Peace! Hypnosis! ... Heaviness? Let's get psychedlic, Baby!
THE MIRACLE SEEDS - Nuclear Watermelon (transparent red vinyl LP) (2025)
To attentive Psych lovers the name may sound very familiar. And yes, this basically is the sophomore album of Jack McAfee's Tibetian Miracle Seeds after "Inca Missiles" from 2021. The difference however is that - even though the Scottish multi-instrumentalist still accumulates a lot of credits - the slightly renamed project has officially become a real band now. But already the title of the opening track "I Am The Sherpa" ensures that the Himalayan connection cannot be missed.
As if the music wasn't enough to recognize the artist! The basic ingredients are the same: late 60's / early 70's vibe Psych Rock with lots of beautifully layered sparkling, echoing, fuzzing and rocking guitars, dreamy analogue synth work and super clean vocal harmonies. Yet even though most of the guitars and keys - and all vocals and bass lines we hear - are still played by McAfee, the prevalent combination of him and one of two alternating drummers is enough to convey a full band feeling. Tibetian Miracle Seeds already did this successfully too, but the natural dynamics and live vibes of The Miracle Seeds make it even more convincing.
Where "Inca Missiles" relied quiety heavily on the Indian sitar-like sound cliché, "Nuclear Watermelon" has reduced the gimmicks a little bit in favour of just plain better songwriting.
What hasn't changed though is that I still cannot listen to this music at any given moment. If I'm not in the right mood I might ask myelf what this hippie stuff does in my collection. On an Autobahn night-drive only half a day later it might be the greatest timeless trip ever. Let's say the chance that I love it can be estimated around eighty percent, tendency growing.
In the car I would of course play the digital version, which even contains a sweet little three-minute bonus track. The 12" physical copy from Fuzzed Up & Astromoon Records as compensation comes on nice red vinyl, with a thick cardboard lyric sheet and a distinctive cover artwork, which - as you can easily spot - comes from Noguchi Shimura, the same artist who worked for Minami Deutsch on "Fortune Goodies". Very nice!
As if the music wasn't enough to recognize the artist! The basic ingredients are the same: late 60's / early 70's vibe Psych Rock with lots of beautifully layered sparkling, echoing, fuzzing and rocking guitars, dreamy analogue synth work and super clean vocal harmonies. Yet even though most of the guitars and keys - and all vocals and bass lines we hear - are still played by McAfee, the prevalent combination of him and one of two alternating drummers is enough to convey a full band feeling. Tibetian Miracle Seeds already did this successfully too, but the natural dynamics and live vibes of The Miracle Seeds make it even more convincing.
Where "Inca Missiles" relied quiety heavily on the Indian sitar-like sound cliché, "Nuclear Watermelon" has reduced the gimmicks a little bit in favour of just plain better songwriting.
What hasn't changed though is that I still cannot listen to this music at any given moment. If I'm not in the right mood I might ask myelf what this hippie stuff does in my collection. On an Autobahn night-drive only half a day later it might be the greatest timeless trip ever. Let's say the chance that I love it can be estimated around eighty percent, tendency growing.
In the car I would of course play the digital version, which even contains a sweet little three-minute bonus track. The 12" physical copy from Fuzzed Up & Astromoon Records as compensation comes on nice red vinyl, with a thick cardboard lyric sheet and a distinctive cover artwork, which - as you can easily spot - comes from Noguchi Shimura, the same artist who worked for Minami Deutsch on "Fortune Goodies". Very nice!
FABRICCIO DE LA MORA - Grand Unified Theories (clear/splatter vinyl LP) (2025)
The records of the next two alliterating artists have been released by Necio Records. The instrumental trio of Mexican guitar/bass/synth player Fabriccio De La Mora is mostly characterized by its strong emphasis of analogue space trip synthesizers juxtaposed to a very Garage Rock raw rhythm guitar and steady drum grooves without unnecessary ornaments.
Straight-forward neu!ish Kraut Rock alternates with Berlin style Ambient pieces, while side A also closes with a surprisingly heavy helicoperish Drone interlude.
Here and there Spaghetti Western guitars take the spotlight, paired with a Punk rhythm section in "M-theory" or in full cinematic glory to a marching beat in "Loop Quantum Gravity".
Actually it's hard to come to general unfified conclusions about "Grand Unified Theories", which really apply to all seven pieces without exception. The main similarity is that all fourty minutes of this release are just cool stuff.
The cover artwork and the transparent splatter vinyl are a perfect match to each other, so Fabriccio De La Mora is also a winner in that regard.
Straight-forward neu!ish Kraut Rock alternates with Berlin style Ambient pieces, while side A also closes with a surprisingly heavy helicoperish Drone interlude.
Here and there Spaghetti Western guitars take the spotlight, paired with a Punk rhythm section in "M-theory" or in full cinematic glory to a marching beat in "Loop Quantum Gravity".
Actually it's hard to come to general unfified conclusions about "Grand Unified Theories", which really apply to all seven pieces without exception. The main similarity is that all fourty minutes of this release are just cool stuff.
The cover artwork and the transparent splatter vinyl are a perfect match to each other, so Fabriccio De La Mora is also a winner in that regard.
FAMILIA DE LOBOS - Familia de Lobos (red vinyl LP) (2018/2025)
The second Necio Records album of this bunch is this reissue of Familia De Lobos' - as far as I know - only album from 2018. It comes on red vinyl (a white pressing is also still available) and for the first hundred people, who pre-ordered it also included a special insert with their names on it. Not my reason for buying this, but a nice little extra.
The music is a mix of Psych and Stoner Rock combined with South American Folk influences in vocals, percussions and most abviously flute. With a sincere uplifting spirit and profound atmosphere, strong melodies, layered arrangements and a powerful production this album doesn't leave anything left to be desired. Psychedelic Rock with a distinct personality half-way between the imagined Argentinian versions of Les Nadie and Mohama Saz. Awesome!
The music is a mix of Psych and Stoner Rock combined with South American Folk influences in vocals, percussions and most abviously flute. With a sincere uplifting spirit and profound atmosphere, strong melodies, layered arrangements and a powerful production this album doesn't leave anything left to be desired. Psychedelic Rock with a distinct personality half-way between the imagined Argentinian versions of Les Nadie and Mohama Saz. Awesome!
PHARAOH OVERLORD - Louhi (pink smoke vinyl LP) (2025)
Last, but probably most important, released by Rocket Recordings, comes the first proper studio album of Pharaoh Overlord since their 2020 banger "6". It's fitting that one meaning of "Louhi" comes from Finnish lore and describes an evil witch queen capable of shape-shifting, since that is also a speciality of the band.
The most obvious feature hanging over from the last record are the ridiculously hoarse and aggressive, mighty and inhumane guttural vocals unmistakenly provided by Sumac's Aaron Turner.
Where they contrasted a backdrop of heavy electronic Synthwave on "6" however, the instrumentals have changed to something more organic this time. The outlandish yet still fitting and fascinating effect of this combination persists however.
"Louhi" consists only of one piece presented in two twenty minutes long parts. Through most of this running time it's carried by a repetitive cool mid-tempo guitar riff and the permanent drone of a hurdy gurdy or nyckelharpa, so think of Earth meets France as a base. On top of that the guitars vary between Ambient textures to noisy Metal chords and solos shredding, while some synths are providing subtle atmospheric layers and others are committed to more flashy Psychedelic sparkles, Tangerine Dream and Synthwave patterns.
Given how bass and drums commit to their hypnotic part there's actually a great amount of stuff happening on this album and keeping you on your toes. The only thing Pharaoh Overlord deliberately don't care too much about is packaging all this in a coherent frame of songwriting. Everything just happens when it does and finally abruptly fades away, as if you weren't even expected to finish listening now, but just to turn the record over to side A again, a "Nonagon Infinity" style experience.
"Louhi" is a cool, very addictive Heavy Kraut ride with an original recognizable sound palette. Die Spinnen, die Finnen - and I wouldn't have it any other way.
The most obvious feature hanging over from the last record are the ridiculously hoarse and aggressive, mighty and inhumane guttural vocals unmistakenly provided by Sumac's Aaron Turner.
Where they contrasted a backdrop of heavy electronic Synthwave on "6" however, the instrumentals have changed to something more organic this time. The outlandish yet still fitting and fascinating effect of this combination persists however.
"Louhi" consists only of one piece presented in two twenty minutes long parts. Through most of this running time it's carried by a repetitive cool mid-tempo guitar riff and the permanent drone of a hurdy gurdy or nyckelharpa, so think of Earth meets France as a base. On top of that the guitars vary between Ambient textures to noisy Metal chords and solos shredding, while some synths are providing subtle atmospheric layers and others are committed to more flashy Psychedelic sparkles, Tangerine Dream and Synthwave patterns.
Given how bass and drums commit to their hypnotic part there's actually a great amount of stuff happening on this album and keeping you on your toes. The only thing Pharaoh Overlord deliberately don't care too much about is packaging all this in a coherent frame of songwriting. Everything just happens when it does and finally abruptly fades away, as if you weren't even expected to finish listening now, but just to turn the record over to side A again, a "Nonagon Infinity" style experience.
"Louhi" is a cool, very addictive Heavy Kraut ride with an original recognizable sound palette. Die Spinnen, die Finnen - and I wouldn't have it any other way.
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