this, but there's definitely some magic having these sounds come out of basically nowhere when you're starting up the car with anything else on your mind.  This album would catch my attention.

This kind of sound can be pretty bland without the songs to back it up, and fortunately Pith has the tunes.  These folks from Canada certainly have the benefit of hindsight, so I'm calling out the very long "The Rainbow" as Jonathan Richman in the midst of a bad trip, and "Invertebrates II" as the Violent Femmes if they really were punk.  Otherwise, much of this takes up that strange middle ground between the aforementioned Pavement and probably forgotten Dead Milkmen.  Pith and his buddies can definitely play, and when they crank up the noise they manage a wild abandon that most bands these days are far too calculated to pull off (yes, I'm looking in your direction, Vampire Weekend).  "10,000 Years" is a good case in point.  The opening two tracks, "Black Triangle" and "Say Hi" are very worth your time as well.

This one's a grower - I started my quality meter at 3.5, but kept notching it up a bit as I wrote the review.  And yes - it's College Rock with capital letters, played with real passion.  It stokes my memories of cruising around the city in 36 degree weather (take your pick of Celsius or Fahrenheit) and having my brain blown.  So, uh, support independent radio?

Thou shalt listen here:
http://pithandtheparenchymas.bandcamp.com/releases

Rocking With the Glaze of Cathexis

Cosmic psychedelic rockin' with the Glaze of Cathexis coming at you from deep within the mountains of Japan.  We want to bolster your universal spirit into the reality of NOW by sending you on a journey through sound.  Support the transcendently seeking music from this blog with a few views of the following link and perhaps getting into the full length LPs.

Here's our interstellar, trippin' astral gramophone campaign complete with a touch of new sounds to get you in the mood:



Scott's also cooked up a few videos of Beatles and Beach Boys covers that will draw you in with the miracle of recognition:







If we still have your attention, flow on over to our album compilation over at Bandcamp.  These three albums cost $12 as a bundle, which we would very much appreciate to keep the blog and the band rocking on.  Our EPs and older albums that you'll find on the site remain free as that is how we would like to deliver the music in a more perfect world:

http://glazeofcathexis.bandcamp.com/album/neon-buddha-prophecies-of-the-all-seeing-sage-cryptic-hullabaloo

Scott McKenzie - Stained Glass Reflections - The Anthology - 1960-1970

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

Gotta love those bargin bins.  I haven't been in the States for a few years now, but I assume the dearth of record stores has only intensified.  You can find this stuff online (just as you are now!), but I'm still a fan of the tactile discovery that you can still make in Japan at a still-existing Tower Records for under three bucks.  Getting to ol' Scott here, most of us would know him for the cheeseball hit "San Francisco," which is present here.  Really, I suppose that I've just heard that one too much - it's only the bloody Forrest Gump soundtrack to represent the summer of love.  Turns out McKenzie was actually quite adept at sunshine pop in general.  Many of the tunes from his prime 1965-1967 are very much in the same mold, but are welcome surprises that suggest a West Coast Billy Nichols.  His songwriting contributions were pretty nominal, but his voice is butter and the prime L.A. 60's studio production make this among the straight-up 'grooviest' music that you'll come across.

The first three tracks are some early career highlights with McKenzie in full-on folkie mode.  It's pleasant, but only a precursor to the main event.  This would be the ten tunes from 1965-1967 - which is a straight up blast of top shelf sunshine pop.  "No, No, No, No, No" makes the mystery of why McKenzie was only a one hit wonder a little deeper, while "Holy Man" is an entertaining hippy spiritual.  John Phillips "Like an Old Time Movie" fares quite well here as does TIm Hardin's "Reason to Believe."  I don't know why they didn't just follow through with the complete 1967 album, "The Voice of Scott McKenzie."  They did include the entirety of his 1970 album "Stained Glass Morning."  While this album doesn't actually suck, it takes a hard right into blandish 70's country rock/singer-songwriter vibrations.  Gravitation inertia will likely keep pushing you toward the fantastic middle of this compilation.

This disc makes a pretty strong case for Scott McKenzie going a whole lot deeper than "San Francisco."  The early folk stuff appears in just the right amount, but the balance between McKenzie's prime and the "
Stained Glass Morning" album isn't quite in the right proportions.  Still, this is a psychedelic obscurity that deserves your attention as all of these has pretty much slipped off the radar with the obvious exception of McKenzie's lone mega hit.

Bleak House - 2014 - Suki Flood//Walton Cobbles

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

Can't forget that we've got shoegazing returning to the forefront of our soundworld.  Here's a single from some folks in the UK living that dream as hard as they can.  Yeah, all the alternately buzzing and floating guitars are accounted for, and this release could easily date from 1990, but there's nothing wrong with that.  "Suki Flood" rides the waves of Slowdive for that dream-pop sound, although I was kind of hoping the song would eventually open up the walls of pure distortion as shoegazers are wont to do.  We do get some more full force buzz on "Walton Cobbles," which grasp for the Bloody Valentine's early (mid-period?) low-fi buzz.  Speaking of lo-fi, while this single sports some fine production, the final sound is a touch on the muffled side. I would suggest to these intrepid performers to notch the treble up just a bit for future mastering (but not too much).

On an even more unrelated note, I want to gauge your opinions on what is required for shoegaze guitar.  The typical philosophy seems to be that you need a massive effects board and 50 overdubs.  After reading an interview with Kevin Shields' however, I've been taking the approach that you only need two or three guitars tops in a song, and possibly no effect - just a tube amp cranked up to 11 and overdriven to hell.  Also, do you have to be British to properly shoegaze?  Did Galaxie 500 count?  Discuss.

Anyway, Bleak House!!!
Bleak House - 2014 - Suki Flood//Walton Cobbles

Balduin - 2014 - A Post From Mars

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

This is a compilation from the fantastic psych warriors over at the Active Listener for the equally groovy Balduin.  It seems that this Swiss fellow has been at it since 1988 (at age 10!).  We get a lot of meticulously created revival psych in the inbox at the ol' Garage, but this is a rare case where the artist grabs the ineffable vapours of vintage psychedelia and runs away with it in inspired directions.  Perhaps due to its nature as a compilation, this music runs all over the map of Tripsville, with straight up harpsichord-laced baroque pop, garage band grinding, folkish dulcimer pounding, and goofy electronica sometimes inhabiting the same song.  It all works quite well, though, as Balduin has the innate ability to set his musical thumbprint upon all of the different sounds.

Hit any track and you'll likely hear something to catch your attention.  But here are the things I dig the most:  I'm totally down for the fantasy forest at night vibrations that we get on tracks like the opening duo, as well as the hazy orchestral psychedelia of tunes like "A Hope For Loving You," and "A Simple Chime."  Balduin also nicely pulls off some more modern, indie-baiting electronic sounds with "The Shadows of Your Mind" and "Post From Mars."

Give "A Post From Mars" a listen - it a very impressive listen informed by both the insular bedroom studio as well as the orchestra capacity 1966 studio.  The tunes bear a slew of influences ranging from the Electric Prunes, to Donovan, to the Magnetic Fields, but the sound is not mere re-creations as this artist ultimately defines his own psychedelic visions.

Receive your post here:
Balduin - 2014 - A Post From Mars

Violet Swells- 2014 - The Soft Focus

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

This EP is a fun celebration of the poppier side of psychedelia.  Following along the lines of British psych rocking and mellotrons along with a dash of California sun, the set is the end result of paisley-painted factory machines, but it's a pretty well-made product.

The first couple tunes rank in as very passable psych-pop with swirling carnival organs, but it's the later two that make a bit more of a mark.  "Miracles of a Clockwork Kingdom" forges a more atmospheric sound as an instrumental featuring a swinging rhythm and some 1966-vibing, L.A. studio musician tremolo guitar.  As the title would suggest, "Soft Focus" is hard to pin your brain upon, morphing through a variety of motifs ala the Buffalo Springfield's "Broken Arrow."  It's all quicksilver through your neurons.

We're probably getting more psych running through the pipe these days than folks did in the 60's.  Ten years ago a release like this would have been among my new gods (think Elephant 6), but I still think Violet Swells nicely passes the litmus test for listenability.  There's nothing particularly earthshaking going on, but it's a seamless, enjoyable ride.

Focus on over here:
Violet Swells- 2014 - The Soft Focus

The Glaze of Cathexis Video Hour

Scott's been cranking out some Youtube clips combining the sounds of our own psychedelic rock band Glaze of Cathexis with his tripped out, shamanic photography.  Here are a few more to check out:

This tune's from 2012's Neon Buddah:



Somehow the second Burt Bacharach cover to which we've devoted our time:



And a ringer from this year's "Cryptic Hullaballoo:"



We'd appreciate the support of our music over in digital venues such as Spotify, itunes, and Amazon, or just hanging out with us the Glaze of Cathexis page on Facebook or Twitter.  Here's an Amazon link if you're feeling lazy:

http://www.amazon.com/Cryptic-Hullabaloo-Glaze-Cathexis/dp/B00K7JW6QK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402288670&sr=8-2&keywords=glaze+of+cathexis

As well as our
Bandcamp home:

http://glazeofcathexis.bandcamp.com/

Don't forget these free releases as well:

Glaze of Cathexis - Koans of the Paradox

Glaze of Cathexis - 2013 - The 2013 EPs

Listen To Dr. Schluss' Glaze Of Cathexis and Damaged Tape

New May reviews found under this post!!

As I review more albums, I'd love for you to check out my own music and leave some comments to tell me what you think. The Glaze of Cathexis albums are my more psychedelic rock based offerings, while the Damaged Tape recordings are my journeys into electronica. Please have a listen!

Glaze of Cathexis

Glaze of Cathexis - 2014 - Cryptic Hullabaloo
Glaze of Cathexis - 2013 - The 2013 EPs
Glaze of Cathexis - 2013 - The Gates of Ra EP
Glaze of Cathexis - 2013 - Prophecies of the All-Seeing Sage
Glaze of Cathexis - 2013 - Journey to the Center EP
Glaze of Cathexis - 2013 - A Lotus Pond in Winter EP
Glaze of Cathexis - 2012 - Neon Buddha
Glaze of Cathexis - 2012 - Canyons in the Sonic Whirlpools

Glaze of Cathexis - 2011 - I Often Dream of the Apocalypse

Glaze of Cathexis - 2010 - Underground Sound

Glaze of Cathexis - 2009 - The Golden Konbanwa

Glaze of Cathexis - 2009 - Cloud Machine

Glaze of Cathexis - 2008 - The Visions Surround You

Glaze of Cathexis - 2008 - The Holographic Universe

Glaze of Cathexis - 2005 - Tokyo Rainbow Bridge

Glaze of Cathexis - 2003 - Visits Planet Earth

Damaged Tape

Damaged Tape - 2014 - Ancient Lights (coming March 2014)
Damaged Tape - 2012 - Conflagration of Nibiru

Damaged Tape - 2012 - The Floating Existence

Damaged Tape & Andrew Bland - 2012 - Beyond the Ghost House

Damaged Tape -2011 - Nude Witchcraft EP

Damaged Tape - 2011 - Ambiguous Reality

Damaged Tape - 2010 - Beyond the Astral Labyrinth

Damaged Tape - 2009/2006 - The Erotic Couch/Cannibal Sisters Soundtrack

Damaged Tape - 2009 - Psychedelic Anthropology

Damaged Tape - 2008 - Ship of Lights

Damaged Tape - 2008 - Stone God
Damaged Tape - 2007 - Entoptic Visions

Damaged Tape - 2005 - Futara

Damaged Tape - 2004 - Electric Ocean

The Doctor's "Cryptic Hullabaloo" Coming to a Digital Store Near You

On May 27, Glaze of Cathexis' "Cryptic Hullabaloo" will be available at digital stores such as itunes, Amazon, and Spotify.  We really want our sounds and visions to spread to the world, and I think readers of this blog will dig the psychedelic sounds.  Please support us by sharing the tunes to social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and we'd be honored if you want to ante in by purchasing the album!

Anyway, here's the Amazon link if you're interested:

http://www.amazon.com/Cryptic-Hullabaloo-Glaze-Cathexis/dp/B00K7JW6QK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400639378&sr=8-1&keywords=glaze+of+cathexis

Scott's been madly creating videos like this one (with all original photography) to make this a multimedia experience:



And you can go here for the mother lode:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVRyhLQqwns1AOlcDv4mTiA/videos

Have a chat with us on Twitter as well if you're so inclined:

https://twitter.com/Scott_and_Matt

The Green Tambourine Band - 2014 - Let Yourself Be/Aum

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

Another batch of reconstituted 60's psychedelic pop vibes as they hear them in Scotland.  This basically functions as two EPs, the first of which includes several hazy, jangling poppers, while the flip side is more of a noise-fest freak out.  The former is pretty impressive, coming across like a more chilled out Brian Jonestown Massacre or a more folkish Moles (Richard Davies; Australia; just throwing out a few sign posts for you).  As for the latter half, it definitely has its moments, but I don't think the Green Tambourine Band ever earned its license to jam.  I mean, few rock bands have that license anyway - I guess Can and Yo La Tengo would be on the short list.

Again, the first half of the album really delves into the heart of 60's production sounds and songwriting - with just a touch of outsider oddness from the Scottish highlands
.  "You Are the One I Love," "I'm Free," and "Here She Comes" definitely earn a place on the radio of the cosmos, even if I'm pretty sure all those song titles have been used before.  "Lemon Sorbet" and "Through the Looking Glass" cover the more experimental grounds, with "Looking Glass" as the clear winner with it's twirling backward guitar vibrations.
The "Aum" suite didn't do it for me quite as much, featuring too many sections of plodding groove and wah-wah rhythm guitar - I would suggest that the band focus on their enviable songwriting instead.

So, get into this for the first half.  It spotlights the Green Tambourine Band at their psychedelic, folk-rokin' best is sure to get a few new tune hardwired into your head.

Bang the tambourine here:

http://theactivelistener.bandcamp.com/album/the-green-tambourine-band-let-yourself-be-aum-al017

Sky Picnic - 2014 - Paint Me A Dream

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

And so we meet Sky Picnic again. These folks seems to be plugging away pretty convincingly as a modern, paisley-shirt freak out, and is thus worth your full attention.  The songs and the tones go directly for that 1967 London psychedelia vibe, and they hit their marks for the most part.  They're at least attaining that Dukes of Stratosphere "Psonic Sunspot" level of authenticity.  This compilation covers their last two LPs, "Farther in This Fairytale" and "Paint Me A Dream."

While "Seven" and "June Sunshine" stand out as very groovy slices of psychedelic pop, the band seems a little more interested in oddball jamming.  Some of this works out quite well, with the strange, Floyd playin' "Nick's Boogie"-style explorations of "Universal Mind Decoder," and the slightly less percussive "Slumber's Gate."  But some of it does get a little aimless, such as "Freak Out Ethel," which starts off sounding a little too much like the aforementioned Pink Floyd's "Pow R Toc R."  I do dig "Ripple," which channels a touch of Slowdive-style shoegazing in a pretty groovy way.

I guess I'm being a little more critical with these folks since they're mining for the gold vein of psychedelic rock.  I think this band is capable of a straight up psychedelic masterpiece, though.  By tightening up the songwriting a bit, and avoiding the modern hipster twee timbre of some of the vocals, we're likely to get our minds truly blown.  There are certainly some moments on this comp that will make a few listens worth your while.


Travel to the picnic:

http://theactivelistener.bandcamp.com/album/the-active-listener-introduces-sky-picnic-al018

Chalk Dinosaur - 2014 - Dawn

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

Yeah, that's a vintage Roland Juno 60 on the synthesizer, and that's more or less what you're going to hear on this EP.  Plumbing straight for the heart of 80's synth pop, Chalk Dinosaur's release is sort of a lower-budget M83, although M83 could probably stand to shed some bling from
their sound anyway.  Still, the wonky, meaty core of the analog electronic has made it through the recording process intact.  This is far from the most original sounding music I've come across, but it's pretty good at hitting those pleasure center buttons.

The opening title track is the one that shows the most promise.  It vibrates through a few different moods of a sci-fi Michael Mann film (no, just checked; dude never made a sci-fi for reals), and thus hits the nail on the widescreen synth extravaganza head.  The other three tunes hang on a mid-tempo 1986 synth rocker vibe, although probably a touch informed by some of the more recent indie kids like Death Cab For Cutie.  They chug on past for the most part, but it does nicely recreate a 15-minute FM radio set from the time that John Cusack could still do high-school flicks.

I'm hoping to see the group flesh out their compositional style on the track "Dawn" a little more, but this is still a fun EP to sink your teeth into.  Pick up some Fresca and Bugles and write yourself some bad, depressing poetry alongside the tune.

Visit the Dinosaur:

http://chalkdinosaur.bandcamp.com/

Glaze of Cathexis - 2014 - Cryptic Hullabaloo

Psychedelically rocking your mind out, here is the newest Glaze of Cathexis release.  I think we cranked up the amps a little more than usual, and while I wouldn't be one to dispense with the groovy 60's vibes, there's more of a mid-80's Husker Du/Sonic Youth buzz hanging around on the tracks.  I think it's the best one we've cooked up yet, but I suppose I wouldn't be so keen on releasing it if I felt differently.

Scott was is charge of the surreal visions of the words and imagery.  We've snuck a photo essay along for this ride, with each track pairing with a cosmic photo taken during his travels in Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and beyond.

I've always tried to keep the music free, but the Bandcamp download this time carries a $5 charge.  It's getting to the point where I can't really keep up the music without some kind of an income stream, so if you dive in you'll be supporting both this blog and Glaze of Cathexis.  We're far from rich, put in quite a bit of work on it, and I think we need to stand by the quality of our work to advance our lives and future music.  If I can't make something sustainable out of it by the end of the year, I may very well have to hang it up.  We've tried to add some bang for the buck on the new one with the photo essay and a couple of photographic slide show videos included with the download.


Hmm.. I used to give you track notes here.  Could be fun, but spoilers abound if you don't want to know just what I'm ripping off:

1. An Acrobat of Worlds - I was going for that slightly goth 80's vibe, with the poppy Cure and all.  Maybe I ended up kind of ripping of David Bowie's "Heroes" instead, especially with the keyboard part.  I didn't record any keyboard on this track, but something sure sounds like one.  There's no doubt that the guitar solo at the end is putting Eric Clapton's Gibson 'woman tone' clear in the sights.

2. Primordial Epiphany - Is it acceptable to let the Big Bopper in as an influence nowadays?  Because that's one I'm doing with the vocals.  If that bugs you, dig the full-tilt, out-of-control rock n' roll informing this track. I don't have to worry anymore if the track's psychedelic or not, because Scott's lyrics keep the proceedings visionary.

3. Path of the Starry Vortex - It's a Goldilocks track.  The first pass at it was too screwed up, the second was too fast, and the third was just right.  Wait... no it wasn't.  I just added bongos to the fast version.  In other news, I finally figured out how much fun you can have with the tone knobs on a good guitar.

4. Koans of the Paradox - This is a top 40 hit in my mind.  I borrowed a super-cheap pawn shop Strat and decided to try and be Hendrix.  Then I realized that the strings tended to scrap in strange ways and ended up warping the thing through vibrations of Cream all the way to Sonic Youth on the lead guitar track.

5. Archway Complexities - This was a straight down funk track called "Shartymobile."  You can still hear a touch of it at the end (although not with the ridiculous lead guitar and funk growling).  Now it's a mystical showcase for Scott, but I'll give you "Shartymobile" if you beg me for it.

6. Vales of Fire and Light - Should I say it?  Should I say it?  What the hell.  I played drums along with "The Wind Cries Mary" on my ipod and just recorded a new song on top of it.  The Santana leads, Moody Blues organ, and Roger Daltrey-before-his-balls-dropped-in-1969-vocals are just there to throw you off the path.

7. The Windcharmer - I read an interview with Kevin Shields about a year ago where he talked about his recording technique, and the fact that most Bloody Valentine tracks don't feature 6,000 guitars, but rather two or three really loud ones.  That's what I try to do these days.

8. Cryptic Hullabaloo - My wife doesn't like this one because she thinks I'm trying to sing like a pirate.  I'm glad she didn't hear the first pass at the vocals.  Otherwise, I was just trying to see how much blues howl I could get out of an Epiphone Casino and it was always going to be the title track.

9. Cycles of History - The first tune I recorded for this album.  It has goofier percussion than usual and crossfades the Madchester scene with Yo La Tengo.  I think you can dance to this more than you can with most Glaze tracks.

10. Droplets on a Lily - This is what the Dead's "Dark Star" would have sounded like if the Buffalo Springfield had recorded it on a tape reel that had been in the sun too long.  It was called "Thracian Intro" for months, but the next tune just needs a musical partner, not a conceptual one.

11. Thracian Moonlight - I don't think I really used much actual distortion on this album, just lots of tube overdrive.  That bass has a dang Big Muff on it though, because that's always a good idea.  Otherwise we're sort of doing Dylan leading an amphetamine-addled Byrds (I suppose that actually did happen a few times).  Artificial energy, indeed (not for me, just my metaphor).

12. Twilight in the Cloud Forest - And then I wanted to do Buddy Holly on that cheap Strat before I returned it.  I might of bungled it up with that Sterling Morrison sort of lead guitar, though.

13.  Holes in the Vastness - I might have gotten a touch lazy.  This is the forward version of the backward section from "Cycles of History," but with Scott intoning over it.  But if the Stone Roses could get away with that, maybe I can too?

14.  Rivers of Life - I didn't click with Husker Du as a teenage.  But then I spent nine months in 2003-2004 drinking scotch, playing San Francisco Rush 2049 on the Sega Dreamcast, and blasting a vinyl copy of "Zen Arcade" at uncomfortable volumes.

15. Bonus track - What could it be? What could it be?  Recorded at the behest of the ex-Glaze of Cathexis drummer for his daughter's first birthday.  Apparently, it's her favorite song.

Hapsash and the Coloured Coat - 1967 - Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

Man, I had a ceremony with this one.  Listen to this and you're down for a primordial psychedelic pummeling.  Yeah, this is the music that the CIA created.  The sound's going straight for the hidden punk rock face of the Velvet Underground follow-up act in the Factory.  They don't necessarily have the talent, but they've got the Owsley to do their thing.  Word on the street is that the group were some English visual artists throwing down the drafting gear, picking up guitars and bongos, and doing their thing.  There's barely songs here, but the tribal gathering is clear and the vibrations are just at the right frequency.

We'll focus straight on the main event.  "Empire of the Sun" is an epic, fifteen minute awakening - drums pounding away with a churning rhythm guitar, punctuated by bells and strange spoken incantations.  The opening "H-O-P-P-Why?" opens the proceedings in a similar vein, but there's plenty of weirdness in between.  "A Mind Blown is a Mind Shown" rides folkier waves and "Aoum" goes spiritual, acapella Ligeti, but the pure freak out comes in "The New Messiah Coming 1985."  It's a warped audiograph of the dosed coffee house of the times - unplugged but electrifying to the ear.

Are songs always the answer?  Hapsash and the Coloured Coat don't seem particularly convinced.  The tunes here are a far cry from psychedelic pop, but they take the raw elements of what was hip and splatter it against the wall Pollock-style.  At least they have the etiquette to warn you with the album cover depicting your mind getting blown.

Glaze of Cathexis - 2014 - Koans of the Paradox

Psychedelic rock for the chicken soup soul.  The title track is a preview of the "Cryptic Hullabaloo" album coming later this month.  The other three tracks are exclusive to this release and dip through the more tranquil vibrations of shoegaze and cosmic country.  I wrote the music to "Passageway to the Oracle" sometime in the mid-90's, staring out the window of my high school chemistry class.  Scott says this:

Think a musical experience of ye olde merrie pilgrims armed with Casino guitars

on a jolly East Asian ayahuasca cavalcade. 

I suppose that's better than I'm going to put it.  Listen here:

glu - 2014 - Numbers

Quality: 4.25 out of 5

Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

This is a very groovy set that rides the slipstream of bloopy 70's analog electronica and the digital planetarium of 1986, while paying heed to all the soil festivities in between.  Most of the tones seem to have been carefully selected and custom fitted right where they need to in the tracks.  The core of most of it seems to spring from the more beastly analog synthesizers and drum machines, but the detail work and fine lines open up the canvas of sound to a primordial world of doomed dinosaurs staring at the new moon, star-splattered sky.

I can't help but notice that glu seems to be somewhat parallel to my own electronic project as Damaged Tape - although glu seems to have it's hand a little more firmly on the production tiller.  "Aztek Sunrise" is that fanfare that comes out when it's time to pull out all the stops on the synths, while "Levels of Power" is framed by a bit of spoken word.  From there's the album shoots through a trip-hop vibe on "Tronic Poutry," before tacking east for more experimental sonic abstractions that eventually morphs into the throughs of ragged hip hop and drum and bass on "Cloudy Days."

This album darts through a variety of sonic motifs, but they do well to serve the whims of the artist rather than mere mimicry.  There is an worthwhile, individual voice to be heard on this electronic opus, but those of you that dig music from Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis all the way to Boards of Canada and the Orb
are going to find something to latch onto here.

http://glumusic.bandcamp.com/album/numbers

Damaged Tape - 2014 - Ancient Lights

Here are some psychedelic electronic sound paintings pulsing with the auditory ambiance of Japan.  I've been pretty fixated on playing the guitar as of late, and most of the recent original music at the Psychedelic Garage has been rock n' roll with Glaze of Cathexis.  Still, there's been some tripped out electronica simmering on the back burner.

The majority of these tracks feature field recordings by Scott Atkinson.  The man loves to travel and we hooked him up with a cassette tape recorder early last year (the goal was for a giant Vietnam-era analog recorder, but it's hard to track that kind of thing down).  Most of the tracks congealed on recordings made in Kyoto, the busy streets of Tokyo, or, uh, the zoo.  On my end, I tried to focus more on the vibrations and atmosphere of the tracks than slathering on brazen melodies as I'm often apt to do.

A few tunes here date a little further back.  "Echoes of Infinity" and "Raynbow Sunryse No. 16" are tracks that I totally dig, but never really sequenced well on the last few Damaged Tape albums.  I think they flow rather nicely here.  "The Laboratory of Dr. Humpinstein" receives its odd nomenclature from my occasional film scoring activities.  The track served for the laboratory backgrounds in the 2011 Gonzoriffic film "The Erotik Castle of Dr. Humpinstein."  The name only should be enough info for if you want to watch it or not.

I always love to discover when folks share our music around on the internet.  Please do so if you feel the flow:

Damaged Tape - 2014 - Ancient Lights (Bandcamp)
Damaged Tape - 2014 - Ancient Lights (zip file)

Glaze of Cathexis - 2013 - The 2013 EPs

Here's a handy compilation of last year's non-album bits of psychedelic rocking from Glaze of Cathexis.  A Lotus Pond in Winter takes a path through stratospheric echoes of shoegazing, while Journey to the Center has a more retro blues, rock n' roll, and 70's rockin' flavor, and The Gates of Ra heads straight for the surf rock.  You can read a bit more about them at the embedded links above.

If you've heard this stuff before, I've added a bit of bonus material as well.  There are a couple mono, instrumental mixes of the surfier tracks from I Often Dream of the Apocalypse that stretch out that particular vibe a bit.  You'll also hear a clutch of six cover tunes.  My daughter only wants to listen to the Beatles and the Beach Boys, which is cool, but I needed to trick her into listening to something I recorded, and thus we have the rest of the bonus tracks.

For those of you who may want to hear some new stuff,  I've got just under twenty tunes recorded for the next Glaze album.  Once we've got the finishing mixing and mastering touches and have chosen the best of the lot, we'll get that out to you.  For now, listen to this, yo:

Glaze of Cathexis - 2013 - The 2013 EPs

Thanks for reading the blog!  You've found the amazing stash of Glaze music that remains free!  As should really be the case for most of the music on this blog, if you find yourself really digging it please make a purchase!  The original EPs are over at Bandcamp in higher quality downloads.  It's only a dang $2 a pop!!

A Lotus Pond In Winter EP
Journey to the Center EP
The Gates of Ra EP

Yeehaw!!! It's Cowboy Schluss' EP Roundup

I should probably note that this photo is almost ten years old - I don't have the hat anymore.  But I will mention that this is the awesome-cheap, gold sparkle ghetto Gretch (read: Silvertone) that I used to record Glaze of Cathexis' "Tokyo Rainbow Bridge" - y'know, if anyone cares.  That's not why we're here, though!  Although I'm a lazy bastard about it, I do get around to scouring the music that folks send to my gmail, and here are a few recent EPs that caught my fancy:




Plastic Man - 2013 - Plastic Man EP

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

This trio hails from what must be the sleazier part of Italy.  They do the whole whimsical pop 1967 Syd Barrett pretty well.  But a fair amount of folks can do that.  What got my attention is that it sounds the Floyd if they had replaced Syd with Johnny Rotten after his fatal November 1966 car accident (yes, I'm mixing up my facts, conspiracy theories, and frontmen).  They take some fine 60's vibin' songwriting straight through the scum factory.  Or maybe it's like the Soft Boys if Robyn Hitchcock was a real muthaf**ka - that, with better production.  Do I really have to talk about tracks here?  There are four and they're all pretty good.

http://plasticmanband.bandcamp.com/


Prana Crafter - 2014 - Mountain Throne

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

There's probably a touch too much Neil Young guitar wailing and sad bastard music warbling (could do without the vocal on "Crowd of Amethyst"). to quite fit the bill, but this could, like, 80% of the way function as a soundtrack for Jack Kerouac's "Desolation Angels."  They're from Washington, you can see the snowy mountain for yourself, and the thing sounds like it was recorded in a log cabin full of echo.  Or replace Kerouac in his firewatch post with Johnny Depp's character from "Dead Man."  That should about fit the bill. I think they found just the rough-hewn place to stop recording, complete with weird tape hiss and stuff being dropped in the studio (living room?).

http://pranacrafter.bandcamp.com/.


USSA Pleasure Dome - 2014 - Dead Medium

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

I went to university in Athens, Georgia and spend countless midnight hours having my hearing destroyed at the fabulous 40 Watt.  This post-rock EP gave me distinct flashbacks of getting dragged out to see Polvo by my dormmates (not that there's anything wrong with Polvo - I just didn't know them at the time).  Oh, but it's not just post-rock.  There's a fine blast of shoegazing gracing the opening "Dreampool Ecstacy" while "Surround the Center" skirts the interstellar space dust that Voyager is currently plowing through.  They probably could've stretched out the Om-ful title track to 15 minutes (it's actually two-and-a-half) and made a full LP out of this thing.  I don't know, maybe that would've been lazy.

http://ussapleasuredome.bandcamp.com/

Country Joe and the Fish - 1967 - Electric Music For the Body and Soul

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

This one was not particularly obscure in its time, but this is a band that has perhaps unjustly drifted towards the edges of obscurity in the time since.  Although Country Joe McDonald is still notorious for his "F-I-S-H" chant at Woodstock, I rarely come across any discussions of this absolutely fantastic debut album.  You can take the mid-60's Beatles, Americanize them with the Byrds and the Buffalo Springfield (should that be Canadianize?), and then throw them directly into the psychedelic eye of San Francisco armed with jug band sensibilities.  With absolutely stellar songwriting and execution, this easily stands up with any of any of the other Summer of Love luminaries.  I grew up with this LP in the family record collection, and to this day when I hear the term 'psychedelic rock,' this album cover is usually the first thing that pops to mind.

Everything on this disc is pretty good.  Those first two tracks, "Flying High" and "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine" drag you right on in as rough-edged, yet poppy confections that have San Francisco scene written all over them.  You get the full psychedelic lightshow, ballroom blast on the seven minute long "Section 43."  My father told me on multiple occasions that he had wanted "Porpoise Mouth" played at his wedding (it wasn't), but I could never tell if he was joking or not.  "Superbird" serves up another top-notch, full-tilt shuffle, while "Grace" ends the album by taking us to the ghostly outer atmosphere of Height Ashbury-laced folk rock.

I imagine quite of few of those reading this are already completely down with this recording, but I'm guessing that this'll be new for some of you.  This is one of those psychedelic uber-
classics along the lines of "Surrealistic Pillow" or "Buffalo Springfield" again, but I have the impression that it's gotten a little lost in the wilderness.  I could be wrong, but this is prime, key rock to groove along with.

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - 1972 - Second Wind

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

Despite what the name would suggest, this is actually the third album from the Oblivion Express.  The actual second album didn't really catch my attention, but I've been grooving to this disc.  The band has a new vocalist/guitarist in tow on this one.  The jazz fusion and Cambridge psychedelic/prog flourishes are still in effect, but this album makes a few moves towards the Led Zeppelin/Black Sabbath sort of 70's rock zeitgeist as well.  This results in a notable drop on the Trip-O-Meter from the first album, but the group keeps their chops strong.

"Truth" and "Second Wind" are the rockingest tunes to be found here.  There are some fine guitar leads from what must be a Les Paul cutting through the British funk, and Auger takes the license to ramble all over his organ since he doesn't have to sing anymore.  In between are plenty of lite-jazz grooves which keep making me think of when Spinal Tap is forced to unleash their jazz odyssey.  Fortunately, Auger's doods can play a lot better than the Tap and keep the tunes floating above the wanna-be-posh, sleazy nightclub atmosphere.  Think red satin stained with a few cigarette burns.  I think it might sound a little like the early Jeff Beck Group, but I've honestly not listened to enough of that to be sure.

Not quite the standout of the first album, "Second Wind" is a fine specimen of its time and place.  This is the kind of group that seems to have had the record-tour-record routine down.  You've got some prime strains of jazz rock and a touch of the heavier stuff being played by pros.  It doesn't really have the psychedelic spark that really sets me off, but when you're on the third album of early 70's British groovesters 'Brian Auger's Oblivion Express,' you probably don't expect that coming in anyway.

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - 1971 - Brian Auger's Oblivion Express

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

I first caught sight of this one back in college.  I headed over for a party at a mate's apartment and he'd just snapped this one up at a boot sale (yes, I'm from the redneck American south, but now I live in Japan and I feel like going with the Brit English).  I couldn't figure out if the cover was a joke or not - the graphic design seemed goofier than hell and the look in ol' Brian's eyes seemed to display some kind of trickery.  And the train's coming out of his chest, man.  Did we actually play the thing?  I can't remember - I hope I didn't insult the poor chap.

Anyway, we probably should've played it, although I was still working on my doctorate in the psychedelic and I may not have gotten it at the time.  Dang if I don't now, though.  This is some prime psychedelic jazz rock, with some deep meat and grit festering in the grooves.  Triangulate the Canterbury with contemporary Floyd and a healthy dose of Miles Davis' fusion experiments and you've got this.  Well, there's a touch of 70's bare-chest Brit blues yelping, but most of this stuff is instrumental anyway.

Auger was probably, like, the eighth most notable rock organist in England at the time, but that's still pretty good and he's backed himself up with a pretty spectacular band, with the rhythm section deftly riding the rails of the Oblivion Express and guitarist Jim Mullen shining through as the MVP with some awesome Cream-inspired soloing.

The instrumentals that bookend the album is the real gold here.  "Dragon Song" and "Total Eclipse" open the album and come pretty close to filling in the album side with some heavy riffing in a jazzy context.  A few years later, with instrumental wankery having taken center stage and record production getting more hi-fi shimmer, these tunes probably wouldn't have fared so well, but 1971 seems to have been the time and place for the Auger Express.  The side closes with "The Light," one of the two vocal numbers, but side two's "The Sword"  is a far better vocal showcase for Auger.  I wonder if the modern sludge rockers "The Sword" named themselves after this track?  "Oblivion Express" end the proceedings, taking us back to the rockin' fusion world of the first two tracks.

I'll have to apologize to Anthony for giggling at his Brian Auger's Oblivion Express vinyl all those years back.  This nicely breathes in the psychedelic exhaust of the late 60's while suggesting some of the fusion and prog routes that rock would barrel down in the 70's.

Dr. Schluss' Best of 2013

I guess I'm a little late on the uptake for this, but it seems like you can't assess the year until it's over and done with.  Also, I'm lazy.

For those of us willing to dig, the world of psychedelic music has rarely been better.  While the major labels are continuing their slow ossification and death, the indies had a lot to offer and there are plenty of diamonds in the rough if you're willing to make your way through the wide world of self-released music.  It's only a matter of time before 'groovy' reenters the world of accepted speech.  Even some of the blockbusters like Kanye West's "Yeezus" had some trippy sonic curveballs to toss our way.



Here's my top ten for the year to get your mind flowin':


10. Tideland - Lull
Speaking of the endless jungle of Bandcamp, this is a choice pick that I reviewed last month,  While little here is groundbreaking, the shoegazing tones would have fit in perfectly with the Creation Records lineup of the early 1990's.

9. Cut Copy - Free Your Mind
Coming through like a technicolour, Madchester, dancefloor freight train, this is one of the most dancable releases of the year.  Cut Copy sheds some of the strict 80's adherence that they practiced on "Zonoscope" and lets their freak flag fly.

8. Chelsea Light Moving - Chelsea Light Moving
I was sad as anyone to see Sonic Youth fly off into splinters a few years ago, but if we keep getting releases like this, I suppose I can deal with it.  2012 gave us a sterling effort from Lee Ranaldo (who also released a pretty decent album in 2013), but 2013 was Thurston Moore's turn to step back into the limelight.  Most of the Sonic DNA is intact, but Moore pushes his new project even further towards hardcore punk rock blasts of sound.

7. Thundercat - Apocalypse
Gracing the cover with one of the more insane hairstyles I've come across, Thundercat's 2013 release is not quite electronic, not quite R&B, but most often a strange yet seamless fusion of the two.  Plus, there's enough warping sound to bounce your head around in the washing machine for a while.

6. Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
This elusive electronic duo peeks their head out of their hollowed out missile silo/laboratory/doomsday shelter for the first time in years for this updated soundtrack to the secret life of plants.  The focus is very much on the atmospherics this time around, but that's what BOC does best, so not much is lost.

5. Jacco Gardner - Cabinet of Curiosities
Aside from a tasteful upscale in recording clarity, this album could've come right out of the British psychedelic folk-pop scene in late 1967.  The song writing is of the highest caliber and the chord progressions often take the most wonderful of unexpected detours.

4. Glasser - Interiors
Bjork hasn't released an album that really grabbed me since "Vespertine," so Glasser nicely fills in the void here.  No one is going to convince me that Glasser doesn't sound a whole lot like Bjork at her prime, but Glasser stakes out enough ground of her own with impressively crystalline electronics and fantastic arranging skills.

3. The Field - Cupid's Head
This Kompakt Record mainstay is getting quite skilled at creating impressive ambient soundscapes that hover and float a few meters of the dance floor.  Each of these tracks will take you on a fantastic journey through the core of electronic psychedelia.

2. Julianna Barwick - Nepenthe
Relying mostly on multi-tracked, reverb-soaked, impressionist recordings of her voice, Barwick took up residence in Sigur Ros' swimming pool to create her best album yet.  It fact, this pretty much scratched the itch that the yesr's actual Sigur Ros album mostly failed to scratch.

1. My Bloody Valentine - m b v
I worked my way through the release day internet foibles, and hit the play button with some trepidation to have my first listen to the sounds of the Valentines 22 year hiatus.  It really blew my mind, though, once I realized that I dug this new slab of vinyl from the gods of shoegaze even more than their 1991 classic, "Loveless."

As usual, I'd be honored for you to dig into my compilation of the 2013's best.  Also as usual, I tossed on a few of my own tracks.  I recorded a bunch of Beatles and Beach Boys cover tunes to trick my four-year-old daughter into listening to something I recorded, thus the Glaze of Cathexis track is my recording of the Beatles "Revolution."  She thought a mouse was singing with me on the high parts.  I know I haven't aired out any of my electronic project, Damaged Tape, recently, but I'm still working on new music for that here and there, and I've included one of the tunes that will eventually show up on the next album.

Track list:
1. Glasser - Design
2. Boards of Canada - Slow Earth
3. Jacco Gardner - Where Will You Go
4. Thundercat - Heartbeats + Setbacks
5. Glaze of Cathexis - Revolution
6. Cut Copy - Footsteps
7. Chelsea Light Moving - Sleeping Where I Fall
8. Julianna Barwick - Crystal Lake
9. Tideland - Carved in Mine
10. The Field - Cupid's Head
11. My Bloody Valentine - wonder 2
12. Damaged Tape - Incredyble Tryp