The gospel in Sebas De Varona’s latest single, Preachers, opens a portal to the psychedelic soul of the 70s; it’s a doorway into the mind of a visionary artist you’ll never want to close. As an architect of melodies you instantly melt into and a lyricist that captures your mind as much as your soul, there are few artists of this generation as affecting as Sebas De Varona,
Thankfully, with the impending release of his new EP, Dynamics in the Fourth Dimension, you’ll have plenty more opportunities to trip with Varona’s dynamically electric vocal timbre that rests easy in the rooted-in-emotion synthesis of genres which illustrates the singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer’s expansive bedrock of influences. Primed to soak fans of Tame Impala and Pink Floyd alike in celestial euphony, the EP will easily be one of the most cultivated releases of the year.
After hearing the Hendrix-esque fret wizardry which blazes through a divine connection to the soul of blues in Preachers you’ll want to flock to the Floridian artist’s live performances like a moth to an arcane flame.
Preachers was officially released on May 15; stream the single on Spotify.
If your playlists are lacking in swampy bluesy despondent psychedelia, and let’s face it, they probably are, hit play on the gorgeously sludgy latest single Swamp Stomp by Julian Fulco Perron.
There’s a Mike Patton-level of experimentalism on offer, and Julian Fulco Perron’s vocals may just be as versatile. From sinister snarls which could rival Marilyn Manson’s to endearing playfulness which gives the track a Frank Zappa feel, it’s all on offer. Even more impressively, Julian Fulco Perron was boundless with their creativity and eccentricity and still orchestrated a stylistic feat of Alt-Rock that even the snobbiest of musos couldn’t turn their noses up at.
It’s practically a polyphonic wet dream mid-way through as the eccentric synth lines ensure that Swamp Stomp is a track you’ll never forget.
You can check out the official video to Swamp Stomp by heading over to YouTube.
On January 31st, 2020 Brexiters insipidly celebrated the prospect of monoculturalism. Meanwhile, I embraced the cultural diversity found in another stellar line up curated by Manchester-based promoter Astral Elevator.
With Noisy Italian Psych Post-Punks Kill Your Boyfriend headlining and support from Manchester’s Hey Bulldog and the Dee Vees along with Dublin’s finest Psych Garage Rock act Glossolalia, there was a sticky-sweet melange of Psych-driven noise to delve into.
Hey Bulldog’s socialist approach to Psych Blues Garage Rock left me mesmerised once more; their sound was as tight as the government’s welfare budget. The momentous tensile force behind their deftly orchestrated tracks paired with the disquiet delivery of the sniping lyrics will never fail to blow me away.
Photo Credit: Astral Elevator
The caustic tones of Kill Your Boyfriend may be ringing in my ears some 24 hours later, but it’s a small price to pay for witnessing such an explosively entrancing set which matched the same decibel-intensity of Swans and My Bloody Valentine.
Their darkly despondent experimentalism finds the perfect balance between Noise, Shoegaze, and Post Punk to offer a level of distinction which aggressively resonates in every note delivered.
With their tribal drumbeats, inventively distorted angular guitar progressions and riotously-charged vocals, getting swept up the energy of their anarchic performance is pretty much non-optional. Even in the basement of an indie venue, they were able to deliver an all-consuming performance that allows you to forget that you’re standing in front of three musicians. There was synergistic chemistry found in both their abrasive stage personas and the delivery of their pummelling eerie rhythmic noise.
Photo Credit: Sean Crossey
Manchester-based poet Leon the Pig Farmer also doused the crowd in his poetic vitriol in between the acts. With the penetrating parables which he’s able to draw from his savage wit and unabashed honesty, each performance cut just as deeply as the last. While many spoken-word artists rely on prosaic methods, Leon the Pig Farmer projects resoundingly raw verses in a way which truly revives the undiluted expression of the beat generation. Whether he’s spitting bars about the graffiti on the Peer Hat toilets or being viscerally honest about his mental health, the weight behind his words leaves an imprint which isn’t easily forgotten.
Perfectly rounding off the night were the guest DJs Kay & Gray with their back to back synoptically eclectic danceable euphoria-dripping earworms. It’s a rarity to hear DJs championing new artists and simultaneously appeasing the crowd. Evidently their needles are on the pulse of some of the best up and coming artists around.
Follow Astral Elevator to keep up to date with their upcoming gigs via Facebook
In recent years, I’ve heard Psychedelic tones revived under a plethora of different guises. But never have I encountered anything quite as darkly absorbing as the latest single to be released from Soupcan and the Spaceman.
The production may be lo-fi. Yet, considering that Heartbreaker resonates like they just pulled it from the deepest pungent depths of the Mississippi Delta, all will be forgiven as you ingest the raw unpolished caustic aural divination.
With some spacey cosmic Bowie vibes mixed into the viscerally ominous soundscape which should appease any fans of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the distinction isn’t hard to find in Heartbreaker.
The instrumental progressions aren’t left to swim in a sea of reverb. Instead, the swampy Blues retain their organic winding serpentine charm. And the constant evolutions in vocal style will make sure that you’re as invested in the first verse as you were in the last.
You can check out the latest single from Soupcan and the Spaceman for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.
