Founded by musicians and songwriters Tim Jones and Terri~B in 1994 as an independent artists collective, the Stone Premonitions label has been a beacon of creativity and unique music for over two decades. I first made contact with the label in 1999 after communicating with members of Mr. Quimby’s Beard, whose The Definitive Unsolved Mysteries Of album was being completed and due for release on Stone Premonitions.

Along with music by Mr. Quimby’s Beard, Tim and Terri sent me albums by their own bands The Rabbit’s Hat and Body Full Of Stars, both of which struck me with their combination of accessibility, adventurous spirit, and extraordinarily individualistic styles. And it was this singular sound that would be a trademark theme of all the music released in subsequent years by the duo in various band projects and solo works.

In addition to being among the most talented artists I had encountered in my Aural Innovations journey, I was also impressed with Tim and Terri’s dedication and tireless efforts as networkers in the independent music underground, and our friendship eventually resulted in my becoming host and webmaster of the official Stone Premonitions web site. Over the years the site has blossomed into an information rich, virtual museum of the label’s and its founder’s histories, in Tim’s case dating back over 40 years.

Music distribution and the medium by which it is made available has been in a whirlwind of flux: digital vs. physical product, the resurgence of vinyl (frequently including download codes), young artists releasing new music on cassette tapes… WHAT do people want and HOW are they listening to music?

Stone Premonitions’ response to this question is to strike a balance in the digital/physical divide with a new reissue series consisting of mp3 packed CDs. So far three volumes have been released featuring music by two of the label’s truly stellar bands.

Census of Hallucinations was formed by Tim and Terri in 2000 as a follow up to their long running band The Rabbit’s Hat. Census of Hallucinations began life with many of the same musicians, and in true Stone Premonitions collective spirit has experienced a fluid lineup and evolving sound that continues to this day, while remarkably retaining an instantly recognizable Census of Hallucinations sound. With this project the artists created a truly unique brand of Psychedelia, incorporating a variety of Progressive Rock, Space Rock, and experimental influences, and what I have long described as the ultimate marriage of Psychedelia and song-oriented Progressive Rock.

Pentagram and Pentagram II are the Census of Hallucinations volumes available at the time of this writing, and together include 145 tracks from the first ten Census of Hallucinations albums. As the label describes, “in the interests of creativity and a different listening experience, the songs on the CDs are sequenced in alphabetical order”, which means listeners play them in order on their device of choice or pick and choose as desired. A visit to the Stone Premonitions web site and clicking the Artists Index link will provide access to band discographies that reveal the albums each song is associated with.

The latest band to enjoy a full history release is Krom Lek, whose five albums, two albums plus EP by their When’s The Future side project, and Essential Stone Premonitions Vol. 1 collaboration with Census of Hallucinations is featured on the just released 99 track Into The Future: The Complete Collection compilation.

I have long bemoaned the fact that Krom Lek never received the recognition they deserved and I hope this comprehensive collection helps to rectify that. Krom Lek played a trippy and often cool grooving brand of Psychedelia with Space Rock influences and hints of jazz, very much in the tradition of Gong and other UK bands of the 80s-90s like Nukli, Omnia Opera, and Ozric Tentacles. They were a truly amazing band and I can’t recommend them highly enough. When’s The Future was a post-Krom Lek band formed by Dave Musgrove and Bazz, creating music that was very close to Krom Lek, though incorporating a bit more electronica.

Wanting to know more about the reissue series and what the plans are for future compilations, I tossed some questions at Stone Premonitions and Census of Hallucinations co-founder Tim Jones:

Aural Innovations (AI): Releasing the Census of Hallucinations and Krom Lek catalogs as mp3 collections on CD seems to embrace the digital world while satisfying those who still desire a physical product. And of course there’s the “nice price” benefit of getting so much music. What gave you the idea to release the music this way?

Tim Jones (TJ): It was after ordering Decadion 2 from Mick Magic’s Music & Elsewhere project in the UK. Mick had the idea of compiling loads of bands on one CD in mp3 format and I thought that it really worked. Mick has always been an innovator in the field of independent music production and promotion and I’ve known him for many years now (CLICK HERE to visit Mick’s web site).

Stone Premonitions has a large catalogue of music and I realized that this was a chance to get the complete current catalogue out to people on relatively few discs. Eventually, when it is all compiled we will have a box set of the complete Stone Premonitions collection. I can fit up to around ten albums in good quality mp3 format per disc.

AI: This is an interesting development for Stone Premonitions because looking at your web shop it looks like you only sell CDs, rather than including mp3 download options or selling on Bandcamp and the like.

TJ: Our music does seem to be available all over the place as downloads that you can buy but we have never given permission for this. All anyone has to do is get hold of one copy of a CD and upload it to the Internet in their ‘shop’. I have contacted people to ask them to stop selling downloads of our music but they don’t reply and just keep selling it. This is one of the problems with the Internet in my opinion. If I contact the sites that sell downloads of our music they just say words to the effect of “nothing to do with us mate, you’ll just have to contact the provider” and around it goes…

I was recently speaking to a guy who said there was nothing he wanted that he couldn’t download for free if he searched hard enough. Of course, along with things like YouTube and Facebook, this sounds the death knell for record companies and small labels unless they can come up with ways to counteract it. I think that Mick Magic suggests a way and I am indebted to him for the idea.

The new Stone Premonitions mp3 reissues are as you say still a physical format, i.e. a CD, only with these you get a whole stack of music at a bargain price and can build a collection. AND I must say a big thank you to my old friend Kevin Heard for lovingly putting together the original artwork for the sleeves. Kevin is a fantastic artist and he is giving the collection a unique style that pulls everything together in a coherent way.

AI: Pentagram and Pentagram II compile the first ten Census of Hallucinations albums. Prior to the band’s return in 2012 with Dragonian Days, I believe I count 12 albums of new music. If I’ve got this right, chronologically the first ten include Seeing Things, then 10 came out followed by 13. Which is the “10th” on Pentragram II and are there plans for another volume for Census of Hallucinations?

TJ: You are right about Seeing Things being in the first 10 Census Of Hallucinations albums chronologically speaking. These 10 were followed by the other 2 you mention plus the double CD entitled Waylaid On The Pathway To Oblivion, making 13 albums before Dragonian Days. The album 13 was therefore the 13th album by the band.

In order to save confusion, I have put albums 1 to 10 on Pentagram I and II and excluded Seeing Things. Seeing Things is now included on Pentagram III which I am just putting together whilst Kev works on the cover. Alongside Seeing Things, Waylaid On The Pathway To Oblivion and 13, Pentagram III also includes Dragonian Days, the Census Of Hallucinations side projects Stone Premonitions 2010, Stella Polaris and all of the recorded output from The Global Broad Band. There will be a Pentagram IV in the future as part of the collection. Like I say, I want to cover all of the current Stone Premonitions catalogue.

AI: I’m so glad you reissued the Krom Lek albums (which includes the When’s The Future side project). I’ve long moaned about how Krom Lek were such an under-recognized band.

TJ: Definitely. Krom Lek was always one of my favourite bands since the first time I saw them. It has been an honour to have them on the Stone Premonitions label and over the years we have become good friends. It’s like family really. In my opinion they are a vastly underrated band and it has been a pleasure to work with them for many years now. They are all so versatile. They also make for extremely good and hilarious company. It’s like they have their own language. They were a gang of lads from County Durham in the North East of England that became a band.

AI: Are you still in touch with any of the band members and are they, to your knowledge, still active in music?

TJ: Yes, I’m in touch with all of them. John Musgrove, the drummer is currently playing with a fantastic funk band called The Juggernaut Love Band. They’ve just released their first album and it’s tremendous. We are all friends first and foremost and I look forward to seeing them again soon.

AI: There have been a lot of bands and Tim/Terri projects on Stone Premonitions over the years. The Rabbit’s Hat is one that had a sizable catalog and would be ripe for this kind of reissue. What are your upcoming plans for this series?

TJ: The Rabbit’s Hat release in this new mp3 series is to be called Onwards & Upwards, The Complete Collection on Stone Premonitions. This will include everything the band has released on the label. There are literally hundreds of tracks and this will be in two or three volumes. Coming soon…

We’re also going to have The Complete Neon Collection; that’s everything that the band recorded, plus The Complete Terri~B, The Complete Tim Jones & Somebody Famous, The Complete Body Full Of Stars, etc. The series will basically cover everything on the Stone Premonitions label. Pentagram III by Census Of Hallucinations is the next release in the series.

AI: Reissue series aside, what new music or other projects are upcoming from Stone Premonitions?

TJ: Earlier in 2015, we released the Census Of Hallucinations EP Imagine John Lennon. This consisted of four tracks, with a view to releasing a full album later in the year. We have now completed another three tracks for the album and have a few more to complete. We should have the album out by the Autumn of 2015.

I am also excited about the release of the brand new Kevin Heard album on Stone Premonitions, to be released around the same time. Kevin is currently working on this but already has four tracks completed and they are sounding great! It’s very Spacerock/Psychedelic in style.

There’s a new project with another old friend of mine and long time member of the Stone Premonitions collective, Rob Kirtley. I am going to be working on an EP with him. This is more in a New Wave sort of vein.

Root Deco from the USA that I have worked with for many years now have just finished their new album and I am going to be helping with that, promotion wise. I can’t wait to hear this as I love the band. They are highly original and powerful.

I’m also talking to Daniel J. Harris about his new album that he is currently working on. Daniel is from Texas but lives in Holland, where he produces The Soupygato Radio Show. This is shaping up to being a very interesting release.

As long as people involved with the ever expanding musical collective known as Stone Premonitions keep coming up with new ideas, we shall be creating and releasing material. I am very proud of what we have achieved so far and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with so many creative people.

Thank you for helping to spread the word Jerry! It is people like you that make it all seem worthwhile.

For more information (LOTS of it!!) ou can visit the Stone Premonitions web site at: http://aural-innovations.com/stonepremonitions
The mp3 CD reissues and other Stone Premontions releases can be purchased through their web shop at: http://www.stonepremonitionswebshop.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Founded in 1985 by Charles Rice Goff III and Killr “Mark” Kaswan, Disism has been active in fits and starts over the years, including a kick start in 2012. That same year, Goff found several cassette tapes of Disism improvisations and collages that had been recorded between 1988 and 1995, which resulted in the Disism reDIScovery series, of which Bay Side Story is Volume Seven. Goff has taken these recordings and edited them into the form heard on these reDIScovery sets.

Introducing Freddie And Donkey opens the set with a child improvising the introduction to a variety show as cello and electronics warm up, finally inspiring the child to sing along. Talk Of The Town consists of music stumbling along in drugged, surreal fashion like a 78rpm record struggling between 33 1/3 and 45rpm, accompanied by a whimsical party band at normal speed and includes intermittent narration about murder in Oakland and other less than pleasant area news. Eliminate Panic Eliminate Fear is next, featuring a fun combination of jolly guitar and alien electronic melodies jamming away and accompanied by freaky scat-like synth effects, choral chanting female vocals and documentary voice samples. The Extruding Of Golden Grain is a creatively goofy children’s tune (that would seriously confuse the kiddies) enhanced by a variety of sound and percussive patterns. Navigating The Nimitz is a melodic and rocking guitar rumination, including some cool Frippoid and Beefheart styled bits. N Judah Muni is another fun tune, feeling an like an acid fried and Residents imbued meditation.

A shorter version of Walk Into The Sunset was originally released by EE Tapes of Belgium in 1998 on the cassette album Remnants From Magic Carpets. It’s a sprightly chamber duo of impassioned cello and chipper synth, with the cello handling the Classical chores and the synth adding a kind of alien hoedown element. The result brings to mind a lysergic interpretation of a Carl Stalling soundtrack (though I’m convinced Stalling and all those Warner Bros. guys had to be on acid themselves). Finally, the 17 minute The Tenor Of Temescal is like a roundup of everything we’ve heard prior, which I would describe as Psychedelic music for the experimental set. This is seriously dosed stuff, featuring freeform jamming guitar solos, electronics, and cleverly fucked up tape manipulation. At times I was again reminded of an artistically fowled, acid rock take on a Stalling soundtrack, but we’ve also got space electronic freakouts and general good fun sound collage mayhem.

There’s lots to soak in here, which is a comment I could make about most offerings from the Taped Rugs label, and from one spin to the next I know my descriptions would be altered at least a bit. But you get the idea. Note that Goff has threatened to unleash a brand new Disism set of recordings. I’ll be looking forward to those.

For more information (LOTS of it!!) you can visit the Taped Rug Productions web site at: http://tapedrugs.com
Email Goff at: padukem@sbcglobal.net if you would like a CDR or Cassette of Bay Side Story.
Download Bay Side Story for free from Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/BaySideStory

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

A little background: Earlier this year, 1980s homemade music/cassette culture veterans Walls Of Genius released their first new recordings in 30 years, one album of which was Paleolithic, released on the HalTapes label. There was also an outtakes album titled Paleolithic Rejects which Charles Rice Goff III contributed guitar to. Lodovico Cement consists of Goff’s improvisations with Walls Of Genius which he then reworked into the interpretation we hear on Lodovico Cement, which is quite different from the music heard on the Walls of Genius albums and just as art damaged interesting and fun.

Beautiful Music combines merry shimmering slide whistle with drones, keyboard and guitar to create an oddball moody piece that is just as whimsical as it is darkly foreboding. This theme continues on Mathod in Medness, though it becomes increasingly spacey sound collage oriented and valium paced free-form psychedelic. I like the contrasting moods and sounds that come together to construct a bubbling stew of atmospheric soundtrack and ambient driven, mind-fucked acid jam. Capstan of Industry features sci-fi rhythmic electronic patterns and aggressive but not overly harsh noise waves which are like a strangely musical bowels of the spacecraft engine room soundtrack, but also brings to mind a bee swarm shot backwards across the shortwave radio spectrum. Nova Express is a schizophrenic blend of melodic instrumental ditty and chaotically coordinated alien sound collage orchestra. I like how the guitar jams its repetitive podunk melody as the alien throng impressively attempts to march in step with the melody. The oscillating bevy of sound fun continues on the nearly 30 minute title track, which soon transitions to a dreamy yet frequently intense ambient, sound/drone-scape excursion. It’s quietly introspective for a while, with plenty of haunting moodiness, but also the kind of opposing freakish sounds that made for such a strange but intriguing concoction on the earlier pieces. Things get a little crazier when what sounds like looped acid guitar and other miscellaneous sounds drift through like a topsy turvy whirlwind alongside the principle theme, with the whole mash-up eventually melting into a deep space surrealistic acid rock jam that soon evaporates into an avant-soundscape ether.

As usual, Goff does his creative magic with the Walls of Genius recordings, resulting in an hour of psychedelic, soundscape and sound collage fun that can only be fully digested and absorbed over repeated listens.

For more information (LOTS of it!!) you can visit the Taped Rug Productions web site at: http://tapedrugs.com
Email Goff at: padukem@sbcglobal.net if you would like a CDR or Cassette of Lodovico Cement.
Download Lodovico Cement for free from Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/LodovicoCement
Visit the Walls of Genius Bandcamp site at: http://wallsofgenius.bandcamp.com
Hal McGee put a tremendous amount of work into creating a detailed history of Walls of Genius, including all their 80s cassette albums available for online steaming. Check it out at: http://www.haltapes.com (Click Walls of Genius from the top screen menu)

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Flesh Resonance is the duo of Keith Hill and Tony Longworth, who are giving the digital reissue treatment to their 2004 released Carrion Worlds Volume 1 album. Hill may be known to many Aural Innovations readers from his Space Rock band Civilian Zen, though he has been in loads of other bands and I even did an Aural Innovations Space Rock Radio special dedicated to him last year (see link below).

The 12 tracks on the album are an intriguing string of themes, where a prevailing Gothic mood and dark romance are joined by spacey ambience and cinematic atmospherics. The album as a whole is characterized by both song and image inducing soundtrack, as rhythmic vocal numbers intersperse with soundscapes, sound collage and voice samples.

The set opens with a Gothic soundscape intro which soon launches into a searing but melodic Rave-Industrial vocal number. This leads to a surreal yet alluring combination of Gothic moodiness, spacey atmospherics and traditional Italian restaurant theme. I like the contrasts that transition seamlessly as we’re next treated to a darkly seductive Gothic song with chunky Metal guitar and robotic electronica elements, which is followed by yet more atmospherics plus strange, spectral voice samples and soundscapes. But just as we’re settling into a dreamy pattern, Flesh Resonance once again leap on the dancefloor for what feels like a blend of Rave-Industrial and Porcupine Tree with Helios Creed guitar. Back and forth we go as the song segues to a dark and spacey Gothic melancholy with piano melody, before developing into a spooky sound collage that strays from Goth to Suspiria styled horror. One of the most jarring transitions of the set jolts the listener as this is followed by a combination of space electronica, looped guitar, futuristic themed voice samples and Dream-Pop song, and, finally, a return to the opening theme which peters out with waves gently splashing against the shore for the finale.

After a few listens it’s clear that Carrion Worlds Volume 1 is a Gothic soundtrack experience that must be experienced in its entirety to really appreciate. Flesh Resonance do a fine job of bringing together Goth themes and cinematic sound collage plus just enough other stylistic elements to keep things interesting.

Carrion Worlds Volume 1 is available for download from Amazon, iTunes, CDBaby and Spotify.
Visit the Flesh Resonance web site at: http://www.fleshresonance.com
An all Keith Hill special is still available on Aural Innovations Space Rock Radio. CLICK HERE and scroll down to show #335

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Krankschaft are the trio of Steve Pond on guitar, synths and vocals, Alex Tsentides on bass and Kevin Walker on drums. I’m sure many readers will be acquainted with Pond from Inner City Unit and Robert Calvert’s Maximum Effect band. Three is their latest and features an ass kicking set of high energy ROCK!

The album opens on a potent note with the 10+ minute Dark Energy, a smokin’ hot Hawk styled Space Rocker. It’s got killer rocking guitar and a high energy propulsive beat that draws our attention to the rock ’em sock ’em BLANGA! on the album cover. But it’s also got cosmically pastoral Space-Prog segments that provide a bit of meditative drift before once again cranking up the pace. Day Of The Quake is a treat, being what is apparently a previously unrecorded Robert Calvert song which Krankschaft turn into a monster slab of Space-Punk. Come Fly With Us is the only other non-Pond penned song of the set. It rocks hard, has a nice catchy melody and a nifty synth interlude that transitions to a hot ‘n’ heavy Space-Punk jam. Jetpack is a beautifully melodic tune, both vocals and guitar, and one of the more sedate songs of the set. Ditto for Silent Witness, which gently rock hard and has a bit of a 70s Glam edge. For pure melodic song and hard rocking anthem quality Moon is a highlight, being one of those tunes that would make an auditorium full of people leave their cell phones in their pockets and raise their old Bic lighters high. Sheep is a space infused 70s influenced hard rocker that pulls no punches in its criticism of those who blindly and unquestionably follow the norm. Finally, Who What Why is a blistering rocker that will get those same Bic flicking fans on their feet dancing and head bopping.

In summary, Krankschaft crank out a damn fine set that combines Hawkwind styled Space Rock, Space-Punk, 70s Hard Rock and bits of Prog and Glam. It’s got well composed songs, great jamming instrumental segments, and is well recorded and arranged, with an essential focus on guitar and bass ATTACK during the harder rocking moments. Genre descriptions aside, this is an excellent all around ROCK album. I’ll bet these guys kick serious ass live. A shoe-in for my Best of 2015 list.

For more information visit the Krankschaft web site at: http://krankschaft.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The Street Remains is a mini-album (though over 40 minutes) that is intended to be a teaser in preparation for the next full Space Mirrors album, Stella Polaris, which will be the third and final chapter in the Cosmic Horror series. Stella Polaris is scheduled to be released in August.

In the meantime, The Street Remains is a tantalizing holdover. One noteworthy bit about Space Mirrors is that it has developed into a stable multi-international unit. Still headed up by founder Alisa Coral, a Russian musician, sound engineer and producer, the “band” also includes Italian singer Martyr Lucifer (Hortus Animae), American guitarist Sparky Simmons (Acid FM), American bassist Gabe Monticello (Spaceseed), and Italian drummer Claudio Tirincanti (Hortus Animae).

In The Blood opens and is an extended version of a song that will be on the Stella Polaris album. It’s characteristic of the unique brand of Prog-Metal with Space Rock influences sound Space Mirrors has developed. Martyr’s vocals are difficult to describe, having a somewhat monotone yet recognizable and elusively emotive quality that occupies an odd point on the singing/spoken word axis, and very much a vocal style I’ve gradually tuned into over the past several Space Mirrors albums. Earth Gods Dance is the same song that was on last year’s Golden Path EP, which was itself an outtake version of the title track from the previous year’s The Other Gods album. The difference with the version on The Street Remains is Alisa made some corrections to the mix.

We’ve also got three diverse choices for cover songs which Space Mirrors give their own trademark sound to. Originally recorded by Morbid Angel, The Ancient Ones is a spacey and high energy Prog-Metal rocker that goes cosmic thrash at times. The Space Mirrors band are really tight and lace the music with some killer chunky guitar. I Breathe was originally recorded by Swedish Pop combo Vacuum. Space Mirrors lay down a bouncy, even dancey beat, but there are oodles of UFO electronics and Martyr’s vocals stray into more purely “singing” territory, though he’s no less darkly threatening than usual. Fans of the American comedy/drama vampire television show True Blood will know the Bad Things theme song. Space Mirrors retain the sultry swagger of the original but inject spacey synth waves and effects, and when Martyr says he wants to do bad things with you it sounds downright scary.

Finally, Rituals of Shub-Niggurath is a 15+ minute epic that is exclusive to this set and includes Nik Turner on flute and sax. It begins with a darkly atmospheric intro and Alisa putting on her demon hat for the spoken word narration. Symphonic Goth keys kick in after a few minutes along with tribal drumming and Nik jamming along on sax and then flute. It’s all very Space-Goth-Prog orchestral, but with a flowing ambient-soundscape drift, and even gets into electronica territory near the end which sounds pretty cool accompanied by wailing Mellotron sounding keys.

Wow, lots of really cool variety on this one. Kudos to Alisa and company for continually exploring new territory and keeping things interesting and exciting. Can’t wait for Stella Polaris!

For more information visit the Space Mirrors web site at: http://spacemirrors.com
Visit the Space Mirrors Bandcamp site at: http://spacemirrors.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Fruits de Mer Records may specialize in contemporary bands covering 60s/70s Psych/Prog/Krautrock/Space Rock/Acid Folk music, but they are continually brimming with fun theme ideas. What we’ve got here is 4 LPs, 8 sides, and 8 bands, each taking a track, NOT necessarily long in its original form, and doing their own version that fills an entire LP side. Sound pretty cool? Well hold on to your hat and check this out…

There’s some pretty serious variety on the Side Effects box set. Things start off innocently enough with the The Soft Bombs covering Pink Floyd’s Echoes, already a side long epic, and though largely faithful to the Floyd they take it deeper into space and get far more acidic. Similarly, The Luck Of Eden Hall stick to the core spirit of Yes’ Starship Trooper, mostly during the vocal portions, though they surround the proceedings with an atmospheric aura and some ripping guitar solos that are more ass kicking Space Rock than Yes’ Prog virtuosity, and blast off into Psychedelic space for some stratospheric jamming that is a total Yes gone Space Rock fest.

Things get more interesting with Arcade Messiah’s 19 minute treatment of Four Horsemen, originally a 6 minute song on Aphrodite’s Child’s 1972 666 album. It starts off as a high intensity guitar bashing heavy rocker. Once the vocal section kicks in the music continues rocking but goes into Psychedelic space and then gradually begins to mesh the trippy groove with more in-yer-face aggressive but atmospheric guitar rock while also incorporating both Prog-Psych and Metal elements. Lots of really cool and seamlessly flowing variety that takes the original into entirely new territory. The Bevis Frond’s cover of the Electric Sandwich song China was previously released on the 2012 Fruits de Mer Head Music compilation, though in considerably abbreviated 9 minute form. The wigged out Electric Sandwich original from 1972 is tailor made for the Frond and is stretched out to a 24 minute Nick Salomanized Psych guitar lovers wet dream, being a non-stop hard Psych rock jam with loads of awesomely delicious rocking and tripped out dual guitar soloing. Julie’s Haircut admirably tackle Miles Davis’ Shhh/Peaceful, starting off similar to Miles, then adding a touch of dreamy ambience and later a Soft Machine vibe, and then slipping off into an ambient soundscape excursion before laying down a cool Ambient-Jazz groove.

The song choices get downright surreal starting with Wreaths’ drugged and dreamy Acid-Folk-Drone take on the Gordon Lightfoot hit Sundown, creating a combination of Velvet Underground, Shoegaze and spacey, valium laced West Coast Psych. Superfjord put a Hawkwind and symphonic Space-Prog spin on their cover of The Byrds CTA-102. It’s Space Rock to be sure, with Prog influences and lots of bleepity blurpity electronic and robotic effects, and with an almost Kraftwerkian twist to what often sounds like Beach Boys vocals. It’s a highlight of the set and another where the band take a song and makes it entirely their own. Finally, Sendelica’s rendition of Donna Summer’s I Feel Love opens with a totally alien freaky soundscapes, effects and voice samples buildup. After several minutes the space synths start to whoosh and a dancey rocking beat kicks in, sounding like a Gong and Ship of Fools collaboration. The sax plays the classic melody but jams too and eventually locks into a You-era Gong gone cosmic disco feel.

DAMN, that is one hell of a batch of covers, both in choices and interpretations. To a large extent it’s all new music with the fact that these are cover songs being a mere launching point.

Note that the box set will be available late August and includes a 60cm square fold-out poster and sleeve and label designs by The Luck Of Eden Hall’s Gregory Curvey.

For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records web site at: http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Transference are an Australian band who play a Progressive and Psychedelic enhanced brand of Pop music. The core band consists of Michael Puskas (all guitars), Julian Reid (bass and lead vocals), Georgia Harris (lead vocals & tambourine), Kata Ruszic (lead vocals), Loughlin Harrick (drums), Steven Harris (piano, keyboards and vocals) and are further enhanced on stage by guest singers and musicians.

There is a mainstream Pop element to many of these songs and I had to listen a few times before I tuned into the Progressive and Psychedelic elements. Of course it helped put my attention on high alert that the first song I heard by the band was a live cover of Pink Floyd’s Echoes. Lady Isis is exemplary of the Transference sound, being a stunningly beautiful and melodic number with female lead vocals and female/male harmonies. The strumming acoustic guitars give the music a lulling quality and the electric guitars and keys inject the ambience and a Pink Floyd feel. Eloquence is beautifully soulful, like some kind of sultry ambient torch song. Really nice spacey guitar and keyboard fills too. These songs bring to mind some of the Stone Premonitions label bands like The Rabbit’s Hat and Terri~B’s Wrap Me In Your Skin album. That is, accessible song oriented music with Progressive and Psychedelic qualities. Ditto for Viracocha, which is soulfully seductive, but also drifts off into ambient dreamland. The Hydra is a charmingly melodic instrumental that starts off in Chamber-Prog mode with piano, guitar and soaring violins, and includes some tasty guitar solos. They’re slow but have that Dave Gilmour quality where few notes speak volumes. You Better Run is a spacey Prog-Psych instrumental that is both acidic and gorgeously melodic. Blindness is a bouncy, soulful Pop song with lusciously spacey guitars and atmospherics. Winged Serpent is my favorite song of the set. This is Prog-Pop extraordinaire. It starts off very soundscape-atmospheric, with Pink Floyd guitar riffage, but develops into a majestic Progressive rocker that brings to mind IQ and similar Prog bands. Finally, Zarathustra is another example of what may seem on the surface to be a standard rocker but is embellished by spacey effects and Prog Rock keys.

In summary, Transference do a hell of a good job of creating music with popular appeal but transcends the mainstream fluff with Prog/Psych craftsmanship. These folks would appeal to fans of Stone Premonitions label bands like The Rabbit Hat, Pink Floyd, and anyone appreciates a damn good song.

For more information visit the Transference web sites at: http://www.transferencemusic.com
and https://transference.bandpage.com
In addition to a shop for purchasing the album they have lots of streaming music.

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Evening Fires are from somewhere in Pennsylvania and seem to have a sizable discography though these new albums are my introduction to the band. I like the promo sheet descriptions of the music as “old-time rural acid rock” and “Appalachian space rock”, and the instrumentation which includes guitar, bass, drums, synths, saxophone, organ, vibraphone, lap steel guitar, violin, and theremin. This is a very interesting band…

Where I’ve Been Is Places and What I’ve Seen Is Things opens with Roll Away The Stones, a lazily trippy cross between improvisational West Coast Psych and the Velvet Underground as interpreted by hillbillies jamming on the front porch. It’s beautifully melodic with just the right dose of dissonance and acid-fuzzed angst. We Cast Our Lot With The Waves is an oddly alluring blend of minimalism, spacey atmospherics and playfully freaky electronica, brought together by a backwoods chamber ensemble. Staring Down the Gullet of the Great Beyond Part One lays down a groove rocking pulse which makes for a funky brand of free-wheeling Space/Psych exploration. I love the dual soloing guitars which jam in sync with one another yet reach for different and distinctive sounds. The aptly titled Space Mountain comes right out of the chute in acid drenched and totally stoned Kosmiche freakout mode, like Hawkwind and Guru Guru dazzling the citizenry at the county fair. Too Many Ravens, Not Enough Corpses is like the Velvet Underground gone avant-garde Space Rock chamber ensemble. It’s a sea swell of multiple stringed instruments ebbing and flowing with dissonant lusciousness and ominously moody acid-fuzzed effects and soundscapes coloring the sonic landscape. Finally, Staring Down the Gullet of the Great Beyond Part Two picks up where Part One left off, but the funky rocking groove quickly decays into a lysergically surreal Amon Düül II Yeti styled jam.

Incredible Adventures has been released simultaneously and is considered a companion to Where I’ve Been Is Places and What I’ve Seen Is Things, featuring four tracks in the 8-11 minute range from the same sessions that couldn’t fit on the LP.

Big Farmer Big Jesus is idly pastoral and dreamily melodic, sounding like a drugged but determined orchestra and once again highlighting Evening Fires’ craftsman flair for incorporating dissonance and making it sound heavenly. I like the combination of stringed instruments and organ, singing drones, and what sounds like some kind of strange but enticing bagpipe. There Is No Going Without Returning is a lightly rhythmic space excursion with a parade of melodic bits floating by and a banquet of trippy effects. Unaussprechlichen Kulten combines space atmospherics, drones, and the most freeform of old time German Kosmiche experimentalism to create a sinister yet hauntingly dreamy blend of cosmic Grand Guignol soundtrack and early 70s Teutonic Space-Prog. And winding down the set is the 11 minute Part Three in the Staring Down the Gullet of the Great Beyond series of Space/Psych groove jams, sounding very much like a cross between Amon Düül II and the improvs produced by the Ohio Space Rock band Quarkspace.

In summary, Evening Fires cover a variety of territory, from classic German Space/Kosmiche to avant-freeform Psychedelia. I was impressed with every track but feel they are at their most unique when living up to the “old-time rural acid rock” and “Appalachian space rock” tags. Definitely different. Check ’em out.

Stream, download and order the vinyl at the Sunrise Ocean Bender Bandcamp site: https://sunriseoceanbender.bandcamp.com
Order the Incredible Adventures CDR at the Deep Water Acres site: http://www.dwacres.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The Lysergics are the London based trio of Fabio Mongelli on guitar and vocals, Sarah Gonputh on organ, bass keyboard and vocals, and Eleanora Claps on drums and vocals. With a name like The Lysergics and a glance at the album art you can take a pretty good guess as to what the music is about.

Blue Lines Splashing Orange and Invisible Bars are both high energy Psych rockers with classic 60s organ, bubbling acid-fuzz guitar and screaming licks, propulsive driving beats and excellent melodies. Fabio sings the trippy lyrics with harmony backing from Sarah and Eleanora on these tunes that mine the most… errrr… “lysergic” moments of 60s Psychedelia. The Sun And The Moon is similar but with a monster injection of the dirtiest fuzzed out rhythm guitar imaginable, but also tasty passionate leads from both guitar and organ. We’ve also got a cool cover of the Twink penned 10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box, originally recorded by Tomorrow spinoff band The Aquarian Age. Killer organ and guitar solos on this tune.

There was something familiar about the album art and then I noticed that it’s credited to Vibravoid. And sure enough, there is much in The Lysergics music to appeal to Vibravoid fans. And, like Vibravoid, The Lysergics combine shorter songs with lengthier stretch-out tunes. The 10+ minute On The Water is a seductively hallucinatory song that combines Eastern influenced Psych and a trippy West Coast sound. Multi-layered sitar drone patterns underlie the steadily strolling and slightly robotic beat of the song which features ominously haunting organ lines and totally tripped out guitar, some of which gets nicely eruptive. Sarah or Eleanora take the lead vocals on this one and there are plenty of instrumental workouts in which the guitar and organ take off and explore. The 15 minute Julie’s Glance starts off like the earlier songs but quickly sets a throb pounding rhythmic pace over which the guitar goes off into the most wigged out soloing of the set. This is a total guitar freakout jam with drums bashing away relentlessly and the organ cranking out both fuzzed and eerily haunting melodies and hypnotic sustained lines. After a while we’re surprised by a harmonica joining in for a Blues jam, which sounds cool and strange alongside the 60s Psych organ. There’s even a drum solo segment which is assisted by some nifty atmospherics, and a finale that bursts the mercury for volcanic Psychedelic intensity.

In summary, The Lysergics are a hard rocking band that wear their 60s influences proudly on their shirtsleeves and do it REEEEEALY good! The combination of well-crafted songs and instrumental workouts is their strength. Let your freak flags fly…

The LP is limited to 500 hand numbered 180 gr vinyl copies with a beautiful gatefold cover. It includes 3 postcard band member pictures, a lyric sheet and blurb about the band by Twink. Options for vinyl junkies include black (200), purple marbled (200), and a special colour-split “die hard” edition in a cotton sleeve.

The LP is available from Clostridium Records at: http://www.clostridiumrecords.com
Stream and download at: https://thelysergics.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz