Finnish trio Permanent Clear Light formed in 2009 and have already made several contributions to Fruits de Mer releases. Now they’ve got a new 2-song single on FDM’s Regal Crabomophone sub-label, with one original song and a cover.

Higher Than The Sun is the original and starts off with acoustic guitar, orchestration and spaced out alien affects. It’s a lovely pastoral folk-psych song with orchestral embellishment, a killer melodically ripping guitar solo, beautiful vocals singing of all things outside the Earth’s atmosphere, all surrounded by effects that sound like something from a Louis and Bebe Barron soundtrack. Sweeeeeet.

One of the things I love about Fruits de Mer cover songs is the completely OFF the beaten path choices the bands make. Permanent Clear Light take on Afterwards, the first track on the first Van der Graaf Generator album – The Aerosol Grey Machine – released in 1969. Though the phased organ on the original gives the song a slightly psychedelic edge, Permanent Clear Light inject mucho Kosmiche elements into their rendition, giving the music a mind-bending quality that takes it into a lusciously spaced out direction. I’ve been a VDGG fans for decades so this one resonated with me.

The single will be available mid-October and is limited to 800 copies, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK! Oh, and it’s got a 3D cover and comes with 3D glasses. How’s that for nifty labor-of-love packaging?

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

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

UK based The Chemistry Set were active in the 1980s, having released cassette albums on the Acid Tapes label and receiving airplay from the late great John Peel. Then in 1991 the band went on what would become a 17 year hiatus until reforming in 2008. I’ve yet to hear any of their music from the 80s, but I have heard their 2010 Fruits de Mer single, which featured an excellent tripped out psych song and a cool cover of the Stones’ We Luv You.

And now Fruits de Mer (on their Regal Crabomophone sub-label) have a new 3-song single by The Chemistry Set, consisting of two originals and a cover of Hallucinations, originally recorded by Tomorrow. Ya gotta love the title of the opening song, Come Kiss Me Vibrate And Smile. It’s a fast-paced and catchy psych rocker with old time 60s organ, fuzz guitar, and cool effects. But the Chems really go into space on Time To Breathe. It starts off sounding like Porpupine Tree circa The Sky Moves Sideways, though this 6 minute song gradually morphs into a slightly different direction. The vocals are beautiful and the guitar licks – the star of the show for me – are seductively spaced out. This is an accessible pop song that takes the time to develop and explore. Rounding out the set is a cover of the 1968 song Hallucinations by Tomorrow, who for those of you not in the know included Twink and Prog guitar god Steve Howe in their ranks. The Chemistry Set are pretty much faithful to the original but have a much fuller sound, probably due to modern production capabilities, and we get a brief ripping guitar solo that Howe apparently didn’t feel inspired to crank out on the original.

The single will be available mid-October and is limited to 800 copies, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!

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

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

When I received this promo I thought Anton Barbeau’s name sounded familiar. I checked the Aural Innovations index and saw that one of my writers reviewed the Sacramento based singer-songwriter’s 2006 In The Village of the Apple Sun album some years ago, making analogies with Robyn Hitchcock and Julian Cope, which is interesting because Barbeau covers songs by both those artists on his first Fruits de Mer release. So I went back and gave a listen to In The Village of the Apple Sun, rolling my eyes at the thought of yet another talent that had flown too far under my radar (it tends to happen when I get promos that others end up covering). Wow, what a killer set of well-crafted, produced and arranged psychedelic songs! And that’s just this one album; the guy has a discography of nearly 20 albums dating back to 1993. Furthermore, I see in the promo sheet that accompanies the FDM single that Barbeau is currently playing around the UK in a trio called Three Minute Tease, consisting of himself, Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor from Robyn Hitchcock’s Soft Boys/Egyptians.

Ok, so, this new FDM single: Psychedelic Mynde Of Moses is a previously unreleased version of an existing Anton Barbeau song. I’ve not heard the original, but this is a nice catchy psych song, and even if I didn’t read it in the promo sheet I’d have known the guitar solos were by Nick “Bevis Frond” Saloman. The first of two covers is Barbeau’s interpretation of Robyn Hitchock’s Sometimes I Wish I Was A Pretty Girl, a wild ride of a rocker, with a combination of intensity and whimsy that I enjoyed, and some pretty crazy lyrics. Finally, we’ve got a pop-psych-punk-spacerock cover of Julian Cope’s Out Of My Mind On Dope And Speed, with frantic tribal drumming and freaked out electronics. This is the hands down highlight of the set for me.

The single will be available mid-October and is limited to 800 copies, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!

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

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Bag Of Hammers is the first full length Linus Pauling Quartet album since 2007’s All Things Are Light and picks up where that album left off, being a 41 minute ultra-heavy blast of stoned psychedelic metal and rock ‘n roll. In fact, this is one of the most STONED albums I’ve heard all year, and while I’ll bet most reviewers will call it Stoner Rock, I hesitate to tag the music as such. I love psychedelically inclined Stoner Rock but have been frustrated by how generic it’s become. I mean, all the bands seem to sound the same for chrissakes. Not LP4. Despite the Quartet of their name, there are five members, three of which are guitarists, and the entire set is a rocking guitar assault with mega-riffage, lots of jam bits and solos. Bag Of Hammers is a heavy ROCK album that brings together 70s styled hard rock, Metal and good old rock ‘n roll, and gives it all a solid Psychedelic infusion. No need to do my usual analysis of individual tracks, except I’ll say that the nearly 9 minute stoned, spaced out, Hendrix-like Stonebringer is my favorite of the set, and Victory Gin has a psychy 60s rock ‘n roll vibe while still sticking to the heavy stoned theme of the album.

All the tracks, though including lots of jamming, are structured songs, and the band have really got it together throughout. That said, I do miss the more freeform improvisational side of LP4. But that’s a just a wishlist for the future. Bag Of Hammers will easily make my best of 2012 list.

In summary, note the cover art… a Red Sonja figure with a hammer twice her size standing on a skull strewn hill. Listen to this album and YOU will be one of those skulls.

For more information you can visit the The Linus Pauling Quartet web site at: http://www.worshipguitars.org/LP4/

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Released in 2010 but recorded in the years prior to 2007’s All Things Are Light, Horns Of Ammon is a 7 track, 36 minute set that highlights the somewhat lighter side of LP4. Now when I say “lighter”, I should emphasize that I’m writing about this CD immediately after having been immersed in the decidedly NOT-light new Bag Of Hammers (see review above), so this is pure brain massage compared to that album.

The set opens with the folky rocking Lost It All. I like the combination of acoustic and electric guitars, including a tasteful acidic lead, and the organ is a nice touch too. Nowhere demonstrates how LP4 can do a cool grooving song, yet still inject it with plenty of acid rocking heaviness. Fans of the Bevis Frond’s acid-minstrel tunes will dig this one. The aptly-titled Monster is similar, but with an acid-damaged garage rocking vibe. Porno In the Sink is a fun rocking party tune, except I’ll spare you what I could guess the song is about. Concubine is part acid-folk song and part fun grooving rocker similar to Porno In The Sink, and includes tasty wah-bending guitar solos. I’ve Been Down is the most laid back song of the set, consisting of a dreamy, sorta country-psych flavor, and we’re treated to still more tasteful melodic psych guitar solos. Finally, the nearly 11 minute HAWG!!! serves up a fun discourse on stoned psychedelic Blues.

I’ve been following LP4 for years and one of the things that keeps them so interesting is the varied ground they cover. In fact, I think both Horns Of Ammon and the new Bag Of Hammers together might be a good introduction to what the band are about for newcomers.

For more information you can visit the The Linus Pauling Quartet web site at: http://www.worshipguitars.org/LP4/

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Vali Ohm is the work of super-Hawkfan Danny Jackson, who has written the bulk of 3000 Light Years, supplied most of the vocals and played most of the instruments. Amongst the guest musicians is one Nik Turner, who even gets his own “featuring …” name check on the cover, perhaps rather cheekily, as he only appears on one track. The opportunity to record with the legendary former Hawk must have been like a dream come true for Jackson, who goes on to list his other inspirations as Ozric Tentacles and Frank Zappa, as well as ’70’s rock titans Bowie, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. The album artwork looks pretty good, and the names of the tracks – Space Machine, Interstellar City and the title track – tick all the right boxes, but unfortunately the music itself never really manages to deliver. Opener Jazz Up the Spacerock fails to ignite and Club Outer Stratosphere is unlikely to get many people on the floor with tinny sound and thin vocals exhorting everybody to move and get in the groove at the titular nightclub. Having said that, 3000 Light Years does have its bright moments, most significantly on the title track, which features the much-anticipated spoken word vocal of Nik, and sounds a little like the stuff he was doing on the Space Ritual Otherworld album, as well as some nice acoustic guitar playing in the introduction, and a competent guitar solo. Jackson’s guitar playing also gets a chance to shine on album closer Home, and to a lesser extent on Space Machine. Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles for Vali Ohm is the lack of any kind of driving rhythm – there is very little bass in evidence, and the drum machines sound tired and thin. Jackson’s main strength appears to be at the keyboard, and early 1970’s Hawkwind synthesizer swoops abound throughout the album, particularly on Interstellar City. The brief, ambient track The Encounter works better than most, and Life Force 1 opens in similar style, before breaking into a jammy section that conjures up images of Secret Saucer playing a cover of Tim Blake’s Lighthouse. As a homemade labour of love, 3000 Light Years is indeed light years ahead of anything I could manage to put together, but suffers from a lack of substance and perhaps collaboration. Were Danny Jackson to lend his guitar and keyboard skills to a live rhythm section and more powerful vocalist, he would likely come up with something to match his spacerock aspirations.

Vali Ohm’s website, from which the album can be purchased is http://www.valiohm.com.
A clip of the Turner collaborative track, which features excellent graphics, can be found on the site.

Reviewed by Pat Albertson

In 2008, Argentinian progressive metal/fusion band Poseidotica delivered their second album, La Distancia (reviewed for Aural Innovations #40), which proved to be one of the most musically thrilling releases of that year. Epic album closer Las Magnitudes in particular featured passages of such beauty and power that would melt the heart of even the most jaded listener Now they are back with Cronicas Del Futuro, released on the tenth anniversary of the band’s formation in Buenos Aires. The big question is, can it live up to the awesome legacy of their previous album?

The first thing that hits you about Cronicas Del Futuro is the fantastic gatefold and die-cut packaging, worthy of such classic 1970’s album covers as In Search Of Space or Tales from Topographic Oceans. Designed as the dashboard and windscreen of some alien space vehicle, the cover features a number of interchangable cards that enable the listener to set the controls for a number of terrifying destinations, with the journey starting before the first note on the CD is even played. Anyone tossing up whether to buy Cronicas as a CD or download would do well to go for the actual disc, as the cover alone is worth the financial outlay. Perhaps that is just as well, given that the musical content clocks in at under 30 minutes, rather stingy in an age when discs can accomodate 80 minutes of music. There are no 15 minute epics this time around, with opening track Elevacion being the only one that exceeds five minutes. Surprisingly for a twin guitar band, the album opens with an eastern vaguely Tangerine Dream-esque synth pattern (courtesy of guest keyboardist Ernesto Romeo) that quickly gives way to classic rock guitar and bass riffing. The playing is highly melodic and uniformly excellent across the entire album, without once resorting to undesired and egotistical displays of guitar heroics. La Resistencia and Los Extranos give the band opportunity to rock out like an instrumental fusion of Rush and Dream Theater, while the breakdown in Dimension Vulcano and the fragile acoustic picking of Confines Del Caos show that the musicians know when to leave spaces in the void. Otra Fuga Incierta has some classy and intricate bass playing, while the self-explanatory Cyberpunk crams GBH intensity into its 71 seconds. The two minute Alunizar provides a suitable comedown experience to close the album.

Perhaps the best musicial touchstone for Poseidotica is Rush’s 1978 classic La Villa Strangiato, although unlike the subtitle of that track, Cronicas Del Futuro is anything but an exercise in self-indulgence. The absence of an epic grand finale means that the heights of La Distancia have not quite been scaled this time around, but Cronicas Del Futuro remains an essential progressive metal purchase for 2012.

The band’s website is http://www.poseidotica.com.ar
“Cronicas Del Futuro” can be purchased from All That Is Heavy at http://www.allthatisheavy.com

Reviewed by Pat Albertson

Fretboard Jungle is the new album by founding Guru Guru guitarist/vocalist Ax Genrich and his current band, which consists of Steff Bollack on drums and Mario Fadani on bass.

The album opens with the title track, which is a strange and fun combination of whimsical rock song and psychedelic space jam. Kosmic Phartz is a remake of Kosmische Phyrze, a track from Ax’s 1976 Heidelberg album. This 12+ minute instrumental starts off like the psychedelic soundtrack to a Sergio Leone film, later morphing into a jam that’s reminiscent of an early Guru Guru guitar/bass/drum excursion. It’s slow paced and has a freeform feel with cool spacey effects, tripping along for a while until returning to the opening theme, which conjures up images of Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef facing off against a kaleidoscope lightshow backdrop.

Like the title track, Sad Song has a playful feel but also a heavy psych rocking edge with lots of bubbly and wah’d melodic tripped out guitar soloing. The song, which Ax announces is “dedicated to all losers and misfits around the world”, has a wild country-pop acid-psych feel, yet Ax also fits in lots of guitar effects. Amber Suite is another combination of song and sonic exploration, starting off as an easy-paced song and later taking off into an adventures-in-sound space-psych-jazz-rock improvisation. Death Is For Dying is characterized by a dark, moody vibe from the bass and drums, which lay the foundation over which Ax creates quietly intricate guitar patterns and spacey soundscapes and effects. All three musicians direct the emotional flow of the music as this mesmerizing piece progresses.

Most of the tracks are in the 8 minute and longer range, though there are two shorter songs. Outlook Pretoria is a fun swinging dance number. And Samantha’s Rabbit is a re-recording of a song originally released on the 1973 self-titled Guru Guru album. Finally, the album closes with the nearly 14 minute Voodoo Touch/Dalai Llama, a live concert recording from 2011. The band take off on a jazz-rock jam, and I like the subtly tasteful guitar solos and intermittent ethereal vocals bits. Then they launch into Next Time See You At The Dalai Lhama, the classic STONED jam from Guru Guru’s 1970 UFO album.

In summary, there’s plenty for fans of early Guru Guru to enjoy on Fretboard Jungle, but 40 years after those seminal albums were released, Ax continues to experiment and try new ideas. There’s a lot of creativity and music that steps outside the box on this album but it’s easily missed unless listened to very closely. We’ve got songs, spaced out psychedelic jams, and stylistic variety that is difficult to describe, usually all happening at the same time. I think this album will get mixed opinions from different listeners, but I like the variety and the way Ax and his band have skillfully arranged it all, because when it comes to pioneering musicians from the 60s and early 70s that are still active I always like to hear them explore new directions rather than just appealing to long-time fans who want to hear the same kind of music they created years ago. The classic space/psych sounds are here, but Ax and band put a fresh spin on it all.

To order the CD contact Ax Genrich at: axgenrich@t-online.de
The vinyl edition is available in a run of 400 black and 100 colored from the Nasoni Records web site at: http://www.nasoni-records.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

In 2011 Cleopatra Records corralled the to-die-for triple bill of Nektar, Brainticket and Huw Lloyd-Langton for a 13 date tour of the US that started in New York City on August 17th and ended in West Hollywood on September 3rd. I caught the August 28th Cleveland show which I detailed in AI #43.

Cleopatra has released a 2-DVD set documenting the September 3rd show at the Key Club in Hollywood. This is pro shot, well recorded, and Jim Lascko’s Phenomenon of Luminosity lightshow really comes alive. I felt like I was back in Cleveland again.

Huw was the opening act on the tour and as much as I’ve enjoyed his rocking guitar over the years it’s really cool seeing him up there on his own playing acoustic songs. Of the many people that have been members of Hawkwind he is among the finest all around musician that has ever served aboard the mothership. Huw strums away, sings songs, and shares humorous banter. A highlight of Huw’s set is when Joel Vandroogenbroeck from Brainticket joins him on stage for a stunningly beautiful flute-guitar duo on Solitary Mind Games. The interplay between the two is wonderful, with a loose acoustic-jazz-spiritual flavor. This was a real treat because I’m pretty sure they didn’t do this when I saw the show in Cleveland. Another surprise which definitely didn’t happen in Cleveland was members of Nektar and Brainticket joining Huw on stage for a full band space rocking and jamming Rocky Paths… WOW! This alone is worth the price of the DVDs. There’s also an interview with Huw but it’s all too brief, less than two minutes and nothing in the way of real information.

Huw Lloyd-Langton set list: Wars Are The Hobby Here, Hurry On Sundown, Solitary Mind Games, Rocky Paths, Wind Of Change, Intro from Dust Of Time

Though often described as a Krautrock band, and the music certainly did fit comfortably with the German experimental bands of the early 1970s, Brainticket was formed by Joel Vandroogenbroeck, a Belgian living in Switzerland. From 1971-1974 Brainticket released three albums of psychedelic-experimental music that are essential for anyone interested in the early 70s Kosmiche bands. Accompanying Joel on this touring version of Brainticket were Farflung members Tommy Grenas on bass, Andrew Scott on guitar, and Rodney Rodrigues on drums, plus Len del Rio was on keyboards. Tommy and Len have been among the more prolific and progressive artists on the space rock scene of the last 15 or so years, having played together in Pressurehed, Anubian Lights, Nik Turner’s band, and numerous other projects. On vocals was Abby Travis, who I’d not heard of before this tour, but has several albums of her own and has played in the Bangles and Eagles of Death Metal, among others.

The Key Club set pretty much reproduces what I saw in Cleveland, and it’s as mind-blowing here as it was when it unfolded before my eyes in Ohio. This is early 70s cosmic progressive ROCK music at it most potent and intense. The band is tight as a knot, Abby Travis is an electrifying front-woman, and it was behind Brainticket that Jim Lascko’s lightshow was at its most hypnotic. Anyone into Space Rock, Krautrock, and classic Progressive Rock should check out this set to see just how powerful a solid ROCK band with visuals can be when experienced live. Revisiting this performance almost a year to the day when I saw the show in Cleveland I have to say that Brainticket live was THE number one musical experience of 2011 for me. There’s also an interview with Joel, but like the Huw interview Joel speaks for barely a minute and… not enough time or specific questions for any substance.

Brainticket set list: Black Sand, Like A Place in The Sun, Egyptian Kings, Places Of Light, One Morning, Coc’o Mary, Watching You, Hear Me, Help Me

The second DVD is all Nektar and their set at the Key Club was similar to what I saw in Cleveland but with some glaring differences. They close out with Fidgety Queen, whereas in Cleveland they didn’t play anything from the Down To Earth album. And I was shocked to hear no Remember The Future on this Key Club performance.

Founding members Roye Albrighton (guitar and vocals) and Ron Howden (drums) are here, with Klaus Henatsch on keyboards and Lux Vibratus (from Helios Creed’s band) on bass, standing in for regular member Peter Pichl. Their set is a great mixture of classic 70s Nektar and newer songs recorded since reforming for the Nearfest progressive rock festival in 2002. I loved Nektar in the 70s because they covered so much ground, from space rock, to psychedelia, hard rock and prog rock. And that cross section is reflected nicely in this performance. The band are hot and Roye is still a SMOKING guitarist. The interview is a little longer, about 3 minutes (yeah, right, WOW!) with Roye, Ron and Klaus commenting on the tour.

Nektar set list: A Tab In The Ocean, Desolation Valley, Waves, Doctor Kool, King Of The Deep, Where Are You Now?, A Day In The Life Of A Preacher, Mr. H, Recycled, Fidgety Queen.

In summary, if you couldn’t make any of these shows last year you should run as quickly as possible to pick up this set.

For more information visit the Cleopatra Records web site at: http://www.cleorecs.com
CLICK HERE to read my writeup of the Cleveland show year, including Brainticket and Nektar profiles and interviews, plus a review of the fantastic Brainticket Vintage Anthology box set from Cleopatra.

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

When I started Aural Innovations in 1998 the bands on the heavier end of the space rock scene that I was enamored with were Spacehead in the UK and Born to Go in the US. The latter, sadly, never gained the attention they deserved due to having played lots of gigs and festivals (I saw them several times) and making miscellaneous sound files available on the internet but never released an album. And then the really good heavy bands got few and far between for a while. While listening to the new Litmus album, their fourth – Slaughterbahn – I took a peak at my 2002 review of one of their earlier cassette releases which begins – “Now here’s something I hear surprisingly little of anymore. Genuine 100% unfiltered non-pasteurized SPACE ROCK!”

I was pretty fired up about their brand of Space Rock ‘n Roll and remained that way over two cassette releases and their first three official albums. The first thing I noticed about Slaughterbahn is that there aren’t any particularly lengthy tracks. But that’s just an observation by the old time Proghead in me. Litmus are really more about structured songs than multiple thematic transitions because they are, at their core, a rock ‘n roll band with Punk and Metal influences and a deep space aesthetic, utilizing Mellotron and synths and lyrics that speak to the stars and beyond.

Slaughterbahn consists of 12 songs, clocks in at 47 minutes, and left me gasping for breath, the album playing mostly non-stop throughout with few breathers in between. Litmus come barreling out of the starting gate with Deeper. The guitars are blazing, the Mellotron provides its trademark singing strings, and we’ve got waves of space synths. I love how the guitar solo increasingly rips as the Mellotron rises to ear-splitting pitches along with it. Without missing a beat the band launch into the punked out Space Rock ‘n Roll of Spark. It’s got cool guitar solos and Litmus pack a knockout punch, ending on a spaced out metallic slam dunk. And then BOOM… they roll directly into the speedy Punk-Space-Metal of Breakout.

And that’s what this album is about. The band do take some detours. Static provides the listen with a breather, being one of the slower paced yet still intense songs of the set. And the music on Streamers has an almost New Wave-ish feel, making a cool and interesting contrast to the rest of the album. But this is primarily classic Litmus styled Space Rock ‘n Roll. Satellites is a highlight. I love the way these guys combine aggressive guitar chords, Melloton and synths. Last Man Standing is a wee bit different, serving up Space Rock ‘n Roll with Metal and classic Psych rock infusions and a jam section with a freeform feel. Sleepless took me a little by surprise, starting off like Doom Metal, but then the Mellotron and synths join in and SMACK!!!… it’s rocking Space-Punk-Metal, later ending on the ominous opening Doom+Tron theme. Very cool.

In summary, Litmus STILL got it. If you like your Space Rock song-oriented, heavy rocking, yet deep in space, this is for you. As the banner says when you open the CD case, and is repeated multiple times at the end of the title track – “Always changing, Always the same”. This is adventurous yet highly accessible Rock ‘n Roll from the cosmos. And Litmus continue to sound like Litmus… not many bands really have their own recognizable sounds these days.

The last two albums were on the Rise Above Records label and with Slaughterbahn the band are back to self-releasing so I’m crossing my fingers they don’t suffer significant distribution setbacks. They deserve the exposure.

For more information you can visit the Litmus web site at: http://www.litmusmusic.co.uk

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz