Sendelica: The Satori in Elegance of the Majestic Stonegazer (2012)

Welsh outfit SENDELICA have been around since 2005, releasing a score of EPs and albums on various labels around the globe. "The Satori in Elegance of the Majestic Stonegazer" is their most recent production at the time of writing, and was issued on their own label FRG Records in the summer of 2012.

In terms of musical direction this is a band that fits rather smugly into being described as an instrumental psychedelic rock band on this occasion. Space rock fans will encounter infrequent futuristic effects enough to warrant an interest also from this crowd, but the heart and soul of this endeavour is a psychedelic one as I experience it. Improvisational in expression to, all cuts on this disc comes across as the result and part of jam sessions rather than premade compositions performed in a recording studio. The reality may or may not be different, but the music does come with strong associations towards this type of music.

As is rather common for such excursions, the bass guitar and drums appears to set the foundation for the musical journeys, the former mostly limited to provide a circulating base motif the non-rhythmical instruments can improvise upon, the latter more important in terms of shifts in pace and intensity. In this case this last aspect isn't a feature that defines this album I might add, as Sendelica appears to be a band that hone in on hypnotic repetition rather than more or less organically evolving sonic and cosmic journeys.

There are a number of bands out there exploring similar general grounds as Sendelica do on this album, and what separates Sendelica from the rest is that these guys have opted to go back in time for inspiration. Psych drenched arguably primitive sounding guitar riffs and soloing is at the heart of the proceedings. Primitive as in with an early 70's sound more than in tone and expression as such, but also with a fair few distinctly distorted, rough textures utilized throughout. And when not delivering psych-drenched darker toned riffs or improvised solo runs, there's also room for gentler, light toned reverberating displays void of any distortion whatsoever, and initially it's when the band explores these fragile vibes I found them most interesting this time around. Aetherland the first of these pieces, which is also among the stronger tracks on this disc as I regard it.

Four-part epic Satori in Elegance does have it's moments too I might add, but the clear highlight for me comes with Preseli Daze. On this piece keyboards and effects are ditched to find place for the saxophone instead, and the manner in which the sax and guitar complement each other and trade roles on this number adds life and vibrancy to this effort that does elevate it a bit above the others, at least as my mind decodes this type of music. Final piece The Majestic Stonegazer is another fine effort worth mentioning, a slight exception in style with it's dark, massive guitar riffs chugging on top of march inspired rhythms and a distinct drone-like, fuzzy edge, the repetitive scope of this piece a successful one as far as hypnotic effect is concerned.

Sendelica isn't a band I think will find a huge audience eagerly awaiting their exploits on the basis of this CD at least. But those with a soft spot for retro-oriented, improvised psychedelic rock of the instrumental variety should take the time to seek out this production for a psych-drenched journey back in time. Especially those amongst them with a soft spot for guitar dominated material with something of an emphasis on the use of repetitive mannerisms utilized for hypnotic effect.

My rating: 73/100Track list:
1. Magical Ninin
2. Aetherland
3. Satori in Elegance Pt. I
4. Satori in Elegance Pt. II
5. Satori in Elegance Pt. III
6. Satori in Elegance Pt. IV
7. Preseli Daze
8. The Majestic Stonegazer

Gin Lady: Gin Lady (2012)

Swedish band GIN LADY was formed in early 2011, around the same time that the majority of the members of this new band were free of obligations as their former band Black Bonzo decided to take a break. As some sort of sister/companion/successor unit of this well established act, Gin Lady will be and have been sought out by fans of this act, and I suspect the majority of them will have been pleased with what they have encountered on Gin Lady's initial effort, released by Swedish label Transubstans Records in the late spring of 2012.

Like Black Bonzo, Gin Lady is a band that merits the description retro-oriented. The 1970's are at the heart of the proceedings both in terms of likely influences and overall stylistic expression, just about the only component of this production that merits a description as temporary will be the year printed next to the copyright logo. This is music that could have been and probably should have been released 40 years ago in a perfect world. Give these guys a time machine back to 1972 and they would have established themselves as superstars, headlining alongside bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.

While the aforementioned bands are stated influences, and the latter of these in particular is easy to track the influence of due to the massive use of organs throughout, Gin Lady is a band that know their 70's hard rock, and most likely with a much deeper knowledge about this period than any of the hacks who write about their material. And they blend and assemble their inspirations and influences in a manner that hardly ever comes close to being a blatant attempt at sounding like any specific band. On tracks like Lend Me a hand and the massive monster of Hold On southern rock and bands like Molly Hatchett and Allman Brothers comes to mind for instance, but the former has just as much a foundation in heavy psychedelic rock 70's style while the latter ticks off quite a few Deep Purple nods along the way as well, in particular on the brilliant midsection. Purple and Zeppelin are perfectly blended on the energetic and brilliant Confrontation Shakedown, while a piece like Bloodsuckin' Babies brings in Blue Oyster Cult and Alice Cooper to the table alongside the Jon Lord inspired antics. To name but a few comparisons that can be made. Aficionados of 1970's rock and hard rock will have a field day with this album on tracking down likely sources of inspiration alone.

The most important fact about Gin Lady is that they are a band good at doing what they do however. They have a brilliant lead vocalist that can carry songs all by himself, a versatile keyboardist just as good at massive organ motifs as the gentler details, and generally all around instrumentalists of a better than average competence having a go at well planned and well developed compositions. High quality all around in other words, up to and including mix and production. Not a band that will ever be regarded as someone expanding the boundaries of known music, but most certainly masters of the art of creating hard rock the way it was done in the 1970's. And as such a highly recommended band for those who love and enjoy their Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Blue Oyster Cult and artists of a similar vein who were active way back when.

My rating: 93/100
Track list:
1. Rebirth
2. Get It On
3. Lend Me a Hand
4. Deja Vu
5. The Rest
6. Bloodsuckin' Babies
7. Bottom of the Sea
8. Confrontation Shakedown
9. Hold On

The Minstrel's Ghost: Dream Things True (2011)

US act THE MINSTREL'S GHOST is the creative vehicle of composer and multi-instrumentalist Blake Carpenter, a musician with a long past in various band projects who eventually decided that going solo was his best options in terms of pursuing his creative and musical ideals. "Dream Things True" is his debut album, and was released in 2011.

The hour or so of music on this production reveals an artist just as fond of gentle ballads as of harder edged material driven by guitar riffs first and foremost, and a composer who tends to opt for more of a mainstream structure to his creations. The songs tend to be fairly predictable in development, structurally as well as musically. As such, this isn't an album that merits inspection if you're the kind of listener that have a constant need to be surprised to maintain interest in any given record.

While listening through this disc my associations mainly stuck to a handful or so of artists whose material should be familiar to most. Styx and Rush most commonly, and for some reason or other Triumph was a band name that kept popping up in my mind when listening to this production too. On a select few occasions the material incorporates something of a Pink Floyd vibe too, and on one occasion Tangerine Dream was a bad that came to mind too. But mostly the material made me think about the first two artsts mentioned, and for the latter of these their late 80's period forst and foremost.

The compositions themselves are fairly pleasant acqaintances throughout. The majority of them are dominated by vocal sequences, and while Carpenter's voice is a distinct one that won't have a universal appeal it is always a pleasant surprise to encounter a vocalist that is actually a good singer and know how to utilize his range and delivery to emphasize his strengths in that department. He comes across as a decent instrumentalist too, although I'll have to admit that the drums came across as somewhat less interesting. Not a key factor for the majority of listeners I suspect, but those who desire a few bells and whistles in that department will have to cope with the nice and steady approach on this particular album.

Apart from that I found the more ballad oriented pieces to be somewhat less intriguing than the harder edged material. Material of a calmer and gentle nature are hard to create in a manner that makes them stand out from the plethora of similar material that has been made, and in this case I didn't find them to be substantially different or more interesting than the majority of ballads around. With one exception, the slightly Floydian tinged Creature of the Night. A piece with a strong and distinct atmosphere that gives rise to associations towards the dark and the night in an intriguingly pleasant and easygoing manner.

The harder edged material obviously made more of an impact on me personally. With cleverly constructed themes pairing off darker toned guitars with wandering piano motifs and a mostly subdued symphonic backdrop as key features for the songs of this kind as central features. Frequently with a nifty bass motif providing a distinct foundation, occasionally with bass and keyboards combining to form effective initial phases for the main themes. There's also the mostly instrumental energetic flamboyance of a piece such as Future World that merits a special mention, this particular piece a one off that sounds pretty much like the shorter material made by Tangerine Dream in the White Eagle era, with guitars added in to enhance the contrasts.

All in all this is a pleasant production. And while it may not be found on too many lists of the best albums released in 2011 it is a disc that merits a looksie. And I'd guess that people who generally enjoy the majority of the material released by the trio of Styx, Triumph and Rush should make out something of a core audience for The Minstrel's Ghost, in particular fans of the former two of them.

My rating: 63/100
Track list:
1. The American Dream
2. In Search Of
3. The Forest (Battle of the Trees)
4. Future World
5. Mab
6. Dragons Blood
7. Castle in the Sky
8. Looking Down
9. Silent Dream
10. Creature of the Night (From Madness - A Vampires Story)
11. Three Roses
12. The Wolf (Friends in Paradise)

The Chemistry Set: Come Kiss Me Vibrate And Smile 7'' (2012)

UK act THE CHEMISTRY SET started out back in the 1980's, but split shortly after their second album "Wake Up Sometime!" was released in 1990. But 2008 saw the band reuniting again, and they've been a fairly active unit since both in terms of recording material and performing live. Three track single "Kiss Me Vibrate and Smile" is their first release in 2012, issued as a limited edition, vinyl only production by enthusiast label Fruits de Mer Records.

The A side of this single kicks off with the uptempo title track, a retro-oriented but timeless sounding affair sporting a generally uplifting mood created by way of driving rhythms, gently reverberating guitars, occasional darker toned guitar details and a few organ flourishes to boot. Rather straightforward in structure, but a vitamin pill of a hummable psychedelic rock construction nonetheless.

Time to Breathe follows next, a slower paced affair that opens as more of a low key creation with acoustic guitars on top of a cleverly constructed drum pattern, supplemented by carefully reverberating guitar details and a lighter toned psych-oriented supporting motif, gradually developing into a somewhat more frenzied arrangement not too far away from the sound Hawkwind explored on their debut album. Brilliant stuff for those who enjoy psychedelic rock with a distinct emphasis on the psychedelic part.

A cover of Tomorrow's Hallucinations is the choice selection for the B side. This brief excursion is more of a mainstream-oriented affair sporting driving rhythms and acoustic guitar partially backed by a textured guitar motif with something of a post rock tendency to it and partially by psych-dripping guitar soloing, in sum reminding me quite a bit of Australian act Lime Spiders - if anyone remember that band at all these days.

I might also add that the carefully controlled lead vocals is a pleasure throughout, I'm a sucker for high quality lead vocals and The Chemistry Set should fulfil most expectations in that department quite nicely, and with a certain swagger and elegance at that. All in all a high quality production, as the majority of the productions that comes courtesy of Fruits de Mer Records tends to be. Some 800 copies of this specimen have been produced from what I understand, and from mid-October 2012 the same number of psychedelic rock fans should find this 7'' to be a fine addition to their collection.

My rating: 87/100
Track list:
A1. Come Kiss Me Vibrate and Smile
A2. Time to Breathe
B. Hallucinations

Anton Barbeau: Psychedelic Mynde of Moses 7'' (2012)

US composer and instrumentalist Anton BARBEAU is something of a cult artist in the power pop environment if I have grasped his history correctly, sporting two decades of solo releases earning him lots of critical acclaim but not quite as much commercial impact. Barbeau have now hooked up with vinyl enthusiast label Fruits de Mer Records, and his first release through them is a 7'' single that will be available in October 2012.

Fans of Barbeau will most likely be familiar with the A-side track Psychedelic Mynde of Moses from his 2010 album of the same name, a compact and powerful pop tunes sporting a high intensity, compact arrangement with a few careful psychedelic touches thrown in for good measure, the energetic drum patterns beneath Barbeau's distinct psych dripping dominant vocals the key features of this high impact piece.

But it's when we hit the cover tunes that this single really starts making an impact. Robyn Hitchcock's Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl a highly strung, nervous affair that seems to hover on the edge of a mad, freakout explosion with the intense vocals and a siren-like recurring instrumental motif backing the ebb and flow intensity of this distinctly vocals dominated effort to very good effect.

A more distinct and dominant siren-like detail is a recurring feature when Barbeau cover's Julian Cope's Out of My Mind on Dope and Speed too. This piece a harder edged excursion that comes across as a song that could have been written by The Beatles and then performed by The Who, flavoured with psych dripping lead vocals, a brooding dark toned guitar texture placed beneath and a fair amount of futuristic sounding space rock effects thrown in for good measure.

If you like your psychedelic rock to be of a 60's orientation, enjoy distinct vocals that in themselves adds a psychedelic sheen to the proceedings and are fond of compact, high intensity compositions with something of a highly strung, nervous atmosphere to them then Barbeau's first single on Fruits de Mer Records is one you might want to grab. It's a limited edition vinyl production however, and as this is a fairly well established label with a good-sized crowd of regular customers you shouldn't wait too long if you really desire to own it: It's not uncommon for them to sell out on pre-orders alone.

My rating: 93/100
Track list:
A. Psychedelic Mynde of Moses
B1. Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl
B2. Out of My Head on Dope and Speed

Permanent Clear Light: Higher Than the Sun 7'' (2012)

Finnish band PERMANENT CLEAR LIGHT was formed back in 2009, formed by a trio of seasoned musicians with backgrounds from many different types of music who all share a common love of late 60's psychedelic music. The single "Higher Than the Sun" is their first standalone band release to my knowledge, and will be available from vinyl enthusiast label Fruits de Mer Records in October 2012.

If I were to make a short description of the music explored on this single, psychedelic pop music would be my primary choice. Both on their own original tune as well as the cover of Van der Graaf Generator's Afterwards we're dealing with compositions of a low key, gentle and rather fragile nature. Higher Than the Sun a ballad at heart with an acoustic gentle guitar motif backed by careful bass and rhythms as the foundation for the calm, melodic lead vocals, with occasional symphonic textures adding depth in a manner that gives rise to associations towards certain tracks by good, old The Beatles. And all along we're treated to a fairly liberal use of oscillation, futuristic sounds hovering on top, adding a careful space rock dimension to the proceedings in a careful but effective manner.

Afterwards, despite it's progressive rock origin, is a calmer piece with a firmer foundation in pop music. The bass guitar combines with the drums to form a dominating but careful presence on this occasion, with light toned acoustic and electric guitars wedged carefully in between the rhythm foundation and the lead vocals. A neat psych-oriented chorus and psych-dripping guitar details adds a fragile psychedelic dimension to this subdued, melancholic excursion.

Fans of psychedelic pop/rock of a gentle, careful nature should feel right at home when the needle hits the grooves of this 7 inch slab of vinyl. And in case you might feel like waiting for the iTunes version, I'll have to inform anyone with those thoughts in mind that this sadly won't be an option. As with all Fruits de Mer releases this one is vinyl only, and in a limited edition at that.

My rating: 80/100
Track list:
A: Higher Than the Sun
B: Afterwards