Tag: psychedelic rock

Album Review: Merlin – Grind House

Band: Merlin | Album: Grind House | Genre: Psychedelic rock, Synthwave, Film score (I guess?) | Year: 2023

From: Kansas City, (MO,) USA | Label: Independent

For fans of: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Bandcamp

I like Merlin. I’ve covered them a couple times before. The Mortal is a pretty solid stoner metal release with healthy doses of prog and psych, and “Merlin’s Bizarre Adventure” is a mind-bending cavalcade of incongruous musical ideas that somehow gel. I’m also pretty fond of their albums The Wizard and Christ Killer. (The latter is based on Nick Cave’s bonkers idea for a sequel to the film Gladiator; read about it!) In addition to putting out good music, they’ve got one of the best social media presences I’ve run across. Their Facebook page consists of scores of strange, self-deprecating memes that always amuse. (One such meme, posted probably a year ago or so, said something to the effect of of, “Yeah, we’re into NFTs: Not Fucking Touring.” Though Merlin might not tour, I apparently missed an opportunity to see them live early in their career. I lived in Lawrence, KS, from late 2012 until late 2014, and they posted some photos from a show in 2014 they had at The Bottleneck, a live music venue in Lawrence. I went to a good number of live shows while I lived out there, so I am bummed I never happened to see them.)

Moving on to the substance of Grind House, their sixth LP, it’s tough to figure out where to start. Historically, they’ve been a stoner doom band with some artsy leanings. But back in 2020 or 2021, they put out this strange, jazzy single, “Master Thief ‘77”, which presaged the aggressive move away from the stoner doom they championed on “Merlin’s Bizarre Adventure”. In a Facebook exchange I had with the band’s vocalist, Jordan Knorr, he explained Merlin’s next album was going to be based around the theme music to a series of fictional films and that it would be completely different from the band’s prior output. And true to his word, this is a bizarre, unexpected, and very fun release.

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Odds & Ends: July 3, 2023

Band: Chafouin | Album: Trois, quatre | Genre: Math rock, Progressive rock | Bandcamp

I liked this band’s 2021 album Toufoulcan, so I was excited when I saw they had something new coming out. Where Toufoulcan had a sense of sonic continuity between the tracks, this release feels more like a collection of unrelated (or barely-related) songs. The music itself is good, and none of the songs overstay their welcome. When taken as a whole, though, Trois, quatre feels a bit unfocused.

Score: 74/100

Band: Numidia | Album: South of the Bridge | Genre: Hard rock, Progressive rock | Bandcamp

This album was a huge disappointment. I loved this band’s Middle Eastern-tinged debut record, which expertly blended Near-Eastern flavors with prog and psych in very satisfying ways. Here though, the band has stripped away anything that makes them unique and put out a bland, bluesy hard-ish, vaguely-prog-adjacent record that often reminds me of ‘90s Pink Floyd (and not in a good way). The music isn’t bad, per se, especially if you’re looking for something evocative of certain 1970s blues rock acts, but it’s a major step down from their self-titled, in terms of both creativity and impact.

Score: 52/100

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Odds & Ends: June 5, 2023

Band: Demolished Men | Album: In a Violent Way | Genre: Jazz-Fusion, Progressive rock | Bandcamp

This EP is full of light, smooth, complex instrumental passages that equally put you at ease and keep you guessing where they’re going next. It constantly treads the line between rock and jazz, and sax, electric piano, and guitar share lead duties fluidly. The hand percussion is executed excellently, adding a nice depth to the rhythmic elements of this release.

Score: 81/100

Band: Krallice | Album: Porous Resonance Abyss | Genre: Progressive metal, Progressive rock | Bandcamp

Prolific prog-metallers Krallice have returned with another new album, but this one is pretty distinct within their discography. This sprawling, four-part piece has synthesizers as the lead instrument for almost the entirety of its runtime. There’s a lush, haunting atmosphere to this release, and it suits the band’s black metal quite well. There’s a Gothic aesthetic to the coldness and oppressiveness of the synths, and the whole 40-minute suite flows together beautifully.

Score: 82/100

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Album Review: Missing Jack & The Kameleons

Band: Missing Jack & The Kameleons | Album: Human Cycle | Genre: Psychedelic rock | Year: 2023

From: Toulouse, France | Label: Six Tonnes de Chair

For fans of: Slift, Hawkwind, Neu!

Bandcamp

Six Tonnes de Chair is a small French record label that specializes in garage rock, often with psychedelic and kraut-y flairs. I’ve covered acts from this label before (Perilymph, WEEED, Slift), and Missing Jack & The Kameleons fit into this general mold quite neatly. Their style draws a lot from late ‘60s garage rock, albeit often sounding a bit cleaner. Krautrock and surf influences are commonplace here, and they’ve got an overall fun feel.

“You Don’t Think” opens up with a buzzy, jumpy, krautrock-tinged riff. Flavors of surf rock are evident, too, especially in the airy backing vocals. There’s a bit too much going on with the drums for this to have a truly motorik beat, but the spirit is there. The rhythm is insistent and infectious, and it really complements the hazy atmosphere.

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Odds & Ends: March 6, 2023

Band: Ak’chamel, The Divinatory Monkey and the Sovereign Plumed Serpent | Album: A Mournful Kingdom of Sand | Genre: Psychedelic rock, Progressive folk | Bandcamp

Ak’chamel is back with a slightly altered name since I last covered this band. The music’s a bit different, too, and I like this album more for it. It’s less murky, and the instruments are more able to shine through. There’s still a hazy, incense-filled atmosphere to this record, but it’s easier to discern individual elements. Wiry guitar lines, hypnotic rhythms, and assorted non-European flavors swirl together. Some songs are relaxing, and others have a mood that portends doom.

Score: 77/100

Band: Atsuko Chiba | Album: Water, It Feels Like It’s Growing | Genre: Post-rock, Post-punk | Bandcamp

The latest release from this Quebecois act is a hazy, somewhat droney excursion. The music is often abstract and shifting, but the compositions are strong enough to give the songs identifiable and enjoyable structures. There are still plenty of driving, energetic riffs, but they’re often coupled with ethereal atmospheres to make for a haunting effect. There’s a sense of menace to a number of these songs, and everything gels into a cohesive whole.

Score: 84/100

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Album Review: Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here.

Artist: Lil Yachty | Album: Let’s Start Here. | Genre: Psychedelic rock, Neo-psychedelia | Year: 2023

From: Mableton, (GA,) USA | Label: Concrete, Quality Control, Motown

For fans of: Tame Impala, Pink Floyd, Kids See Ghosts

Buy

Lil Yachty is now the most-unexpected artist I’ve ever covered. I could have feasibly seen myself covering other hip-hop artists at some point. Danny Brown’s Atrocity Exhibition is a masterpiece that extensively samples progressive, psychedelic, and krautrock; and his experimental spirit made him someone I thought could have shown up on this site eventually. Lil Yachty’s usual trap stylings made this album a complete left-field surprise, though. (I can’t say I’m exceedingly familiar with his previous work, nor do I know much about hip-hop, more broadly speaking. But I’d heard a few of his songs, and in general I don’t like trap. So please excuse my illiteracy of his other work.)

Let’s Start Here. is fairly comparable to the Kanye West-Kid Cudi collaboration, Kids See Ghosts. But where that duo was still firmly rooted in hip-hop, Yachty’s new release is primarily rock-focused. There are also ample soul and Motown flavors, and hip-hop crops up on occasion. The whole record is dense and lush, and it’s got an engrossing, enveloping quality to it. Autotune is used as an instrument unto itself here. The robotic tones are slathered in reverb, and it complements the dreamy, Afrofuturist tone of this record perfectly.

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Top 50 Prog Albums of 2022, Part 1: 50-26

Welcome to the first half of The Elite Extremophile’s Top 50 Prog Albums of 2022. This article covers spots 50-26, and the top 25 can be found here!

Full disclosure: the label of “2022” is not entirely accurate. The music featured here covers December 2021 through November 2022. Trying to find new music in the month of December is a fool’s errand, as much of my time during that month is occupied with writing and editing this list.

As I always say, I’m sure there are some excellent albums not included in my list. This site is a one-man operation (in relation to reviewing, that is; my editors, Kelci and Dan, have been tremendously helpful), and I simply cannot listen to everything that gets released. I also have my personal biases against some rather popular trends in prog, which affects the composition of this list. But if you’ve got recommendations, do not hesitate to shoot them my way.

2022 wound up being a decent overall year for prog. It felt as if the year started off slowly, and there definitely were fewer albums that truly knocked my socks off, as compared to other years. However, there was still a lot of super-solid prog, psych, and otherwise-weird and experimental music to be heard. And I listened to more albums than ever before, which allowed me to draw from a larger pool. That meant I had to make some tough decisions about the final composition of this list, and deciding on the final order was challenging. Outside of the top 7 or 8, most of these albums could have easily been placed several spots higher or lower, depending on my mood.

Now, let’s get to it!

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Top Prog EPs of 2022

Welcome to the fourth installment of The Elite Extremophile’s Top Prog Releases of 2022. We’re starting off with the Top Prog EPs of 2022. The two-part Top 50 Albums list will be posted in the coming days.

I’ve never settled on a firm number for this list, but the last three years have all been Top Fives. This year, though, I listened to many more short releases than usual, and there are nine in particular that I want to highlight.

The difference between an EP and a short LP can often be murky. A number of these releases could have feasibly been included in the Top Albums list (and at least two initially were). However, upon thinking it through, I’m comfortable with this list. Aside from being fairly short, I don’t have firm criteria for differentiating LPs and EPs. It’s very much an “I’ll-know-it-when-I-see-it” situation.

So, without further ado, let’s jump into the list!

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Lesser-Known Gem: Barış Manço – 2023

Artist: Barış Manço | Album: 2023 | Genre: Anatolian rock, Progressive rock | Year: 1975

From: Istanbul, Turkey | Label: Yavuz Plak

For fans of: Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues

Buy

Barış Manço (pronounced roughly BAR-ish MAHN-cho) was a Turkish composer and musician. He was one of the founders of the Anatolian rock movement, along with guitarist Erkin Koray and the bands 3 Hür-El and Moğollar. I’ve mentioned Anatolian rock a few times on this site, but I haven’t given it its own entry before now.

Anatolian rock blends the sounds of psychedelic and space rock with Turkish folk melodies and instrumentation. There was a lot of variation in this field, with Moğollar being on the folkier end of things and 3 Hür-El remaining rooted in fuzzy psychedelia. To this day, Anatolian rock persists as a micro-genre, though it had its heyday in the late ‘60s and through the ‘70s.

I’ll be the first to admit that 2023 isn’t exactly the least-known entry in this series, but it’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up! (For those of you reading this in the future, check the date this review was published.) Manço was the spaciest and most overtly proggy of the major Anatolian acts. His lush keyboards and wind instruments call to mind acts like The Moody Blues and late-’60s Pink Floyd.

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