A British band whose career was launched while based in Germany, Nektar released 7 studio albums between 1971-1977, the first 6 of which included the “classic” lineup of Roye Albrighton on guitar and vocals, Allan “Taff” Freeman on keyboards, Derek “Mo” Moore on bass, and Ron Howden on drums. I love these albums, which can vary considerably from one to the next, while retaining a distinct Nektar flavor, and are among the 70s albums I revisit most often. The band would pop up again in the early 80s and have been active again since around 2000, though the 70s albums are, in my opinion, the true classics. Cleopatra Records’ Purple Pyramid subdivision has reissued the first Nektar album – Journey To The Centre Of The Eye – in a 2-CD edition that features the original album remastered, and a 1971 live performance of the entire album.

Journey To The Centre Of The Eye is an early example of Space Rock and Prog-Psych that tells the story of an astronaut leaving Earth in a rocket when the planet is on the verge of nuclear world war. Aliens are encountered, new galaxies are discovered, and, ultimately, mind expansion and a new awareness just as the astronaut witnesses the destruction of Earth. Each track on the back of the LP (which I still have) has notes that tell each bit of the story, though they are extremely difficult for these old eyes to read as shrunk down as they are to fit on the back of the CD.

In the CD notes, Dave Thompson writes that the album “earned comparison with everyone from Man to Pink Floyd”, and it baffles me that Hawkwind isn’t mentioned. The guitar and effects on various parts of the album are similar to the freakiest moments from Hawkwind’s early albums. Remember, this is 1971. The experimentalism of early Pink Floyd is also a good analogy, as evidenced on tracks like Warp Oversight, which is like Astronomy Domine and Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun wrapped into one. As the tale starts to unfold we get the trademark Nektar guitar/organ interplay and we’re in classic era prog-psych heaven. Moments of high intensity weave in and out with passages of sheer dream-like beauty. Nektar excel on this album at both thematic development and creating a mind-expanding listening experience. In short, putting this into 1971 perspective, attentive listeners could marvel at the band’s flair for wrapping prog infused hard rock, psychedelia and alien effects into an impressively complex and seamlessly flowing sci-fi tale, and those who just wanted music they could trip out to would have one of the best albums of the year to meet that need. And while in terms of the music this first album is the most overtly space rock, Nektar would explore similar themes on subsequent albums, Remember The Future being the best example.

The bonus CD features the entire album performed live on November 13, 1971 in Darmstadt, Germany. It’s called an “official bootleg”, and while the sound quality justifies the bootleg tag, it’s pretty decent and well worth the opportunity to hear the band live so early in their career. In summary, Journey To The Centre Of The Eye is essential for both space rock fans anyone into 70s prog-psych.

For more information visit the Purple Pyramid web site at: http://cleorecs.com
Visit the Nektar web site at: http://nektarsmusic.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The blistering power-trio rock sounds of The Space Sharks is a surprisingly fresh mix of Classic Rock and 60’s garage psychedelia with just a tad of tripped out guitary Spacerock in the mix. The band was formed in Baltimore, MD, in 2009, by Lonnie Richards on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Martino on drums, percussion and backing vocals, Bob Bergerson on bass as well as Brian Harrigan on additional backing vocals. On the info promo-sheet the band says they recorded all the songs on first or second take, so not to over work or over produce their sound. It works! The sound is fresh, loud, blistering sunshine acid melody with swirling psychedelic guitars and occasional flute. This self titled, self released, debut CD has 9 songs, the short album clocking in at just about 33 minutes. It is very energetic and melodic sounding, bursting with spontaneity, this is some feelgood summer music I really enjoyed on the very first spin. It’s accessible like Classic Rock and 60’s garage sounds, with some Floydian spacey moments, with acid guitars and phased vocals. The highlight tracks for me are the opener, Run For Cover, as well as Satellites, Apocalypse” and Spinning ‘Round. The album was written, produced and recorded on their own home-equipment, and its beefy and well crafted stuff for those with a sense of psychedelic simplicity, good melody and peaced-out optimism. A highly recommended purchase for all 60’s fans out there who want song based spacyness and acid rock that does not sound dated at all, but refreshing like a cold 7Up on a hot and humid day in July, maybe, after spending hours of a stoned day at the beach gazing at the ocean, just taking in the free time. It was released in 2011. I for one enjoyed the magic feelgood sunshine acid sounds of The Space Sharks, and their far out galactic spacerocking scene of mystical seekers, and we here at AI welcome them aboard our… ‘zine!

The band can be found at http://myspace.com/thespacesharks and http//reverbnation.com/thespacesharks
Order the CD at http://cdbaby.com/cd/thespacesharks

Reviewed by Christian Eric Mumford

Dog Hallucination have here a 23 minute 3″ CD that is an experimental and abstract enigma of industrial / ambient / noise / glitch experimental-ness mapped over 4 tracks. It reminds me a little of German noise-artist Siemers (who also puts out 3″ CD-R weirdness), and Norwegian group Ulver around their ambient period like the Teachings In Silence CD about a decade ago. It is subtly noisy with a subdued psychedelic guitar droned ambience, indeed. The main part of the music is distorted guitar textures and digital beats and washes of atonal white noise. Dog Hallucination consists of Bob on keyboards, sampler, engineering, percussion, manipulations, field recordings, first stage mixing, and self portraits (I can assume the pics of the weird guys on the cover art), while D. Petri is responsible for editing, mixing, photography, design, manipulation and guitars. Doggy P. Lips is the person responsible for guitars and ideas. It was recorded 2006-2007 on digital 8 and 16 track, portable minidisc and 4 track cassette, edited and mixed August 2011. I can only assume this ensemble have hallucinated themselves to beyond description or human abstraction, like bits of synaptic fallout from Savage Republic’s noisy guitar-echoes of ancient cultures and motorik kraut-distortion as interpreted by electro-ambient-glitch-era Ulver, and mixed and assembled by the found industrial machine like noise-architecture of Siemers, maybe. Either way, file this Dog Hallucination EP under “weird”.

Contact at http://www.intangiblecat.com/doghallucination or email dhalpetri@gmail.com
Snail mail at P.O. Box 33, Spring Valley, IL 61362, USA

Reviewed by Christian Eric Mumford

Recently, while browsing through bandcamp.com, I stumbled across Space Mushroom Fuzz. They are a new duo from Boston, Massachusetts, consisting of John Belcastro on drums and Adam Abrams on, well, everything else. Adam Abrams is also involved in progressive doom metal band Blue Aside and psychedelic stoner band Palace in Thunderland, but with Space Mushroom Fuzz he and Belcastro take off to the stars for some decidedly trippy spacerock.

Space Mushroom Fuzz – When Time Trippers Collide (self-released 2012)
When Time Trippers Collide (released in June of 2012) is unabashed space rock, inspired by Hawkwind, but infused with its own sense of style and trippiness. The Palace Gates, the opening cut, is in fact practically a mission statement with its intense, pulsing guitar riffs, spaced out vocals and swirling, liquid effects. And with that Space Mushroom Fuzz are off the launch pad and soaring towards the stars. After an extended space intro, second track Watching the Watcher borrows a riff from Hawkwind’s Lord of Light, and just goes nuts with it, layering it with effects and way out there vocals (with Abrams singing completely different lyrics and melody to Lord of Light). It’s a blast of pure, adrenaline fueled spacerock, and perhaps the only direct nod to one of their influences. After that, the duo dives deep into experimental realms with Shine on You Crazy Train Part 1. Amusing title indeed, but it sounds nothing like Pink Floyd or Ozzy Osbourne, instead being a rambling, spaced out free jazz trip through the cosmos. For the first few listens, I found this part kind of slowed the album down a bit. At nearly 12-minutes, the track did seem to go on a bit too long. But the more I listened to it, the more I really got into its ‘birth of the cosmos’ kind of ambience. And when things pick up again with the mid-tempo mantric rocker Space Is Blue, full of freaky, shrieking riffs and apocalyptic lyrics, it all just seems to flow together perfectly. After a shorter return to ambient experimental liquid space territory with Shine on You Crazy Train Part 2, the band dives into the final track on the album, Wavestorm. It’s a real slow burner with hallucinatory, effects laden guitar work and mysterious, ghostly vocals. A deliriously freaked out way to end the album!

Space Mushroom Fuzz – Something Weird’s Going On (self-released 2012)
Not content with just one album in 2012, a little later in the year Abrams and Belcastro put out their second album, Something Weird’s Going On (released in October of 2012). Opening cut, Sitting in Our Thrones, has an assault of frenzied guitar giving way to spaced out vocals singing about corrupted innocence and the nightmare of war. The song leads into a lengthy, mindblowing jam as Abrams and Belcastro totally cut loose, blazing a comet-like trail of heavy spacerock across the sky. Hawkwind influences return in the riff-heavy Living With the Curse of Shame. And then things mellow out for a bit with a trio of tripped out songs starting with Part 1 of the title track, a downtempo meditation on weirdness; the dark and acid drenched Scientist Sparks, with its thrumming acoustic guitars and bubbling, gurgling space ‘tronics; and part 2 of the title track, another moody excursion, this time in the vein of Pink Floyd. The final track on the album, Under Control, gives a nifty little surprise twist by taking the Hawkwind formula and amping it up bit with an early Rush vibe. Another solid album from Abrams and Belcastro.

Space Mushroom Fuzz – Trapped in the Past EP (self-released 2012)
As if two albums in one year weren’t enough, squeaking in just before the end of December, Space Mushroom Fuzz released the two song EP Trapped in the Past. The title track takes SMF into new directions. With the substitution of Belcastro with Black Pyramid drummer Clay Neely, this release delves into a more proggier realm than previous releases. The title track still has some of that Hawkwind riffery going for it, but its acoustic intro and spacey outro and some cool tempo changes give it a more complex dimension. Second track, The Other Side of Life, gets even stranger, with jazzy chords and gentle acoustic guitars combined with oddball vocal melodies and sudden bursts of heavy psych freakouts. In the space of half a year, Space Mushroom Fuzz has already evolved, as their music expands outward, and I for one can’t wait to hear what they do next.

Space Mushroom Fuzz – Seeing Double Cassette Boxed Set (self-released, 2013)
And breaking news for you cassette fans out there, as this interview goes to publication, the band is just releasing a new cassette boxed set called Seeing Double. It’s two cassettes which include all of When Time Trippers Collide, Something Weird’s Going On, and Trapped in the Past plus one bonus track. Only 20 copies available, so you better grab one of these babies while you can. (The boxed set is also available as a three CD-R compilation, but without the bonus track that comes on the cassette version.)

Wanting to learn more about Space Mushroom Fuzz, I contacted Adam Abrams and asked him a few questions. This is what he had to say…

Aural Innovations (AI): You’re a busy guy, involved in several other bands including playing bass and keyboards in Palace in Thunderland and leading Blue Aside. What prompted the Space Mushroom Fuzz project?

Adam Abrams (AA): I wanted to do a lo-fi recording project to keep myself busy between working on the Blue Aside albums. Blue Aside records take a lot longer to finish because of the amount of overdubbing we do to get our sound. I needed a new musical outlet to keep myself occupied. Music is my favorite hobby so I figured I’d come up with a new project so I could spend my time doing something I love which is productive and will last forever rather than wasting my time watching TV.

We are trying to do something different with Space Mushroom Fuzz. Like releasing more than one album a year. Having all the albums for free on Bandcamp and letting the people decide if and what they want to pay. These days every album can be traded digitally anyways so why not just make it available for free straight from the artist. The world is changing so we figured the structure of a band needs to change. Why press 1,000 CD’s and sit on 600 copies when you can press a very limited amount and sell them out. We are doing a cassette release too. But instead of getting them professionally manufactured, we are going to handmake and customize each copy. This includes special artwork from our favorite contemporary artist Ralph Walters (from Columbus), and an individualized hand-drawn picture by either me or John for each box set. This means not one will be the same, creating a unique numbering system.

Plus, I always wanted to get John Belcastro on tape and collaborate with him musically. He was the original drummer in Palace in Thunderland until we first broke up in 2003. He is one of the greatest drummers I know. His style is perfect for the traditional Space Mushroom Fuzz sound yet he’s also versatile so he can accommodate the different genres we might explore. He’s a really good friend, and when you’re working with friends, you’re in a better creative environment.

AI: There’s been a terrific burst of activity from all three of these projects over the past year, including new releases from all three of them (in the case of Palace in Thunderland, the first in 5 years. What happened in 2012 that made this all happen?

AA: January 2012 Andy and Monte started jamming again, reformed Palace in Thunderland and quickly starting writing new songs. I wasn’t back in Massachusetts until April that year and they already had a few written! Netto (also the drummer for Blue Aside) rejoined in May. So by the fall, Palace was ready to record the ‘Stars, Dreams, Shores’ EP, which we finished in 4-5 sessions. Since then we’ve completed writing the full length and are going to start recording very soon. The new Blue Aside album, ‘The Moles of a Dying Race’ was tracked in 2011 and finished in 2012 but not released until September 2012. I started SMF in June of 2012 and kept busy through December, releasing the ‘Trapped in the Past’ single a couple days before the New Year.

AI: The first Space Mushroom Fuzz track recorded was Shine on You Crazy Train Part 1. It was recorded in a, shall we say, interesting way. Can you tell us about that?

AA: I was looking through my stuff at the studio and found some mushroom powder I had from a while back. It was a nice night, early June in Boston, so I decided to eat them! I took a walk to enjoy the scenery then thought it would be fun to try to record. I already setup the mics on the drums earlier that day to prepare for another band I was recording the next morning. So I established a groove in my head, pressed record and let out all the adrenaline from the mushrooms on the drum set. This was the foundation for Shine on You Crazy Train Part 1. I spent a couple more hours laying down the guitars and bass and pretty much finished tracking that song that night.

AI: I noted in my review that Watching the Watcher seems to borrow a riff straight out of Hawkwind’s Lord of Light. Was this intentional? And does the title have any connection to Lemmy’s Hawkwind tune The Watcher?

Yes, most of the first album was influenced by Hawkwind. Watching the Watcher was named after Lemmy’s The Watcher but Scientist Sparks (ed. From their second album) was inspired by the music.

AI: Listening again to Scientist Sparks I really hear that now.

I find it interesting that Space Mushroom Fuzz lyrics tend more towards psychological and apocalyptic themes rather than outer space and more obvious sci-fi tropes. What inspired these kinds of lyrics for this project?

AA: Space Mushroom Fuzz lyrics are inspired by the thoughts that people have during psychedelic trips. The band was born during a mushroom trip so ideally the listener should be tripping to feel the full effect of the music both spiritually and sonically.

AI: All tracks to date were recorded in Reverse Feed Studios, which if I understand it correctly, is your homemade studio. Can you tell us any more about this?

AA: I got sick of paying money to go to studios and having to rush recordings so some time in 2009 I set one up at my practice space and been recording various projects since. All the tracking for the Blue Aside albums, aside from the drums was done at Reverse Feed. For the Palace in Thunderland, Stars, Dreams, Shores EP, the guitars were recorded at the Palace practice space (which is Monte’s basement) but the drums, bass and mixing was all done at Reverse Feed. Everything for the Space Mushroom Fuzz albums was done at Reverse Feed Studios aside from the drums on the Trapped in the Past single which was done at Clay’s studio – Black Coffee Sound.

AI: I take it that with you playing mostly everything in Space Mushroom Fuzz save the drums, this is primarily a studio project. Any plans to pull a full band together and play the material live?

AA: We played one live show this past August with Old Growth and BerT (both bands released something on Hydro-Phonic) at Radio, a venue in Somerville, MA. Blue Aside was supposed to be on the bill but had to cancel at the last minute. Joe from Blue Aside filled in on bass and we played a few tracks off When Time Trippers Collide with extended space jams in between. We found out that we were playing the show a couple hours before and had minimal time to prepare. We have our first real show March 21st at PA’s Lounge in Somerville opening for Hidden Towers on tour from Vancouver. Me and John have been jamming regularly trying to work out a 2-piece so we can tour.

AI: The new single features Black Pyramid’s Clay Neely on drums instead of John Belcastro. Is this a permanent change or a temporary one?

AA: This was just a one-time thing but it’s very possible for him to be on more SMF recordings in the future. I’m trying to do something different with SMF by not sticking to the traditional band member format and having guest musicians join us for an album here and there. In fact, I want one album to be only guest musicians. Meaning neither John nor I will play at all.

Clay is a great drummer and has a studio in his backyard so it’s very easy for us to collaborate on projects. If not Space Mushroom Fuzz, I hope to record something with Clay very soon.

AI: The new single seems to take a more progressive rock direction. Are you going to explore more of this newer sound?

AA: We’ve already started recording the next album, Man in the Shadow, and it’s definitely not going in the prog direction. I’d say it’s more influenced by 70’s rock like Ted Nugent, Grand Funk Railroad and Judas Priest with hints of Hendrix, Skynryd and Deep Purple. For Space Mushroom Fuzz, we are not sticking to any specific format, aside from incorporating a space rock vibe. Of course we will venture out again into prog territory but more in the vein of the end of Trapped in the Past rather than the jazzy chords used in The Other Side of Life.

AI: We’re looking forward to what comes next for Space Mushroom Fuzz. Thanks for chatting with us Adam!

For more info, visit: http://spacemushroomfuzz.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jeff Fitzgerald

Nebulous Amphibians is the trans-Atlantic duo of Leeds, UK based David Sanderson on guitars, bass and synths, and San Francisco based Jon Drukman on synths and programming. This 5 track, 31 minute all instrumental set opens with Ethernet Fry-Up, a space rocker that incorporates jazz and prog elements. Right out of the chute it sets a rapid-fire Ozric-like synth pattern that keeps the music in high energy space rock mode, though they take a break when the first guitar solo kicks in. David is a damn good guitarist and my favorite part of the track is near the end when the duo kick into full band space rock mode with guitar wailing, synths swirling, and percussion rocking. Supernebula is next and opens with heavenly astral keys, soon joined by Bluesy guitar. We float along until around the 4 minute mark when additional synths create a cosmic rhythmic pulse and soon we’re rockin’ and groovin’ in space. The music ventures into dance mode and then David takes off with a blistering guitar solo, soon settling into a hip shakin’ groove that kept my head boppin’ as I watched the comets soaring by. Arza Lint is a high energy space rocker that’s firmly in Ozrics mode, though I’d say Nebulous Amphibians maintain their identity with the grooves that characterize most of these tracks. I like how the music shifts gears and transitions to jazzy spaced out dreamland for the finale. Dimensionless is a short piece that leads into the final track, Binarium. The song starts off dark and moody, but our spirits are quickly lifted when the space synths and grooves kick in. It’s a nice combination of heavenly meditative synths, jazzy guitar and cool grooves, plus a high octane rocking section.

Ozric Tentacles are the closest analogy to what these guys are doing, though Nebulous Amphibians are heavier on the dance grooves while never straying far from the ROCK. I received this CD along with a David Sanderson solo project called Superstring Phobia, and I’d say both must be considered together to get a feel for what he is about. Both are excellent but I’d say that if David got a band together he’d be seriously dangerous. CLICK HERE to read the Superstring Phobia review Pat wrote and note that all this music can be heard at the Soundcloud links below.

The 5 tracks on the CD plus additional tunes can be heard at the Nebulous Amphibians Soundcloud page at: http://soundcloud.com/nebulous-amphibians
Visit the Nebulous Amphibians Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/NebulousAmphibians
Email David Sanderson at: info@echostun.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The full title of this limited edition CDR documenting ST 37’s 2009 tour is Awkward Moments Tour Live: True Stories From The Untold. What the “true stories” refers to is the 6-page tour notes that accompanies the disc and includes such crazy accounts as that of Joel Crutcher being thrown out of the Hallandale Beach, FL Crowne Plaza Hotel pool after being mistaken for a homeless person, and Bobby Baker attempting to pee in a poorly ventilated and recently used restroom and vomiting on his… well… the title is, after all, Awkward Moments. But it’s more like the fun little tidbits that are all part of a rock band on the road.

Wow, ST 37 and their brand of Space Rock/Psychedelic/Punk have been around for getting near 30 years now. That’s real longevity in the underground. The CD consists of 11 tracks, is well over 70 minutes, and features a good cross-section of what ST 37 are about. The set opens with Number One Fan, a 12 minute excursion that ranges from Hawkwind Space Ritual styled alien effects to acidic psychedelic intensity. After the first 4 minutes the bass and drums develop a sense of rhythmic propulsion, though overall this is an exploratory spacey freakout piece through-and-through. Similar tracks include I Was Looking For My Digital Underground Grandpa Tape, a relatively short stoned freakout piece. One of the highlights of the set is Solaris, a track from the 2004 Insect Hospital album. Inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s film of the same name, this is 12 minutes of cinematic, theme-driven, white-knuckled space rock, something that ST 37 are no strangers to, having created their own soundtrack to the classic silent Metropolis and performed it on several occasions to screenings of the film. Another standout is Grandpa’s Birthday, from the 2010 High And Inside album, which is a down ‘n dirty, brain-splattering, space rocking acid-punk-metal rampage.

We’re also treated to live versions of ST 37 songs I’ve always enjoyed. Ghosts Of Tempera Nymphs, from the 1992 Invisible College album, is a tune I’ve played several times on Aural Innovations Space Rock Radio. From the 1997 Spaceage album, Concrete Island is dark and ominous but deep in space. This is an excellent version, capturing the combination of melodic flow and pounding intensity of the song, and has killer manic soloing psych guitar. Future Memories is another monster live performance, this one being the title track from the 2005 album of the same name, and is a kick-ass slab of stoned, metallic, acid-psychedelic mind-fuckery. Maroons, also from High And Inside, is a slow and mesmerizing song that’s both stoned and metallic and peacefully hypnotic, with beautiful mind-bending guitar licks alongside acid-metal guitar, all building up to a high intensity yet trance-inducing explosion. Another winner! These veterans STILL got it!

And just to show that ST 37 aren’t easily pigeonholed, we’ve got the short and nasty punk song The White Comanche, yet another from the High And Inside album, the blazing space-punk song Watch The Bile Come Out, from 2006’s And Then What, which would be right at home on an early Chrome album, and rounding things out nicely is Just You, a romantic 50’s doo-wop song served up ST 37 style.

In summary, HIGHEST recommendation to ST 37 fans, AND I recommend it as an introduction to the band is you’re a newcomer. Better hurry though because it was released in an edition of only 100 copies.

Awkward Moments is available from Reverb Worship at: http://reverbworship.com
Visit the ST 37 web site at: http://www.st37.com
Visit the ST 37 Bandcamp site at: http://st37.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

After their amazing debut It’s Medication Time, in 2006, I was a little disappointed in the follow-up second album, a couple of years later. They had replaced their amazing guitarist Lewis Turner with a young talent that did not float my boat, excactly, to handle the guitars on their second Voiceprint label CD, The Truth About Us. Well, in 2013, it looks like Pre-Med have taken their prescribed LSD tabs since, and come back in full form with Alan Davey and Danny Thompson from Hawkwind doing all the bass and battery, like on It’s Medication Time, the original Pre-Med 2006 mindblowing artifact of a Spacerock CD. I reviewed this album very favourably for the norwegian newspaper “Gateavisa” in 2007 as well as playing Man Eggs From Mars on my FM Radio show for the Christmas 2006 special I hosted.

Now then, here are two fine examples of a band that Danny Faulkner from the band Starfield, who put out a fine Hawk-ish debut CD, some 10 years ago, and later went on to form Pre-Med to great success mid way through the Millenium’s first decade. So here I have the Live CD and “Einstein’s Day Off” CD proper studio album to review. For one, Einstein’s Day Off is very psychedelic both lyric-wise and music-wise. Alan gets to rawk his beefy bass solos in breaks of spaceyness with metallic guitars chugging on choppy riffs in the background. The songs flow nicely. Abit of Acid manefesto and current Science references to God Particles and Big Bang Theory, and such, and to Tabs of LSD, and all medication you need for a New Age. Alan’s bass is very dominant, and the guitarist from The Truth About Us, Eamon O’Neill has amply, and for the better, been replaced by Phil Oates. Actually, Eamon does some tasty work on the Live CD so I would not slag him, but I did not like his work on The Truth About Us.

Both discs chug away like Trio-era Hawkwind, with those nice electronic bits as breaks or as guitar / bass added FX, the way Hawkwind used to do in the early 90’s, and still do to an extent (not so much anymore as Hawkwind have Tim Blake handling synths, so Dave or Niall needn’t trigger synth sounds from their guitars) I would assume. Alans presence with his monsta bass could very well make Pre-Med a project much like his Bedouin or Gunslinger bands, in fact it is because Alan and Danny being involved in the first Pre-Med CD, I bought it and was blown away, yet had it not been for the Faulkners, Martin and Danny, handling lyric writing, and singing, in that order, so to say, if Alan did vocals and songwriting, which he does not, it would be a lot like a new Bedouin with Thompson. He is merely the bassist though, much like his work with The Meads Of Asphodel. The Live disc has material from the first two Pre-Med CDs and clocks in at just under 30 minutes with 5 songs. These CD’s are self released and feature the fine artwork of Kevin Sommers who has provided his talents on Alan’s solo stuff as well. Often, being an artist myself, and having created CD covers for a few bands, I find Sommers work to be mindblowing but much too cluttered and over worked digitally in some cases, but not always. It gets abit tedious, to look at. Like composition? Out the window dude! But it works for these bands very well, they all seem to think so, as well as the fans too, anyway. And I agree 80%. I generally don’t like medication BTW. At least not the kind given to me by men in white coats!

Go forth to http://premedmusic.com

Reviewed by Christian Eric Mumford

Emerson, Lake & Metal? Golden boy Wilson, everything he touches turns to Gold. His new solo CD came in like 4 or 5 formats, and I went for the CD/DVD version. I like it right off the bat, just like the previous solo stuff, be it studio or live, I tend to like it better than his current Porcupine Tree material. He uses EMS and Mellotrons here, with a HEAVY nod towards ELP (a derided band he might make a tad more likeable for me, as ELP are my LEAST favorite Prog band… I call them Orchestral Woo Woo music with no soul but a few strange stoned moments like Brain Salad Surgery, which is not Progressive, its Orchestral Woo Woo music, well that track may pass as “good” Prog if Prog was all about doing things the Wrong Way). Well, Steven Wilson has re-mastered the early Crimson, Tull and ELP works nicely, he has struck it rich. Back in the 90’s he produced Fish and Marillion albums, as well. Progdoms Most Wanted, Progdoms bespectacled blonde Saviour. I say this half seriously, the man is Jesus, he could be bigger than Lennon. Enough trying to define the genius Steven Wilson and his fat bank account.

This is an album for diehard musicians, people who pick out notes, scales, chords, tap their fingers to Tarkus or A Sailor’s Tale, maybe to pick up their guitar and play it as best they can. There is alot of Crimson and ELP going on here, gone metal, much like Voïvod did as young experimentalists in the 80’s. The lyrics are desperate, dark, almost deriding to his array of strange nightly characters he chronicles on this album. The album opens with a heavy rocker, imagine ELP with alot of airy flutes, as played by a thrashmetal band like Voïvod. Most of the songs go wildly astray and back again, with their progressive twists and turns, it is wondrous to listen all the way through. It is not as low key, Van Der Graaf Generator-stylistic or floating Floydian as the previous SW albums, more chunky ELP-symfo and Crimson-odd time signature style. But I like it. The sound on this CD is so hi-fidelity and clear, it sounds amazing. Wilson & crew know what they are doing here, folks.

Theo Travis plays wonderful flute and sax and clarinet, Wilson himself plays guitars, mellotron, keys and bass on one track. Nick Beggs handles bass. Guthrie Govan lead guitar, Adam Holzman Fender Rhodes, Hammond, Piano, mini Moog, and Marco Minnemann does drums & percussion on the album.

If you liked (like I did) Insurgentes thru Grace For Drowning, and the live Get All You Deserve, then you will fall flat on your ass in amazement on this album. It really is an amazing piece of prog, that is “mock-dated” even in a sick pimply stoned ELP way I love. Maybe I am sick. Maybe SW is sick. Maybe we are all sick. But we can be sick together, and overcome. A solid 9 out of 10 points for this monster album from muso SW. Buy with confidence.

Visit the Kscope Music web site at: http://www.kscopemusic.com

Reviewed by Christian Eric Mumford

Here, are two Voïvod discs I wasn’t aware of, that I just recently ordered from the http://www.irongang.com site with a great book on Away’s artwork, which I assume is on the way soon as well, to my mailbox. This is a band that paved way, along with conceptualists Celtic Frost, for progressive influenced music that existed in its early form in a realm blurring the boundaries between blackmetal and thrashmetal, progressive rock, punk, and even spacerock.

To The Death 84 has been released on Jello Biafra’s “Alternative Tentacles” label, and it goes to show how immensely influental early Voïvod was to bridge punk, progressive and metal genres. Recorded in January 1984 just prior to the release of the War And Pain debut, it sounds tremendeous to be recorded audience style with two mics – it has been re-mastered to CD/digital very well. It sounds like a soundboard recording. Most of the material is from the first album and second album, as well, plus some covers of Mercyful Fate and a couple of Venom tracks. This recording is a treasure for fans of old Voïvod, with classics like Live For Violence, Nuclear War, Black City, etc. etc. An essential effort for anyone who wants to hear historical True Metal. Fantastic purchase with lots of great early photos, and old Away art inside.

Warriors Of Ice is a 2009 Live recording with the Chewy/Blacky/Snake/Away lineup and it is a blitzkrieg of ferocious Voïvodness, from beginning to end. Chewy imititates Piggy’s guitar work nicely, Piggy used an odd signature like fast jazz, like a scale with timed breaks even, which gave Voïvod that King Crimson feel, as if played by early Chaos UK or The Exploited if one can imagine that. They do material from Angel Rat, which is always welcome to my ears, as I also have the demos for that lovely prog album, and I have recordings of the late 90’s Eric Forrest lineup doing Angel Rat tracks like The Prow and Panorama, thrashing it up all over with melody intact. They do those two signature Angel Rat tracks here. The CD also has early stuff like the opener Voïvod, being the band’s anthem, and Nuclear War from the War & Pain album as well. The excellent Floyd cover from my least favorite Voïvid album, 1989’s Nothingface, but the Astronomy Domine version here is great. Additionally, some stuff from Infini, the album of that year, which was the last to feature ex-Metallica Jason Newsted on bass, so here are some good tracks from that underrated CD. Also included are a couple of tracks from the blistering cyberpunk-thrasher 3rd LP, Killing Technology, like Tornado and Overreaction. It is definitely not for the faint hearted, this band, but I like to review their stuff here at AI, as the SF themes, concept LP’s, and general prog referential nods toward Rush, Floyd and Crimson, they are still the best band in Canada, unless you somehow count the “R”-name band…

For more information visit the Voivod web site at: http://www.voivod.com

Reviewed by Christian Eric Mumford

For some twelve years now, the Vermont based hippie collective MV & EE, centered on the duo of Mark Valentine and Erica Elder, have been making a wide mark across the New Weird American landscape. Whether it be their out of space and time folk songs, off-kilter Neil Young and Crazy Horse inspired rockers, their self-described “lunar ragas”, or their live extended ambient explorations, they show no signs of stopping, having released over 30 albums since 2001, rivalling Acid Mothers Temple for prolificacy. Their first album of 2013, Fuzzweed, arrives close on the heels of their last album of 2012, Space Homestead.

Fuzzweed builds on the laidback rural psychedelia of Space Homestead, but takes it further out, into the netherlands between the rustic peaks of the Green Mountains that run through the duo’s home state to the edges of something indefinable and not quite of this world. Opening cut, Environs, true to its name, seems to conjure up images of a passing countryside, but one seen through the eyes of someone tripping out on something decidedly hallucinogenic. It’s a little instrumental that’s a lovely, low key way to start the album. The pace doesn’t pick up much for the next song, Turbine (this is a seriously laidback album, folks), but it does inject a weirdly out of place electronic percussion track (similar to their classic song East Mountain High) which only adds to the otherworldliness of the song. It’s like walking from green summer fields into the fairy realms of the British Isles, but cast with a distinctly American mythology. Bridging the gap between the old, weird settings of the American countryside with a modern landscape of rundown, rusty roadside gas stations and trailer parks, Trailer Trash is nonetheless a sweet journey with strumming acoustic guitars, beautiful ghostly vocals, and acidic electric guitar soloing courtesy of Valentine (who’s vocals and guitar style both seem influenced by Neil Young’s). Jacked Up is just as laidback as the rest of the album, but with its random harmonics, like sparkling diamonds on golden ocean waves at sunset, it has a bit more of warm, West Coast vibe underlying it’s sound.

But it’s the 20-minute long Poor Boy Excursions that really define that ‘caught between this world and the next one over’ sound. Comprising pretty much all the aspects of their style, it starts with some dusty, acoustic slide guitar and Erica Elder’s distant, dreamily sung vocals, as the duo runs through a version of the old blues standard Poor Boy Blues. Pure and simple, it’s as rooted in the earth of the American landscape as one can get. There is, however, an ominous organic drone that slowly builds underneath, leading the listener onwards into the next section of the piece titled Long Way From Home, suggesting we are now getting further and further away from the rural countryside where we began. The title comes from Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home, the sometimes alternate title of the opening blues number, but the blues are left behind here as space guitars, strange voices, wandering bass and tumbling percussion begin to weave a vast psychedelic tapestry of sound. Perhaps we’re now sitting atop Mount Mansfield, the highest point in Vermont, caught between the earth and the cosmos, and we’re ingesting some hallucinogenic substance, preparing ourselves for a journey beyond. And that’s exactly where the last part of Poor Boy Excursions, its title of Environments echoing the opening track, takes us. Environments is actually a piece the duo, along with members of their collective, often play live. This is the band in their lunar raga mode, with rambling Indian percussion and sitars balanced out with droning, lyseric guitars and spacey synths. Here, recorded in the studio, Environments takes on a new crispness as every note and microtone comes out. The sonic quality is deep and expansive, and if the listener closes his or her eyes, then, like its title suggests, it envelopes you, surrounding you in a new cosmic environment where anything seems possible.

Fuzzweed is not the kind of psychedelic music to get up and dance to, it’s the kind to sit back and relax to, letting your mind and spirit wander. Burn some incense, but instead of the exotic scents of sandalwood and patchouli, try some distinctively earthy and American ones like sage and cedar, and take the journey.

For more info, visit: http://threelobed.com/tlr/ and http://www.facebook.com/pages/MV-EE/162854533776883

Reviewed by Jeff Fitzgerald