Aural Innovations — February 2014

Red Planet Orchestra — We Breathe Together

(Path Of Action Productions 2014, POA 82CD)

Jerry Kranitz

Red Planet Orchestra is the UK based duo of Vincent Rees and Peter Smith, and We Breathe Together is their third album, following up from last year's Aurora Symphony and Secrets of Eternity albums.

For this new set the duo continue their theme of deep space electronic excursions, with 5 mostly lengthy journeys. The 14 minute No Return To The Edge is a beautifully floating, slightly droning wave of orchestral space. The theme is minimal, developing only gradually, the focus being on creating an uplifting cosmic experience. The music is meditative, but there's a powerful feeling of majesty, and a mild intensity, that rather than disturbing the calm adds to the variety of emotions in this otherwise slowly evolving piece. Shadows Of Earth similarly rides the crest of a peaceful space wave, but the mood is slightly darker. With the movie Gravity still fresh in my mind, I'm reminded of the moments where Sandra Bullock is slowly floating and struggling with what will become of her. This would have been great music for those scenes.

We Are Forever is a little different, being a more energetic assortment of effects, atmospherics, and spaced out somber moods. I wish this had been developed beyond its 4 minute length. While listening to the 19 minute We Dream Together I was reminded of a trip to the Cincinnati aquarium last summer. They had a circular room, ringed with multiple separate jellyfish tanks, all with the most amazing lighting. This track reminds me of standing at each tank, watching the jellyfish slowly floating about in what seemed like an extra-terrestiral aquatic environment. Finally, the 26 minute Watching Tomorrow kicks the energy level up a notch, being a space-orchestral excursion, with soaring angelic strings, combined with delicately pulsating drone waves, like a depiction of an alien heaven.

In summary, the album as a whole is like a big cosmic ballet. This is music you fully experience by surrendering yourself to it. As you can tell from my descriptions it's highly image inducing. Despite the meditative peace and relaxation, it continually sparked my imagination.

To stream and download all albums, you can visit the Red Planet Orchestra Bandcamp site.

Omenopus — The Archives

(Monty Maggot Records 2014, MMCD009)

Jerry Kranitz

The latest from Omenopus is quite different from their previous albums, and I'll tell you right out of the chute that this is their best and most ambitious effort to date. The Archives is a sci-fi tale based on a story by Sherdian Starr, though much of the album is Lee Potts' interpretation of Starr's story (thanks to Lee for providing me with the details). The core trio behind Omenopus is Lee Potts, John Pierpoint and Bridget Wishart, and for The Archives they are joined by Sheriden Starr (who also records as Bangtheory), Sarah Panton on vocals, Gary Sheridan on vocals (who is also in 1912 with Pierpoint), and Jenna Graves and Sonya Lanchbury on spoken word.

I'll summarize the story: At the end of a war between the Creators and the Controllers, the main character - George 4/7 - discovers five containers that hold a collection of records and information that enable him to piece together what happened. The 22 tracks on the album are segmented into 5 parts, each representing one of the containers. Spoken word narratives throughout the set are recordings George finds, some of which are secret recordings made by the daughter of the Creator, who is actually a sympathizer of the Controllers, and others are propaganda news reels.

The album is an epic in every sense of the word, continually shifting between music, song, spoken word sections, and loads of effects, making for a genuine sci-fi space rock tale. After an introductory segment we launch into I Am, which is like Hawkwind meets Goth-Metal, and this is the style that characterizes much of the music on the album. This is followed by the first of the recordings George discovers, starting with a narrative, but is quickly interrupted by, "shut them down", and then "brace yourselves!", and then CRASH! Unreasoning In The Whys rocks hard but also includes beautifully spaced out symphonic dreamy sections, punctuated by high intensity laser blast effects. I like the intense witch-like vocals as they acidly repeat, "Twisting words... into coarse... coloured lies!".

13 Mirrors is a standout song, being another heavy driving slab of space rocking, Goth infused rock and metal, with great vocals, phasers-on-kill guitar leads, haunting atmospherics and a parade of effects. Watching The Mannequin Lady Through My Window is a swinging rocker that sings about Eloi and Weena, clearly referencing The Time Machine, and indeed a DVD of the 1960 George Pal classic is among George's findings in the containers.

Blind - Part 1 provides the listener with a breather, being a gently dreamy piano and soundscapes driven vocal track, though tension is still in the air as there are threatening alien effects scattered about, slowly building in intensity before launching into the space-Goth-metallic, electro robotic instrumental Blind - Part 2. The spoken word in Commandments 3 are clear references to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. Stand Still is another highlight song, being a searing, acid-laced, space-metal rocker. And The Physician is Omenopus' space-metal interpretation of the original Dr Who theme.

Ultimately, the only way to really experience The Archives is to give it an undivided attention, start to finish listen. It would be great for this to be on vinyl because it merits a lock yourself in the bedroom and gaze at the lyrics spin. Like the golden age of radio, the album is an audio sci-fi film for the ears and imagination. Fans of The Higher Craft's The Quest into the Steppingstoneage album will love this, and Space Mirrors' thematic albums come to mind as well. Highest recommendation.

For more information visit the Omenopus Bandcamp site. The website omenopus.com no longer exists.

Us and Them — By The Time It Gets Dark

(Fruits de Mer Records/Regal Crabomophone 2014, Winkle 14, 7" vinyl)

Jerry Kranitz

Us and Them are the Swedish duo of Britt Rönnholm and Anders Hakanson. I've heard a few of their contributions to Fruits de Mer releases, the standout being their stunningly gorgeous pagan-folk Songs from The Wicker Man collaboration with Frobisher Neck. For their new single, Us and Them offer up two covers and one original.

I might upset some by saying that anyone could do a Sandy Denny song better than Sandy, but Us and Them take Denny's By The Time It Gets Dark and do their delicately dreamy acid-wryd-Folk magic, adding additional, though still light, instrumentation. The flute and bells are lovely, making for a trippy romp through fields of flowers. And Britt's vocals are simply beautiful; we're talking melted hearts and minds. Ditto for Us and Them's interpretation of Donovan's Jabberwocky, which itself was a musical rendition of Lewis Carroll's poem.

For the flip side we're treated to an Us and Them original, the nearly 7 minute Do I Know You, which is like a psychedelic lullaby from the space angels, and parts of it bring to mind a more spaced out take on the Genesis circa Trespass sound. Absolutely awesome and another band I'd love to see do a full LP on Fruits de Mer.

The single will be available late March, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!

FoFor more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records website.

Schnauser — As Long As He Stays Perfectly Still

(Fruits de Mer Records 2014, Crustacean 46, 7" vinyl)

Jerry Kranitz

Schnauser are a Bristol based band who are new to me, and here offer up two interesting choices for covers. I don't think I've heard anyone tackle Yes for a Fruits de Mer release. Schauser take Astral Traveller, from Yes' 1970 Time and a Word album, and are for the most part faithful to the original, including Jon Anderson styled vocals.

For the flip side we've got a cover of Soft Machine's As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still. Schnauser do a fairly proper interpretation of the song, but where the original two and a half minute song on Soft Machine's Volume Two album ends, Schnauser are gearing up for an extended finale, taking off into a spaced out Jazz-Psych jam. Wow, quite some chops from these guys. I need to find more from Schnauser.

The single will be available late March, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!

For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records website.

Crystal Jacqueline and the Honey Pot — Crystal Jacqueline and the Honey Pot

(Fruits de Mer Records 2014, Crustacean 42, 2 x 7" vinyl)

Jerry Kranitz

I was introduced to Crystal Jacqueline last year via her first single on Fruits de Mer and her full length Sun Arise album, both of which included an intriguing variety of covers, including tunes by The Troggs, The Rolling Stones, Gordon Lightfoot, and a psychedelic take on Fly A Kite from the Mary Poppins movie that remains a candidate for one of my favorite re-interpretations of all time.

This new double 7" features Jacqueline partnered with The Honey Pot, who released the excellent To The Edge Of The World album last year. We've got a cool cross section of covers here. Pink Floyd's trippy-spacey-tribal Remember A Day is amped up with a fuller rockin' Prog-Psych sound. The Honey Pot's rendition of White Rabbit is a one-two punch knockout, starting off very much like the original, but then about halfway through blasting off into a monster rocker with symphonic keys and ripping guitars. Fleur de Lys' garage-pop freakout song Tick Tock is given a wah'd dose of funky grooves, which sounds great combined with the stratospheric guitar solos and classic 60s organ.

Mighty Baby's Egyptian Tomb is similarly rocked up and includes more ripping guitar, which sounds fantastic within a bouncy pop-psych grooving context. For Curved Air's Puppets, Crystal is faithful to the spirit of the original, but injects an orchestral feel that's both flowing and quirky, and dispenses with the jazzy piano, and in my opinion is overall better than Curved Air. Crystal cranks out a cool rocking cover of The Electric Prunes' I Had Too Much To Dream. And finally, we've got an original, penned by Crystal's Honey Pot partner Icarus Peel. It's Raining is a high energy pop-psych rocker with a catchy melody, awesome spaced out guitars, and powerhouse drumming. Nice.

The single will be available late March, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!

For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records website and the Honey Pot Bandcamp site.

Schizo Fun Addict — Theme From Suspiria

(Fruits de Mer Records 2014, Crustacean 48, 7" vinyl)

Jerry Kranitz

Schizo Fun Addict are new to me, though not to Fruits de Mer as they were the subject of the very first ever FdM single. For this new 7" they tackle two cult classic movie themes - Suspira and Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls.

Suspiria will always be a special movie for me. I have fond memories of seeing it in the theater as a teen when it first came out, and it scared the ever lovin' crap out of me. But it was far more than just a well done scary movie. It was different. The whole atmosphere was so strange, and the colors were so odd. And the MUSIC... the music was fantastic and so integral to the film. I was so taken by it I ran out and bought the Goblin soundtrack and it's an album I periodically revisit to this day.

Schizo Fun Addict take the core theme and strike a nice balance between being faithful to the original and making it their own. It's more of a steady rocker, and I like the la-la-la harmonies. But they retain the freakout synths and in some ways take it even deeper into space. Very nice. For In The Long Run, from Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, Schizo Fun Addict are musically almost exactly the same as the original, horns and all. The big difference is they've got great vocals. The original had HORRIBLE vocals, which destroyed an otherwise killer tune. Thanks to Schizo Fun Addict for righting that wrong.

The single will be available late March, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!

For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records website and the Schizo Fun Addict Bandcamp site for other albums.

Bronco Bullfrog — Time Waits For Norman

(Fruits de Mer Records/Regal Crabomophone 2014, Winkle 15, 7" vinyl)

Jerry Kranitz

Bronco Bullfrog are a UK based band who are new to me, though they apparently released some albums and singles in the 90s-early 2000s, before disbanding and then reforming in 2011. On this single we've got two originals and one cover.

Wow, Time Waits For Norman is THE sound of late 60s bouncy feel good pop-psych, with a dash of bubblegum tossed in for good measure. The melody sticks in yer craw on the first listen like you've known it all your life. The vocals and harmonies are gorgeous and the whole thing is immaculately executed. This could easily have been a hit in 1967. Rocking Horse Mender is next and the promo sheet says it was written as a "shameless love letter to Kaleidoscope", and that Bronco Bullfrog even approached Peter Daltry about writing some lyrics (didn't pan out).

A beautifully crafted lulling pop-psych tune and another easy candidate for hit single status back in the day. Finally, we've got a cover of the 1967 Sands song, Listen To The Sky. The original starts off as trademark 60s pop-psych, but then veers off into a totally stoned, metallic freakout. Bronco Bullfrog do an almost spot-on rendition of the original, though it doesn't go anywhere near the lysergic brain squashing that Sands did. But based on the strength of the Brocno Bullfrog penned tunes, I want to submit my official wishlist request to Fruits de Mer for a full length LP from these guys.

The single will be available late March, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!

For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records website.

Eddie Brnabic & The Cosmic Fellowship — Subtle Realms

(Heavy Eddie Music 2013, Download)

Jerry Kranitz

Eddie Brnabic is a Los Angeles based musician who has apparently been around a long time, but this album is my introduction to his work. Eddie plays guitar, keys and percussion, and along with Gregos Majda on bass, Dario Lapoma on keys, and Steven Rubio on drums, they are The Cosmic Fellowship. Subtle Realms consists of 9 instrumental tracks, all in the 3 - 6 minute range.

The album opens with a peacefully New Agey dual flute and running stream piece, before launching into Transcendental Wine, an easy paced showcase for tasty melodic wah and fuzz guitar leads and Rhodes sounding keys. This, and the album as a whole, is unabashedly 70s influenced hard psychedelic rock laced with heavy doses of Funk and Soul. Throne Of Saturn is similar but heavier, trading the Funk for a spaced out stoner vibe, but still focused on creating a catchy melodic flow.

Still... Tripping Through Time goes deeper into space, being a soulful slab of bubbling psychedelic, prog inspired, high intensity rock, with killer guitar and churning UFO effects. Pearl is like a psychedelic blend of the Allman Brothers and The Beatles Abbey Road, and includes some mightily explosive moments of hard rocking psychedelic fury. Moongroove consists of chunky funky soulful riff rocking, which goes ape-shit ballistic for the finale. Waves alternates between cool grooving stoned rock and soulful psychedelic drift, and includes a heart-wrenching acid-fuzzed solo, which sounds cool combined with the jazz lounge keys.

Riff Mountain has a jazz fusion edge, sounding like a psychedelic take on the Jeff Beck Blow By Blow/Wired sound, though it later blasts off into a heavy riff rocking jam. Death & Resurrection closes the set, and along with Still... Tripping Through Time is the album's most spaced out psychedelic track, including trippy Eastern vibes and heavier space rocking moments.

In summary, if you spend sleepless nights yearning for the best of 70s psychedelic hard rock, then Eddie Brnabic is for you. The band is tight as a knot, and the music tastefully melodic, even during its most eruptive moments. As an instrumental unit the band is top notch, though it would be interesting to hear them add a singer with potent yet soulful vocals.

For more information you can visit the Eddie Brnabic Bandcamp site. His website eddiebrnabic.com is no longer active.

The Timelords — Convergence

(Whiplash Records 2014, CD/Download)

Jerry Kranitz

The Timelords are the UK based quartet of Steve Bemand on guitar, synth and vocals, Dani Speakman on guitar, synth and vocals, Martyn Wood on bass and Barry Coombes on drums. Bemand briefly played with Hawkwind, and has been in Technicians Of Spaceship Hawkwind, The Starfighters, and The Glissando Guitar Orchestra, among others. Speakman has been in Space Ritual, Pinkwind, The Space Pirates, The Starfighters, Glissando Guitar Orchestra, and both he and Coombes were in Psychik Atters, whose Mystic Minutes album I reviewed way back in AI #3.

The band formed in 2011 and Convergence is their debut album. Space Migration opens the set with a bang, bringing to mind Electric Teepee and Alien 4 era Hawkwind, with a great combination of guitars, vocals and multiple layers of electronics. The Moment reminds me of early Darxtar circa Sju and Daybreak, who were of course themselves heavily Hawkwind influenced, but the vocals sound like Soren Bengtsson and there's a Prog edge to some of the keys. Regardless, if you're thinking, "Hawkwind, Darxtar, YEAH, bring it on!", then you're guaranteed to be satisfied.

At 16 minutes, Blu Ray Monday is the longest track of the set and as far as I'm concerned it could have gone on forever. We've got crunchy punk-metallic guitars and ripping leads, soaring alien synths, and contrasting but cool melodic plinkity keys, like Kraftwerk sat in on the session. It's got a heavy You Shouldn't Do That rhythmic drive and deep space rockin' jamming like a relentless Blanga assault, but also guitar, keys and instrumentals that recall both 90s Hawkwind and the afore mentioned Darxtar albums, as well as veering into the more punishing rock territory exemplified by bands like Litmus.

Rough Diamond is another lengthy track covering a lot of territory in 12 minutes, from easy paced rocking and lightly tense and ominous Blanga bashing, exploratory Space Ritual electronics and jamming, Hawkwind-gone-Motorik grooves, balls-to-the-walls jamming space rock, sci-fi spoken word narratives, and more. Time Machine is a rip roaring high energy space rocker that reminds me of Litmus. It's exclusive to the digital version of the album, and though you won't see it listed at Bandcamp it comes with the purchased download.

Decoding The Senses opens with a swirling array of guitar and soundscapes, led by a robotic electronic melody and steady rock drumming, that soon devolves into a dreamy alien cinematic symphonic-atmospheric excursion. The guitar is soloing as dense waves of space-scapes float and swirl, soon joined by electro-dance rhythms, making for a cosmic mélange of atmosphere and rockin' mind massage.

Rounding out the set are two cover songs. Lightning At My Door updates a song from Psychik Atters' 1995 Mystic Minutes album, given an adrenalin injection of frenzied whirling dervish space-punk. Finally, ever wondered what the Stones' 2000 Light Years From Home would sound like if Hawkwind covered it? Well here ya go. At the core it's faithful to the original, but The Timelords take the song way out into the space rock cosmos. Very cool. In summary, if you like your space rock heavily Hawk inspired, then The Timelords are for you.

At the moment, the Convergence CD is only available from the USA, though the band say that UK stocks should be available soon (the link below will ship to the UK). The Timelords are currently working on a second album, and are accepting bookings for gigs and festivals.

To purchase the CD you can visit the Kunaki website. To stream and download Convergence you can visit the Timelords Bandcamp site. The Timelords are also on Facebook.

Beyond-O-Matic — Relations At The Borders Between

(Trail Records 2013, CD)

Jerry Kranitz

In 1999 when Aural Innovations was still a printed mag, issue #6 included a review of Your Body, the third album by San Franciso based Beyond-O-Matic, as well as an interview with band member Kurt Stenzel. The album was a uniquely compelling, and difficult to describe brand of quirky, electronically psychedelic space music that fell firmly into the outside-the-box category. And that album was it for Beyond-O-Matic until 2010, when Trail Records released Time To Get Up, a set of music recorded in 2002-03 that had been sitting all those years.

And now we have Relations At The Borders Between, the first set of new Beyond-O-Matic recordings in over a decade. The details of the story that led to this album are in the interview below, but founding members Kurt Stenzel and Peter Fuhry were reunited for two days in May 2012 to create the core recordings, with overdubs and fine tuning applied over the course of the following year. Drum duties are handled by Anthony Koutsos, with additional guests on guitar, percussion and bass.

The album opens with In The C, an accessible rhythmic grooving song with completely spaced out electronics and floating, streaming keys. Tick Tock Rock is a short 2+ minute tune that does not "Rock", but is actually a hypnotically metronomic piece that abruptly leads into the nearly 16 minute Wish. Wish is an epic stunner that opens with gently stoned riffage, combined with soaring keys, a droning synth line, and a doomy yet majestic melody. This might be the heaviest music I've heard from Beyond-O-Matic yet.

I didn't make a point of this in my '99 Your Body review, but Peter Fuhry's vocals give the band so much of their unique character and flavor. It's difficult to describe, but he often sings in a high register, very pleasant yet intense banshee-like style. About halfway through the mood lightens and we're drifting along on a magic carpet of space synth, ambient waves and flute, soon moving into a spaced out Prog keyboard dominated segment that starts to develop a cool rolling groove, joined by guitars and a beautiful jazzy flute melody, creating killer instrumental Space-Prog with a bit of jazz jam that carries us to the end.

The remainder of the album consists of 10+ minute stretch-out works. In Two 0s begins as an accessible vocal song, though it's all happening within a larger heavier rocking spacey soundscape surrounded context. And when the piece takes off into an instrumental jam the music thuds along at a marching pace, led by a pulsating and grooving synth and swimming in a space-symphonic sea of keys. I also like the more playful chorus sections that contrast with the intensity of the larger piece. The track ends in a strangely abrupt manner, and then quickly launches into Turn, Switch, Thrust.

This one opens with dreamily drifting vocals, guitars and Space-Prog keys. After nearly 5 minutes an ambient-noise-drone synth line accompanied by howling chant vocals takes over, which is the transition point back to another lulling melodic dream song sequence. I think this has some of Fuhry's best vocals on the album. He sings passionately and combined with the angelic backing harmonies and cosmic flow of the music, the whole thing is simply spellbinding. But The Love is a pensive, effects-laden journey, with lots of fun spaced out electronics, dreamy-jazzy flute, great vocals, and accordion.

The set closes with the 16 minute Out The C. There's a slow suspenseful build up before the song portion kicks in. And again, I love the vocals, supported by fluttering and ambient soloing guitar, meditatively paralyzing drones, assorted keys and electronics, and pounding Rock drums. Of course nothing stays the same for long as we soon transition to a trippy psychedelic segment, followed by a Space-Proggy jazz bit, before returning to the song, now zipping along at a spaced out rhythmically grooving pace, and we've even got some Bluesy jamming harmonica [electronically produced I assume].

In summary, after all these years the Beyond-O-magic is still there. There's a LOT happening on this album that only an attentive headphones listen will reveal, and continues to do so over several spins.

For more information visit the Trail Records website and Trail Records Bandcamp site.

Visit the Beyond-O-Matic website.

The Myrrors — Burning Circles In The Sky

(Rewolfed Gloom Records 2014, LP/Download)

Jerry Kranitz

The Myrrors are from Tucson, Arizona. I knew nothing about them when I received this and a Google search turned up an interview where I learned that the band formed in 2007 when the members were just out of high school and was the first band for most of them, which is impressive given how really good this album is. Burning Circles In The Sky was recorded in 2008 and released in a limited run of only 50 copies, and has now been reissued on 180 gram vinyl by Rewolfed Gloom Records.

Mind's Eye opens the set and is a template for the core Myrrors sound. It's melodically grooving and totally trippy acidic, droning, psychedelic folk, with just a wee bit of tasty edged dissonance. Plateau Skull continues the melodically grooving, acidic droning elements, but instead of a folk feel we've got a dark and doomy valium paced tune. I like how the rhythm section thuds along at a drugged march, led by gorgeously psychedelic guitar licks. Burning Circles In The Sky is similar, and I love the hypnotic strumming acoustic guitar and rhythmic march foundation against which the singer almost chants the lyrics and the electric guitar plays its somnolent acid leads.

Warpainting continues along this path but includes some cool spacey electronic embellishments, and in the last minute I was surprised by a ripping acid guitar explosion which was an intense counterpoint to the rhythmic pace retaining its drugged march. And then we've got the 16+ minute Mother Of All Living. It starts off very spacey dreamy, with soundscapes, acoustic guitars, cosmic pied piper harmonica, and guitar leads that are both spacey and acid-angst wailing. A throbbing repetitive bass pattern develops that anchors the music and sounds great combined with the acid guitar.

Just after the 7 minute mark the music recedes back to the spacey dreamy soundscapes, drifting along for a bit before returning to the main theme, though this time the guitar has a late 60s San Francisco psychedelic feel. The whole thing is moodily trippy and surreal, and I felt like I was on a hypnotic droning folk-psych in space excursion.

I love the spacey droning folk inflected psychedelic quality of The Myrrors and was drawn repeatedly back to this album. Check out the links below to hear this and other releases by the band.

To stream, download and order the LP from Europe you can visit Rewolfed Gloom Records on Bandcamp. For US purchases AND to check out other releases by The Myrrors you can visit The Myrrors on Bandcamp.

Polska Radio One — Cosmos Inside

(Trail Records 2013, CD/Download, Clostridium Records 2015, LP)

Jerry Kranitz

Polska Radio One are from the Ural city of Yekaterinburg in Russia and Cosmos Inside is their first album. The band are a guitar, bass, electric tampura (a sitar-like instrument), keyboards, drums, vocals quartet, with guest sitar on two tracks. The vocals are in Russian on some songs and English on others.

The Final Mantra opens the set and is a trippy but heavy driving psychedelic rocker. There's a repetitive Om-chant vibe that lives up to the promise of the song title's mantra, though it's darker and more intense than your average meditation. The Fractalized Sky is a psychedelic rocker that measures up to the heavier end of the pop-psych axis. It's very much in the Vibravoid realm, though we've also got some killer looped, snaking guitar that recalls The Beatles' Tomorrow Never Know, and these sound even better accompanied by the droning tampura licks.

Time-Eternity is one of the tracks with sitar, and along with ethnic percussion it injects the expected Eastern vibe into the music, though the guitar, tampura and keys are prominent in the mix, giving the music a trippy but full sound. The Rolling Stones at their most psychedelic, particular the song Child Of The Moon come to mind on this one. Shangri-La starts off with a similar feel, though played at a slowly lazy drugged pace. Later the keys lay down repetitive and completely hypnotic cosmic lines while the drums groove along slowly but assertively, and the guitar alternately solos and crashes. Morosim (2 C-P Dub) is a spaced out, Dub-infused piece, with a Beat jazz inspired cool to the cosmic grooves the band create.

To The Delta Of Aquarius is another heavy intense rocker that reminds me of Vibravoid at their most space rocking psychedelic. I love the combination of fierce drumming, swirling 60s styled keys, soaring space synths, and liquid psychedelic guitars. Launch #93 features mission control-astronaut moon landing transmissions, backed by strumming acoustic guitar and shimmering soundscapes. This track is only 3 minutes long but sets the stage for the monster title track, a 10 minute slab of relentlessly hard 'n' heavy psychedelic space rock that's like Vibravoid meets Tribe of Cro plus Polska Radio One's penchant for 60s influences. Wow, absolutely smokin' HOT!

I was left feeling drained, but Polska Radio One know how to gently apply the balm, with one final song - Rhymes & Armonies - a totally trippy tune that sounds like a companion piece to the earlier Time-Eternity.

In summary, I've probably listened to this album a dozen times and it continues to grow on me. The musicianship and production are outstanding and we've got song and instrumental workouts in equal measure. Polska Radio One are a psychedelic band but can be completely spaced out, and they liberally apply 60s influences without in any way being retro. Looking at the band picture inside the CD, these guys look pretty young, so I can imagine great things in their future as they learn and grow. Highest recommendation! And kudos to Alexander and Vlad at Trail Records for continuing to find such great bands.

For more information visit the Trail Records website. The LP is available from Clostridium Records.

Charles Rice Goff III — Black And Decker Q Tips

(Taped Rugs Productions 2013, CD/Download)

Jerry Kranitz

Charles Rice Goff III is a veteran of the homemade musician underground, with a massive and varied body of work that dates back to the late 1970s. Black And Decker Q Tips is Volume 39 in the "Uncooked" series, and in the Uncooked spirit, all the music is performed solo, without the addition of effects or overdubs. The 3 track, 40 minute set was recorded on October 25, 2013 and are all unrehearsed improvisations.

Charles utilizes loops to create multiple layers of accompaniment, jamming away on his Stratocaster, aided by various phaser, distortion and wah devices. He also inputs a microcassette recorder (with original tape recordings), music boxes, vibrators and toys into the guitar pickups. And to ensure you have fun at the hootenanny, he uses the following as guitar string preparations: Metal Slide, Sea Shell, Beaver Jaw/Teeth, Plectrums (Acetate, Felt, Metal), Fishing Lure, Vibrators, Marbles, Meat Tenderizer, Arrow Heads, Playing Cards.

Cordless Cerumen opens the set, with Charles jamming away in an acid-rock solo style, and this serves as the core for all the freakier spaced out soundscapes and avant-lysergic effects that slip, slide and glide along with it. Anitmicrobial Carbide Teeth starts off with an eerie, warbling fuzz-drone and spacey effects, soon joined by Frippertronic inspired guitar. But Charles' take on Frippertronics includes other elements, the whole being an oddly pleasant and melodic, as well as slightly harsh and distorted, guitar and effects excursion that occupies one of the more experimental points on the space-psych axis.

Random Orbit Swab struck me as being like an acid-fuzz-drone soundtrack to an avant-garde sci-fi film. It really does have an image inducing narrative quality. Charles creates waves of steadily weaving worm-like fuzz-scapes, along with anguished whining acid mind-fuck licks and other fun effects, the whole glom causing throbbing phase shifts in my brain. And for the last minute Charles goes off into what sounds like a freakout nod to Hendrix. Recommended to psychonauts who like experimental guitar improvisations that are deep in psychedelic space.

Black And Decker Q Tips can be streamed and downloaded for free on Archive.org. If you are interested in a CD, email Charles at !!{email(padukem@sbcglobal.net). For a mind-boggling array of information and catalog of releases dating back over 30 years, visit the Taped Rugs Productions website.

Charles Rice Goff III, Michael LaGrega, Allan McGinty — Basement Of Extra Power

(Taped Rugs Productions 2013, CD/Download)

Jerry Kranitz

On November 29, 2013, the trio of Charles Rice Goff III, Michael LaGrega, and Allan McGinty converged on LaGrega's studio in Leawood, Kansas for what would become the 4 track, 74 minute Basement Of Extra Power. Goff is a veteran of the home recording underground, having been creating music, songs and experimentations for over 30 years, and also produces the Lo Finest radio show, celebrating the homemade music cassette culture of the 1980s-90s, hosted here at Aural Innovations. I've been immersed in Goff's music for years, and am acquainted with LaGrega's work through his collaborations with Goff, and both LaGrega and McGinty through their participation, with Goff, in the River Cow Orchestra. Basement Of Extra Power is quite an avant-space trip with LOTS happening simultaneously throughout. It's difficult to describe, which makes it all the more fun to try, so check out these descriptions of my experience of the album:

As Unregulated Ventilation begins, the bass lays down a plodding jazzy groove, while an array of spaced out synths and electro melodies trip along playfully. The bass periodically shifts to a sort of manipulated cello mode, and there are Mellotron-like waves that add a space-prog vibe, which sounds really cool along with all the flittering alien electronics. Just past the 10 minute mark the guitar starts to rock out and goes into acid-Fripp mode as the atmosphere intensifies. But things soon settle down and the music transitions to a dark and ominous yet strangely dreamy ambience, while the guitar and bass continue their tension-laden sound and melodic sculpting.

Throughout this 20+ minute piece the effects and sound formation come fast and furious; multi-layered and continually evolving, and all together it's like an avant-garde mish-mash of The Residents and the more freaked out moments from Hawkwind's Space Ritual performed in a smoky jazz lounge cum chamber music hall.

Liquid Assets is grim and doomy, like the avant-acid-prog soundtrack to a film set on some barren alien planet. At just over 4 minutes this is the shortest track of the set, but it's got an accompanying video created by Goff. I've seen lots of Goff's videos and he has a creative flair for visuals, in this case making a fun and trippy collage of still shots and video taken in eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

Strobe-O-Scoptic Tic Tic lays down a steady hip shakin' jazzy alien chill-out groove, accompanied by pleasantly ambient synth waves and other electronic fun. We've got quite an interesting blend of influences here, including 60s Exotica, floating space-ambient drift, Shaft-in-space funk, and Fripp-on-acid guitar.

If you've listened to the first three tracks and still enjoying yourself, then hold on to your hats for the 36 minute Black Friday. It kicks off with deep space soundscapes, against which the bass and guitar noodle about, quickly starting to gel as the bass takes on a throbbing ambient rhythmic quality, and the guitar is variously focused on effects and freakouts. This piece is about atmosphere and a lysergic sense of thematic development, though wrapped within we've got freeform jamming bits, a parade of UFO effects, oddball rhythms, and soundscapes galore.

In summary, this is a challenging yet good fun and highly rewarding set for those who can set aside time for an attentive headphones listen. Analogies are tough, but this will appeal to space rock fans who also have a fondness for The Residents.

Basement Of Extra Power, including the Liquid Assets video, can be streamed and downloaded for free on Archive.org. If you are interested in a CD, email Charles at . For a mind-boggling array of information and catalog of releases dating back over 30 years, visit the Taped Rugs Productions website.

The Cosmic Arc — Feed Your Head

(self-released 2014, Download)

Jerry Kranitz

The Cosmic Arc is headed up by German musician Tibor Fredmann, who I had previously been acquainted with through his duo project with Sigi Hümmer, The Cosmic Garden. On Feed Your Head, multi-instrumentalist Fredmann utilizes synths, mellotron, sitar, electric and acoustic guitars, piano strings, percussion, drums, voices, and field recordings, along with assistance from saxophonist Michael Hornstein and UK singer Mia. The promo sheet describes the music as combining "the influence of the pioneers of German electronic music (Kraftwerk, Can, Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, Amon Düül) with ambient, art-rock and space rock influences". That's a pretty good description but doesn't begin to communicate the variety of influences that come together all at once on this album.

The title track opens the set, sounding like a more rock oriented take on the early Tangerine Dream sound, plus Kraftwerk styled robotic electronics and melodies against an icy electro rhythmic pulse. Radiant Meteor Explosion starts off as 1980s minimal electro-pop with a deep space symphonic edge, later adding a cool funky groove. When The Days Get Dark features heavenly drifting and swirling keys, winding and wailing efx'd guitar lines, jazz-in-space sax, and Mia's impassioned chants, against robotic dance rhythms. Sun King sweeps the listener off into dreamy, droney, meditative, yet rhythmic floating space, with celestial symphonics, ethnic percussion, and blissful song-like guitar leads.

Organic consists of multiple layers of hypnotic space waves and drones, seductive wailing guitar lines, rapid-fire, off-kilter yet strangely rhythmic electro patterns, and Mia's cavernously efx'd chants. Into The Matrix traverses through multiple intensely cinematic deep space themes. Ammersee is a quietly understated sax driven spaced out lounge-jazz piece. Achtung Baustelle is simultaneously tribal and robotic, rhythmic and dreamy-drifty, like Kraftwerk in floating electronic space with a dose of trippy grooving tablas plus chill-out grooves. And Transmission Love is a harmonious blend of jazz-in-space, avant-world music, and high powered dance floor rush.

The beauty and allure of Feed Your Head is the diversity of influences that all come together so seamlessly. This is one of those albums that can only be absorbed over multiple listens, as it reveal new bits, pieces and treasures with each subsequent spin.

For more information visit The Cosmic Arc on Bandcamp and the Cosmic Arc SoundCloud page.

Gushing Cloud — Beat Wings In Vain

(Intangible Cat 2013, CAT-18, CD/Download)

Carlton Crutcher

From Spring Valley, Illinois, Gushing Cloud's follow up to his debut 2010 EP Prism Shelter is a fascinatingly varied patchwork of colors, ideas, and musical character spread over realms of electronic, ambient and noisy/experimental/progressive rock music.

MARCHING OUR YONDERS: The music comes down from high space etherealness and then becomes funky boogie rock. Transcendent rock music without being this or that... just is-ness. A largeful sound of is-ness! Some gremlin child-like vocals. The boogie and woogie is relentless. WITNESS: Yes, I'm witness to the marvel that is Gushing Cloud, more sideways rock 'n' space music. Now the sax... but not so much sax as to disrupt the righteous roll and rockness cruising down the bobbing culverts of High On Space Rock!!! Yup, it's gettin' down time with Gushing Cloud!

PRISON SWELTER: Yes, the big Badass riffage. Still no discernable vocals or lyrical message, which is fine with me! Yes, give us more and louder. BEAT WINGS IN VAIN: The wings are fluttering gently around the smokey room looking for a soft couch to descend upon, but then alights itself to a moderate rock gruuvness, and then what!? I have to wonder if this is something that can be translated into a live venue situation or mainly studio trickery... does it matter? No?!

TURNFLEW: Starts to conjur Zappa jazz rock studio tan other worldliness. I have to admit that I appeciate that there are no sensitive world weary male vocals about seals or trees or the oceans turning to blood etc. NOT TO DREAM: Just pure D weirdness, just like the Goddess always wanted rock 'n' roll to be! Please don't worry about the pin heads working the bar down at the club or your fickle confused friends or even the jaded too many mescaline enema reviewers at AI. Yes, just make yore fucked up weirdass rock music for all eternity to enjoy!

RETURN TO HUNGER: Yes, Gushing Cloud has given me the hunger to devour the groovoid rock mana from High On. Yes, up on this stage with the wind of hawks I feel so high and mighty... let's go on a crime spree for Ajna and Tisra Til! GESTURING STREAM: My wife Sharon sez "It has that phat Jah Wobble bass sound, that's why I like it so much!" And that jus about sez it all!!

Yes, this CD leaves out all the non-sense and non essentials that muck up most rock music releases and just concentrates on the good stuff real shit that music is supposed to be! Can any reviewer say anything more positive than that!?!?! Yes, I'm Gushing on the Cloud!! Starts to sound like Mardi Gras on three hits of Owsley Sunshine!!!! DIRT BEAM: More skewered sideways rock, done in majestic Gushing Cloud mode. Oh, it's Uber over the top GC'ness. I have the music turned up so loud that I can understand the words that the cats are saying to me.... and the beat goes on...

For more information visit the Intangible Cat website. Stream and download at the Gushing Cloud Bandcamp site.