Aural Innovations - July 2015
Aural Innovations was a magazine and website on space rock and related genres, offering reviews, interviews, and general articles. It ran from 1998 to January 2016. The website is no longer active, and all articles are being imported into DPRP, to keep everything available for everyone. Read Aural Innovations — A Brief History, written by AI founder Jerry Kranitz.
Tír na nÓg — The Dark Dance
(Tír na nÓg Records 2015, CD) 
Jerry Kranitz
Formed in 1970 by the Irish duo of Sonny Condell and Leo O'Kelly, Tír na nÓg recorded three albums for the Chrysalis label (1971-73), and then that was it for new music until a 4-song vinyl single on the Fruits de Mer Records label last year. Now, 42 years after their last full length, the duo have released the 10-song The Dark Dance.
The trademark Tír na nÓg sound is that of gentle, acoustic-driven Folk music, but with a mystical quality, and both Psychedelic and even Prog influences can be detected throughout. I was already acquainted with five of the songs, four of which appeared on the Fruits de Mer single and one, the Pop-Folk and Jazz flavored Andria which was a bonus for reviewers of that single. A standout from that single and included here is a cover of The Silver Apples' I Have Known Love, which though at first may seem an odd choice for treatment by a Folk band, if you listen closely to the original you'll hear, buried among all the strangeness, a simple and very pleasant song. Tír na nÓg zero in on that song element and make it their own.
Tír na nÓg transcend a simple Folk categorization on songs like You In Yellow, on which the guitar and fiddle combination feels like the kind of magic carpet ride that is typically achieved with synths and other electric instruments. The dual vocals and harmonies on The Angelus are hypnotic and uplifting, and the fiddle dances about with leads that are as inspiring as the vocals. I love the subtle drones and single intermittent note that adds so much character to the short but concise I Pick Up Birds At Funerals. Ricochet is a spirited tune that incorporates Arabian influences and would be equally at home in both Pub and far flung Eastern souk. Sympathetic Love has an elusive theme shifting Prog complexity as well as a 60s Folk-Pop-Psych quality. Maybe it's the vocals, but The Gangway has a Simon and Garfunkel character, though within the tender Tír na nÓg Folk context. Time Is Gone is a merry feel good tune. And the title track is an instrumental with the most traditional Celtic influences of the set, though it's underscored by an incessant drone that infuses the music with a hypnotic Pied Piper feel.
In summary, this is a beautiful set of Folk songs that has far more to offer than the Folk categorization would typically imply. I'll repeat my comment from last year's Fruits de Mer single that if you're unfamiliar with these guys but are a dedicated FdM patron who enjoys Soft Hearted Scientists, then you're sure to dig Tír na nÓg. They're more stripped down and not as "out there" as the Scientists can get, but definitely in the same general realm.
For more information visit the Tír na nÓg website. Note that a vinyl LP version of The Dark Dance is planned for release on Fruits de Mer Records later this year.
Beautify Junkyards — The Beast Shouted Love
(Mega Dodo 2015, CD/LP/DL)
Jerry Kranitz
Lisbon, Portugal's Beautify Junkyards came to my attention a couple years ago with their Fruits de Mer Records contributions and debut album, all of which consisted of an intriguing array of covers by such bands as The Hollies, Nick Drake, Os Mutantes and more, the standout being a cosmic Folk rendition of Kraftwerk's Radioactivity. As creative as many of their interpretations were, I closed my review of the band's first album with a call for some original songs, and as wishes are apparently sometimes granted, that is precisely what the new Beautify Junkyards album consists of.
The cosmic Folk term I used in reference to the Kraftwerk cover is characteristic of the Beautify Junkyards sound. The music is delicately pastoral and acoustic driven, but includes electronics, synths and Mellotronic flutes to create something that is beautifully bucolic, dreamily spaced out, and often fascinatingly yet accessibly avant-garde.
The promo sheet describes a process whereby the band record live in a field with a mobile studio, followed by a post-production process where effects and synths are added, and this is crucial to the Beautify Junkyards sound. There is an elusive diversity of influences that merrily coexist on these songs, with Medieval and electronica elements, along with a lysergic surrealism being creatively incorporated into the band's core sound.
One song that highlights these seamless contrasts is Lake, which features one of the most gentle combinations of male/female vocals and acoustic instruments imaginable, and is augmented by robotically cascading electronics, synth melodies, spaced out atmospherics and off-kilter electronic rhythms that choppily march alongside the reflective cosmic flow, conjuring up images of some extraterrestrial Renaissance Fair. Valley Of Wonders demonstrates Beautify Junkyards' flair for the surreal, sounding like a 60s Folk-Psych song injected with dreamy carnival themes and deep space imagery.
Beautify Junkyards are on to something that to my ears is more than a few steps outside the box. The music and vocals are enchanting, mesmerizing, and captivatingly beautiful, yet full of adventure as the band explore a range of cosmic sounds and stylistic elements. I can easily see this album appealing to a diverse audience - Folk-Psych, Wyrd-Folk, Prog, Space Rock, Krautrock and more. Highest recommendation.
The Beast Shouted Love is scheduled for release on September 14th. For more information visit the Mega Dodo Bandcamp site.
Alien Planetscapes — Time Capsule
(Self-Released 2015, 2-CD)
Jerry Kranitz
Here's another gem from the Alien Planetscapes archives. These recordings date back to 1984-85 and were released by Arnold Mathes as two 1985 cassette albums: Gleepsite and Target: Earth. The backstory is that AP ship commander Doug "Dr Synth" Walker heard Mathes' music on the radio and wrote to him asking if he would be interested in recording.
Some of the tracks are Walker-Mathes duo recordings with Walker on synths, sequencers, flute, gliss guitar, tapes and effects, and Mathes on synths, digital sampler, drum machine, tapes and effects. Others includes James Levine (who I'd not heard of before) on synth, drum machine, tapes and effects and John Likides on guitar, guitar synthesizer and effects.
Much of the music is characteristic of the duo recordings Walker was doing in this period with various electronic artists, but some foresees the bigger band music that AP would more fully explore in subsequent years. Some tracks feature a mixture of electronic space symphonic Progressive Rock and early Tangerine Dream/Klaus Schulze, with intense cosmic orchestrations colored by oodles of bleeping and soaring electronic effects. We've also got space excursions with multiple layers of soundscape, drone and percussive patterns, including various synth fun, atmospherics and effects.
This is music that flows continuously but couldn't be further from meditative floating space electronica. There's so much happening and so much to digest that it begs the listener's undivided attention. There are synth jams scattered throughout that invoke Sun Ra, which is no surprise given Doug's passion for Free-Jazz. I like the quirky, Casio-like percussion on Systems Activated, which lays the foundation for what sounds like a Jerry Goodman Mahavishnu Orchestra violin solo, all within a deep space exploratory context. I like the contrast between the repetitive pounding singular drum beats, melodic trippy synth melody, soaring synth lines and effects. And the spirit of Free-Jazz continues in some of the frenzied, high intensity synth and effects mania pieces.
Two of the standout tracks are the ones that feature prominent guitar from Likides. Ghostship is a free-wheeling glom of whirring oscillations and effects, howling atmospherics, and streams of varied guitar soloing, some of which remind me of Roger Trigeaux's work with Present, some that strays into Derek Bailey territory, and some is just rip it up rocking. It's very intense and filmic in its noisy, spaced out and creatively chaotic way. Ritual includes Robert Fripp styled guitar (among other variations Likides cranks out), which sounds pretty cool alongside all the whimsical percussive clatter, zig-zagging electronic effects and cauldron of synths.
And the nearly 20 minute Target: Earth is like a synthesis of everything that came before, being a glom of image inducing symphonic space electronics, thematic orchestral Progressive Rock, spaced out electronic Free-Jazz, 80s New Wave, soundscapes, drones and effects GALORE. I never tire of these Alien Planetscapes recordings that people continue to reissue. Keep 'em coming!
*For more information email Arnold Mathes at .
Carlton Melton — Out To Sea
(Agitated Records 2015, 2-LP + CD)
Jerry Kranitz
This is one of the more different and varied albums I've heard from Carlton Melton, serving up a mixture of freeform explorations and more tightly composed tunes.
The adventure begins with Peaking Duck, a monstrous slab of stoned Space Rock with a foundation of pure propulsive droning sludge, bubbling-wah'd-liquid and Hendrix laced trip guitar, and searing synth lines. We've also got a few short and to the point tunes.
Wheel And Deal features 3+ minutes of hard acid drenched Psych Rock. Amfmpm is a brief chunk of acidic Funk-Psych swagger. And the 2+ minute Perdiddle is a cool and strange blend of playful rhythms and melodies, acid-Blues guitar licks and soundscape waves of fuzz.
One of the most mood softening moments of the set is Diamond In The Rough, a gently ambient and melodic guitar meditation. Things get aggressive again with Out To Sea, which is more of an impending eruption than a song or jam. Too Close To Home is like a cross between the dreamy Diamond In The Rough and the more aggressive Out To Sea, feeling like an exploratory blend of early Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel. Similarities travels a similar path, being a gradually evolving atmospheric stroll with a light rhythmic pulse and peacefully jamming guitars that are spaced out and even a bit Bluesy.
It's Been Summer All Winter is deep space ambient and psychedelically cinematic, with soundscape waves that weave a meditative path, paralleled by pulsating drones and dual guitars playing lightly trippy jamming solos. I can only describe The Barrier as Stoner-Minimalism, being a 10+ minute sonic noise-fuzz assault that rolls along like a tank and gradually increases in volume and acid drenched intensity. The drums maintain a steadily marching beat as the guitars vaporize everything in their path. Despite the aggression this piece manages to be strangely and frighteningly hypnotic.
Realms is a fitting closing track, being a narcotic orchestral Space-Drone-Ambient excursion. This is a damn fine set that showcases Carlton Melton's flair for an array of structured, atmospheric, and jamming music.
For more information visit the Carlton Melton website and the Calrton Melton Bandcamp site.
A.J. Kaufmann — Kaufi
(Self-Released 2015, Download)
A.J. Kaufmann — 2014 - 2015
(Self-Released 2015, Download)
Polish musician, songwriter and poet A.J. Kaufmann is a prolific artist. Kaufi is no longer his most recent album, but having been released in March it's still a pretty fresh set of A.J.'s lo-fi Psych songs. Tunes like The Cup and Insane In Rome feature A.J.'s trademark brand of lo-fi Psychedelic Folk-Pop. The music is characterized by strumming acoustic guitar with an underlying electric acid burn and A.J.'s spirited vocals. Ditto for Illicit, which is embellished with a dash of West Coast Psych in the guitar solo.
I like the combination of strumming acoustic and bouncy wah'd Psych guitar licks on songs like Little Girl Dark Hair and Berlin Beat Verlaine, as well as the uplifting and Psychedelically dreamy Shroud The Sun. There's an aura of James Bond soundtrack danger to the dirty Psych rocking Waves. Dig that manic guitar. A.J. explores his inner Lou Reed on Fluctuation, and the spirit of Syd Barrett is alive and well on Venera In The Bath.
A.J. goes balls-to-the-walls high energy on the Acid-Folk rock 'n' rolling Dada Rock. I like the trippy flower-power vibe on Shirley Valentine. And I dig the oddball feel of all the freaky alien effects that punctuate Why This Sure Ain't Heaven.
I was first introduced to A.J.'s music through Sauer Adler, his duo project with Kacper Wojaczek. Their latest effort, an EP titled Wojaczekful of Kaufmann, has changed since I first received it. Wojaczek has left and A.J. now works with German musician Radu Rusanu.
So the Wojaczekful of Kaufmann has now been paired up with the previously released Trips And Dreams Of Stephen Adler album plus a couple other songs and retitled 2014-2015. I already reviewed Trips And Dreams and will just cover the Wojaczekful of Kaufmann tunes.
Giants Under The Sun opens with an extended intro that combines freaky electronic effects and waves of flowing and pulsating spacey synth lines. After a couple minutes it launches into a Progressive Rock take on A.J.'s solo songs, with its Prog infused keys and shifting rhythmic gymnastics. Come For Tea features weirdo dance party Space Rock surf music with Psych guitar licks and a more ominous tone in A.J.'s vocals, and yet more interesting rhythmic variation.
After a beautifully melodic piano and soaring space synth intro, The Tramp And The Fiend becomes a Prog-Psych-Folk song with equal parts Peter Hammill and spaghetti Western soundtrack vibe. I love the Hammond styled organ on Flowerhands, which is like an orchestrated and 70s Hard Rock influenced version of an A.J. solo song. Acapulco Gold is part swinging Pop song and spacey song-oriented heavy Prog.
And the set closes with the aptly titled Space Lullaby, a lovely cosmic space crooner. This is by far the best I've heard from Sauer Adler yet, so with Wojaczek having left the fold it will be interesting to hear how things develop with A.J.'s new collaborator.
To stream and download Kaufi and other A.J. Kaufmann albums visit the A.J. Kaufman Bandcamp site. To stream and download Sauer Adler albums visit Sauer Adler's Bandcamp site.
Space Mirrors — Stella Polaris
(Atomic Age Records 2015, CD/DL)
Jerry Kranitz
Stella Polaris is the third and final installment in the Cosmic Horror trilogy of albums based on H.P. Lovecraft stories. I can't claim to be well versed in the contemporary Metal scene but I would be surprised if many bands are blending Progressive Metal and Space Rock the way Space Mirrors are. To my ears this is a fairly unique blend of styles and, speaking from the Space Rock perspective, they are taking the music in exciting directions.
Haunter Of The Dark opens with the characteristic Space Mirrors mixture of Space Rock and Gothic influences, as bubbling alien synths mix with dark Mellotron orchestration, melodic flute and vocal narration, before launching into a chunky rocking Metal tale of "cosmic evil". The steady rocking Metal assault continues on Celephais. Sparky Simmons' guitar is a commanding force, cranking out chunky chords and killer ripping solos as Martyr sing-speaks in his trademark vocal style. There are some tasty classic Prog keyboard fills too.
In my review of the recent The Street Remains EP I commented on tracks where Martyr's vocals stray into somewhat more conventional "singing", and that's what we hear on the upbeat song The White Ship, which includes melodic guitar and bass solos. I love how the title track marches along fiercely against a flowing Mellotron backdrop, plus Nik dueling with himself on sax and flute for the finale. (A Passer) Through The Storm is a short but speedy blast of thrashy Space-Metal, with the alien synths weaving an insect-like path through the proceedings.
In The Blood features Space Mirrors at their song-oriented Prog-Metal best, as they blur the lines between ambience, Metal offensive, dark Gothic anthem quality, and melodic tune that you might even sing along with. Burning Chaplet is a surprise, alternating between beautifully pastoral and more sinister passages, and features darkly enchanting vocals from Martyr. Then past the halfway mark it briefly launches into a majestic and heavy rocking instrumental before veering into full blown keyboard led Prog mode.
A sense of evil permeates throughout West Of Arkham, a heavy rocker that features blazing Prog-Metal but also has a good old rock 'n' roll feel and even swings when Nik jams on the sax. The sax is by no means something one would expect with music like this but it really sounds cool. The Crawling Chaos begins with a spaced out, effects-laden intro with rushing soundscapes and acoustic guitar bits plus Martyr's narrative vocals. Then the band eases into a funky Metal march, surrounded by Mellotron waves and a flurry of electronic embellishments. At 11 minutes this track is tightly arranged yet manages to take off and explore various thematic themes. It's Space Mirrors at their Space-Prog-Metal best and is one of my favorites of the set.
Essential Saltes Of Humane Dust is a powerhouse Prog-Metal blast. The "official" conclusion to the album is The Master, which consists of spoken word from Nik backed by Mellotron, space electronics and flute. But there's one more surprise uncredited track, which is The Ancient Ones, a cover of the song by the band Morbid Angel (and also appeared on The Street Remains EP). It's a head spinning Prog-Metal rocker that zig zags between blazing rock and pure spaced out thrash. No easy landing here folks.
Jerry Kranitz also conducted an interview with Alisa Coral, which is published in the Features category.
Stella Polaris is scheduled for release on August 1st. For more information visit the Space Mirrors website. Visit the Space Mirrors Bandcamp site to stream, purchase, and download all their music.
The Grand Astoria — The Mighty Few
(NNNL / Firestorm Prod 2015, CD/DL)
Jerry Kranitz
My introduction to St. Petersburg, Russia based The Grand Astoria was through their contribution to the Fruits de Mer Records Strange Fish compilation and a cover of Can's Oh Yeah to the Fruits de Mer Roqueting Through Space collection. Headed up by Kamille Sharapodinov (who does double duty with his Organic is Orgasmic project), The Grand Astoria includes multiple musicians on guitars, keyboards, synths, Rhodes, piano, flute, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, drums and percussion.
The Mighty Few is their latest and consists of two epic length tracks. The music defies simple description as The Grand Astoria incorporates multiple stylistic influences, both in combination and as they transition through multiple themes.
The 28 minute Curse Of The Ninth kicks off in atmospheric Doom-Jazz mode, if you can envision that description. But what starts off led by sax and Rhodes quickly switches gears as the band launches into a Stoner-Metal dirge with solid rocking vocals and cool fuzz-wah'd Psych guitar. But nothing sits still for long as an abrupt flute and acoustic guitar transitional bit leads to a steadily rolling Prog-Jazz jam that retains a wee bit of the tension-laden stoned vibe and includes trippy soundscape guitar embellishment.
I really dig the use of the Rhodes and clarinet. Nice male and female vocals. The compositions and arrangements are sophisticated in grand Prog tradition, but there's also a cool grooving flow that maintains a nice jamming feel. And sure enough, the band eventually veer back into Prog infused Stoner-Metal territory, which soon soars into space as the Psychedelic-Metal guitar and rhythm section gallop along frantically with schools of rushing synths and wildly oscillating electronics whizzing by. And on we go. Wow, 28 minutes of head-spinning compositional and thematic gymnastics that deftly integrates Prog, Jazz, Psychedelia, Metal and more.
The 21 minute The Siege is next and starts off as a Prog, Space Rock and twin guitar Hard Rock and Fuzz-Metal edged rocker, which soon shifts to a funky Jazz groove and vocal number. My favorite part is the hair-raising Psychedelic Prog-Metal segment that's like an orchestral marching battalion, which ends up going totally acid molten lava eruptive and sounds especially insane with the horns blaring along with the volcanic intensity. And when the assault subsides the music gets downright ambient meditative, before starting fresh with a spirited Prog instrumental with Jazz bits and spaced out effects. And just as the music is bouncing along with a spring in its step... BAM!! We're slammed with a high powered symphonic Prog-Metal offensive. Ya gotta love these guys.
If what I've described sounds like a lot of oddball transitions I can tell you that The Grand Astoria make it all cohesively connected and pretty damn exciting. Even with only the Fruits de Mer recordings to compare with there is clearly a lot of varied music that The Grand Astoria are capable of, and looking at their Bandcamp page there are a LOT of previous selections to explore.
Stream and download ?The Mighty Few? and lots of other Grand Astoria music at The Grand Astoria Bandcamp site. Also visit the No Name label's Bandcamp site.
Kanoi — Buru Haze
(Clostridium Records 2015, LP/CD/DL)
Jerry Kranitz
Kanoi is the project of Austrian musician Benjamin Kantschieder. He's released several albums and singles as Kanoi, some as a one-man band and some with other musicians. Earlier this year he released the download only EP Gemstone Sunrise, which was intended as a teaser for the just released full length Buru Haze.
Naeco II opens the set and immediately reminds me of Porcupine Tree's Sky Moves Sideways album with its spaced out and valium paced rocking blend of strumming acoustic guitar, monster electric guitar attack, atmospheric washes, cascading electronic effects, and trippy vocals. A powerful Space-Psych opener. This melts seamlessly into the funky Psych-rocking title track. It's chunky Hard Psych with a slow but assertive groove, a brash dirty edge to the rhythm guitar and tasty Hendrix-inspired leads.
The music continues to flow as Buru Haze comes in for a deep space landing and bleeds into the short transitional The Golden Country, a drifting bit of Bluesy soundscape guitar and atmospherics which sets the stage for Windchild, a beautifully spaced out and trippy blend of Porcupine Tree and The Spacious Mind. It's all non-stop as we smoothly transition to Song Of Distance, which once again brings to mind Porcupine Tree circa Sky Moves Sideways, but also has a touch of West Coast Psych and even Gram Parsons in the core song portion.
By The Sunrise is a lovely trippy song with strumming acoustic guitar and vocals at the core, and augmented with a slow, drugged beat, scrumptious Blues-Psych guitar leads, ethereal soundscapes and swirly electronics. Quokka is a funky Space-Prog coda to By The Sunrise. And, finally, the 14+ minute A New Beginning And The Sprawling Sky wraps up the set with a blend of all the influences that came before it.
It opens with Bluesy Hendrix guitar jamming along with lilting acoustic guitar and spacey keyboard-driven Psychedelia, before gently launching into a steady-paced Space-Psych rocker with seriously passionate guitar leads. But the themes continually shift as the music alternates between dreamy meditative passages and Hendrix-in-space Blues-Psych jams. Scrumptious!
Damn, this is by far the best set I've heard from Kanoi yet. Each track is distinctive yet is mixed such that they all flow seamlessly from one to the next, making this very much a full album experience. Fans of early Porcupine Tree, The Spacious Mind and Pink Floyd who also have a taste for Hendrix will love this.
There are several format options for Buru Haze. Clostridium Records pressed up 333 vinyl copies: 222 black vinyl gatefold LP, hand number with 16 page booklet, and 111 colored die hard edition with the same plus a digipak CD of the album with The Golden Country as a bonus track. You can also buy the CD and a download edition from the Kanoi Bandcamp site.
For more information visit the Clostridium Records website. For Buru Haze (remastered in 2020) and many other albums visit the Kanoi Bandcamp site.
Paul Roland — Bitter and Twisted
(Sireena Records 2015, CD)
Jerry Kranitz
For 35 years, British singer, songwriter, musician and author Paul Roland has been recording his distinctive brand of Psychedelic-Pop, Gothic-Psych-Baroque, Dark-Folk, Prog-Psych, and you name it a cross-section of these styles. Bitter and Twisted is his latest, offering up an assortment of merry tales running a gamut of twisted topics.
There's lots of variety here so I'll give you the nickel tour of Bitter and Twisted's 13 songs. Right out of the chute we know this is going to be a fun set with the opener, I'm The Result Of An Experiment (Which Went Hideously Wrong), a high energy rocker about a bad plastic surgery outcome. Paul has a solid backing band in Mick Crossley on guitars, Joshua Roland on bass and Violet the Cannibal on drums. I like the ambient trip guitar on Dali's Dream.
Hugo is a beautifully arranged Pop-Psych song with chamber ensemble bits that inject a lilting darkness into this tale of a ventriloquist and his psycho dummy (the image of the pair on the promo CD is freaky and I'm trying to think of what movie it's from). Paul crosses good time Psychobilly with Morricone Western on Devil's Jukebox. The Psychedelic Western themes continue on Another Me, an eerie tune about the whispering voices of one's doppelganger. This tune takes more of an instrumental stretch-out liberty than most of the songs as it veers into Prog-Psych territory with trippy guitar, organ and strings. We're treated to more Prog-Psych on the title track, which covers an impressive variety of thematic ground in less than 3 minutes.
Paul's voice sounds cool and freaky when he warbles "Are we naught men?!". Love those searing guitar licks combined with acoustic guitar too. Catatonic is a dirty bar Blues rocker that'll make you run for the liquor cabinet. I've Been Hearing Voices is one of my favorite songs and the longest of the set, being a beautiful and haunting Folk-Psych-Prog song that blends medieval, Eastern, and orchestrated elements. And once again we hear really cool ripping electric guitar solo sounds, which go great with the strumming acoustic guitar, blending Acid-Psych and medieval Folk themes.
Zanti Misfits is a chunky punky rocker inspired by an old Outer Limits TV show episode about insects with human heads. William Bonny's Trigger Finger has, not surprisingly, an old time Country feel, though Paul's vocals keep it all firmly in Roland land. Professor Feather features dreamy acoustic and lightly orchestrated Folk-Psych. The aptly titled Born In The 60s is a rousing rocker that cries 96 Tears and heads to Monterey. And Insulted is a bouncy Folk-Pop-Psych song that wraps up the main set.
There are also 5 bonus tracks, including alternate versions of Hugo and Zanti Misfits, an acoustic demo of Devil's Jukebox, and two songs not on the album: an outtake of Soddom and an acoustic demo of Candyman. Overall, a fun and impressively varied set of well-crafted, performed and arranged songs.
The Paul Roland website paulroland.de is no longer active but there is the Paul Roland Bandcamp site. Visit the Paul Roland author site and connect on Facebook. Visit the Sireena Records website.
Cary Grace — Tygerland
(Door 13 Music 2015, CD/DL)
Jerry Kranitz
Though born in South Carolina, Cary Grace has been living in the UK since 2005. The 8 tracks on her new Tygerland album, which is my introduction to Cary's music, reveal a multi-faceted artist who can take accessible song forms and transcend the conventional by taking them into Psychedelic and experimental realms. Dig deeper and you'll find a lady with an impressive Space Rock and electronic background. The first thing that caught my attention about Tygerland is the presence of guitarist Steffe Sharpstings on 5 tracks. Then I read about Cary's company Wessex Analogue, which manufactures Wiard brand synthesizers. Then I came across her Bandcamp site and among her previous recordings is a freaky space-electronic collaboration with Grant Richter, who Aural Innovations readers will know from the seminal American Space Rock band F/i, who it turns out Cary recorded and toured with in the U.S. Pretty cool, huh?
With this background in mind, it perhaps helps to understand Cary's accessible but not-so-conventional take on established song forms. The album opens with the title track, an introductory space-out and soundscape piece which includes both freakout and gliss guitar from Steffe. And then out of nowhere there's a guitar crash, and we launch into the melodic Psychedelic Pop song Cyanide, which teeters between dreamy drift and acidic corrosion, with passionate vocals from Cary and equally emotive ripping solos from Steffe. Orange Sky is another example of what may be a Pop tune at its core, but is musically elevated by a lusciously haunting ambience, acidic slow burn, and use of electronic effects that injects an alien presence into the music without overwhelming the song. Kind of like Kate Bush is seriously upping the freaky factor.
The stylistic gears shift dramatically on War Child, a down 'n' dirty slab of soulfully Psychedelic Blues, which at 9 minutes takes off into Bluesy jamming sultry space and includes ballsy vocals from Cary. If you listen close and strip the song down to its core this could very well be the latest Country crossover hit, but Cary and company take it to some uncertain but totally cool Psychedelic "elsewhere". Ditto for Limelight, a Jazzy/Bluesy Pop tune with a hovering aura of ambience. Razorwire is a bouncy, feel-good bit of Psychedelic sunshine Pop which includes a fun spaced out electronic effects "jam" segment. Into the Indigo is a lovely Space-Ambient Pop song and has a tasty violin solo by Graham Clark, which goes killer rocking when dueling with guitar, before melting back into the dreamy song.
Finally (hold on to you hats folks), is the 20-minute improvised Windsong, which leaves the Pop world and any sense of song structure behind to blast off into space. It's a cosmic journey built on ambience, soundscapes, drones, electronic effects, cosmic gliss beauty and spoken word narration, until the Space Rock explosion hits near the 13-minute mark. Cary's narration now sounds like an inflamed cross between Jim Morrison and Daevid Allen, while the music continues to blow dreamily like some intense but drifting Space-Prog blend of Gong, Pink Floyd and the early 70s German pioneers.
In summary... damn, I don't know how to sum this up. Listeners could be forgiven for thinking the album too stylistically schizophrenic. I've always been among the "bring on whatever you've a mind to indulge in" type, so am mightily impressed with Cary's flair for so many styles, both accessible and otherworldly. It is NOT easy to write and arrange a solid SONG. To do so and manage to up the ante with a sense of adventure, all within the context of the song, makes things very interesting. And then add to that the Space Rock and electronic factor. I really need to explore Cary's back catalog. There's clearly far more to her than even this varied album reveals.
For more information visit the Cary Grace website. Stream, download and purchase Tygerland and other Cary Grace albums at music.carygrace.com which links to Cary Grace's Bandcamp site.
Paisley Tree — Paisley Tree
(Self-Released 2015, CD/LP)
Jerry Kranitz
Paisley Tree are a new German quartet consisting of Magic Petra on vocals and Bluesharp, Tobias Reinhardt on guitar, David Forrester on bass, and Christian Jager on drums. The album came to me via Jager, who is also the drummer in Space Debris.
Like Space Debris, Paisley Tree are heavily 70s influenced but quite different, being more of a Psychedelic and, at times, even Punk influenced Hard Rock band. The music is very song-oriented, with tracks being mostly in the 4 to 5 minute range, so any sense of jamming occurs within the context of tightly controlled instrumental fills, though this still affords the musicians plenty of opportunities to show their chops. This is guitar / bass / drums heavy rock with well-composed songs, and Petra is an energetic singer who blows a mean Blues harp.
Paisley Tree come roaring full bore out of the starting gate with Cosmic Flow, which zig zags between speedy thrash, Clash-like Punk rhythms, and Acid-Psych Hard Rock with wah'd guitar and Blues harmonica. Mystical Journey combines cool grooving funky Psych inflected Hard Rock with hip shakin' Blues swagger, good time Rock 'n' Roll and catchy melodic riffs. Silent Darkness features melodic Stoner-infused Hard Psych Rock with a cool acid-stinging guitar solo and brief wailing harmonica. At nearly 7 minutes, Ramblings is the longest song of the set, being a chunky Metal-tinged Rock 'n' Roll tune with a Stoner-Blues-Psych wrapper and a sense of acid laced cosmic drift.
The main guitar riff on Shadow World reminds me of a Van Halen song, but the overall vibe is a nicely melodic Hard Rock number. Far Away has a melodic air of Country-Folk about it, though never strays too far from the band's heavier rocking core, especially during the harmonica-led dirty Blues segment. Colour Trip is a blend of fist-pumping rousing rocker, funky dancey groove rocker and blazing Acid-Thrash Rock 'n' Roll. Sunflower Punk is a funky combination of Hard Psych Rock and something we might have heard on an old Rare Earth album. Killer guitar solo. And rounding out the set is a cool cover of the Pretty Things song Cries From The Midnight Circus, which features Tobias yet again taking off on guitar.
In summary, Paisley Tree serve up a set of well-written songs, and play as a tight unit while managing to keep things sufficiently loose within their short and to the point compositions. A solid set of accessible and catchy heavy song oriented Psych, Blues and Rock 'n' Rolling Hard Rock.
Distribution for the CD and LP is through Green Brain. Hear song samples on the band's SoundCloud page. The album is also avaialble from the band's Bandcamp site. Connect with Paisley Tree on Facebook.
Space Debris — Finkenbach 2012
(Self-Released 2015, CD)
Jerry Kranitz
The latest from German Hard Rock / Prog / Psych / Krautrock improv ensemble Space Debris is a live document of their performance at the 2012 Finkenbach festival. The CD consists of six tracks, ranging from 8 to 20 minutes, of their proudly retro 70s styled jams.
Swirling Hammond organ and ripping fuzz guitar dominate the opener, Sunny Freaks, a combination of stoned Hard Rock and majestic Prog-Psych. The 20 minute Finkimountain runs the gamut from slow burn Hendrix, to trippy Psychedelia, spaced out Hard Rock, jazzy, funky and fuzzed heavy Prog-Psych, and includes oodles of fiery guitar and Hammond leads.
Space Debris shift into cool trippy Psychedelic Jazz mode on Woodways (Part 1), with its sultry organ leads and wah'd and stinging guitar licks, and then transitions to multi-themed heavy Prog intensity for Part 2, though tasty electric piano leads inject a Jazz-Fusion sensibility. Out Of The Sun is a killer combination of heavy Prog with deep space guitar leads and monster Hammond, and high-energy dancefloor worthy Psychedelic groove rock.
Finally, the 16-minute Demons is a stoned but stately blend of Hendrix-in-space riffage, off-kilter electro rock flavored rhythms, eerie sci-fi stoner meditations, hip shakin' tribal jamming, swirling Space-Prog, and the best damn guitar soloing of the set.
The members of Space Debris are totally in sync with one another, making for a nifty set of jams and lots of variety to keep things exciting throughout. And they clearly kick ass live. If you find yourself pining for the heavy sounds of the 70s, you can't do much better.
For more information visit the Space Debris website and the Space Debris Bandcamp page. The band are also on Facebook.
Lay Llamas — Space Jungle Mantra
(4 Zero Records 2015, CD/DL)
Jerry Kranitz
From Italy, the Lay Llamas are led by Nicola Giunta with what is apparently a fluid lineup of musicians. Their debut album, Ostro, was released last year on Rocket Recordings, though this live document of a performance at London's Roundhouse in 2014 is my introduction to the band.
The promo sheet describes the band as "afro-funk psychonauts" and I'd say that's pretty accurate. Overmind / Beyond The Time And The Space opens and is a 9+ minute spacey proggy introductory piece with flowing and cascading synths, flute, light guitar and slowly steady drumming. Then the music takes an aggressive turn with the angst ridden, acid rocking Archaic Revival, which sounds like Black Sun Ensemble meets 80s Post-Punk at a Psychedelic Black Mass dance party. It starts off somewhat Eastern flavored but soon develops a cool groove, and I really dig the chunky funky and blazing acid-wah'd guitar and screaming synth lines.
Spiritual Expedition / Something Wrong is a tribal yet flowing Space-Trance meditation. Soon an ominous guitar starts to jam, alternating between lightly melodic and caustically acidic, along with mesmerizing alien synth lines and breathy vocal blasts. It's only in the last couple of minutes that it breaks into song, being a cool Space-Funk groove tune. The Space-Funk continues on We Are You, which once again includes elements of Black Sun Ensemble guitar and 80s Post-Punk, and I like the blend of rug-cutting dance floor song and Psychedelic tribalism.
The live show being over, the album concludes with the 18 minute The Place Where We Come From Is The Place Where We're Going To, which is described as a "prismatic remix" by Luca Giovanardi of the band Julie's Haircut (who I recently heard doing a nifty cover of Miles Davis' Shhh/Peaceful on the Fruits de Mer Records Side Effects box set). It's a hypnotic spaced out jam and surreal sound collage pastiche that's a giant mishmash stew of funk and tribal grooves, freaked-out left-right channel remix fun, seizure-inducing throb patterns, and creatively stitched together elements of everything that's come before.
In summary, the Lay Llamas play a pretty cool blend of Space-Funk and Psychedelic tribalism with elements of 80s Post-Punk. Being on the Rocket label, I'd say these guys would make a cool live tour pairing with Goat. I'll have to check out their Ostro album.
The 4 Zero Records website 4zerorecords.co.uk no longer exists. Lay Llamas have several artist sites on Bandcamp which all appear to be for the same artist (layllamas.bandcamp.com, layllamas2.bandcamp.com) and there are a few albums and songs on other labels' sites and albums. The songs on Space Jungle Mantra are available on other albums.