Sungod - Crash Galactic

image

Back when I posted Sungod’s “First Matter” on the Blogger based Weed Temple, it was an album filled to the brim with white hot, mind-melting stoner/space rock jams very much in the Hawkwind school of thought. “Crash Galactic”, the 2012 release by the same band, doesn’t rock as much, this time going for a more mind-expanding approach, doing less freakout jams and more droning nirvana sessions. It’s partially psych folk, partially New Age, partially kosmische musik and partially psychedelic rock free jam, but all in all it’s a 70+ minute long spectacle of cosmic powers and great, great music for trips of all kind (including the sober inner-self meditational trips). Recommended!

Misled Navigator - VI

image

The tag list on the Bandcamp page of the simply named “VI” album by Brooklyn’s Evan DeJesus (who makes music under the moniker Misled Navigator) doesn’t give any clues about any particular style or genre that can be expected, instead putting everything under the deceptive cloak of “experimental”. But don’t worry, there are no harsh drones or electoacoustic PhD thesis in there. In fact, “VI” is supremely laid back and relaxing, at times recalling the later albums of Blues Control (especially “Valley Tangents”) or the later, more synth-oriented wave or krautrock on the edge of 70’s and 80’s when they started mingling with synth pop. And if you pardon the minor occasional compositional slips (like the sloppy drums here and there or hitting a note slightly too late), you get an auteur compilation of urban scenes steeped in a psychedelic sauce.

y0t0 - nijisousaku

image

Straight from New South Wales comes Charles Sage with his impressionistic y0t0 outfit. y0t0 follows the same hazy, woozy, synth-based path as 1991, except here more focus is put into dense, cosmic atmospherics, with space-related monologues weaved in between pulsing, ambiental soundscapes of analog synthesizer and guitars. Inspired by Blade Runner and Logan’s Run, y0t0 explores the thin border between human and machine and the ability to perceive emotions while surrounded by technology. Also, I can’t staring at that cover. Powerful!

Jonáš Gruska - Nočné oscilácie pre jedného

Another fine release from the self-proclaimed “post-music” Slovakian label LOM. This time synthesist Jonáš Gruska enters the world of electronic music in its earliest, rawest and the most abstract form, full of cold, angular proto-beats and laboratory oscillations. Sounds like lost gem recorded in Cologne in the early 50’s that just got unearthed from some vast archive. Analog electronics is great electronics.

Head Boggle - Dual Phaser

Originally released on cassette on Dan Smith’s Chicago label Hyperdelic Records (which, sadly, didn’t seem to get past it’s first batch - but hey! Mr. Smith is responsible for the Neon Marshmallow Fest, so he should be excused), this cassette by Derek Gedalecia (the human being behind the brain-bending sounds of Head Boggle - also written as Headboggle) can turn a few heads by featuring Bob Moog on the cover. A bold move, and it can be justified just by one thing - pushing the abilities of analog synthesizers to the limits. And this is precisely what Gedalecia does here. Never a dull moment, always sparkling with fluorescent synth patters, noises, bloops and bleeps. A bit harsh and really, REALLY abstract at times. If you enjoyed Greg Davis’ “States” series, you’re gonna LOVE Head Boggle. Make sure to check out Head Boggle’s other free album, “Dojo and the Funhouse Echo”!