BARYCZ - ANNA NACHER AND MAREK STYCZYNSKI

(LP from Infinite Expanse)

This is a brilliant slab of psychedelic eco-acoustic progressive ambience from two old friends of ours, Anna Nacher and Marek Styczynski. We first interviewed Marek back in 1998 for Ptolemaic Terrascope issue 25 when he was leader of the Polish  psychedelic/acid folk collective Atman. Anna Nacher joined the band just in time for their final album in 1999, and together Anna and Marek conceived their new project, Projekt Karpaty Magiczne (The Magic Carpathians Project) which went on to release an almost countless number of recordings over the ensuing years. Jeff Penczak interviewed them for us again in 2005, and the duo performed for us memorably at Terrastock 6 in Providence, Rhode Island the following year. The Magic Carpathians Project is generally known for their skilful instrumental improvisation built around the patterns of the ethnic music of Eastern Europe and beyond, but for ‘Barycz’, originally released on CD in 2004 and now embodied for the first time in the vinyl format just as God intended, the duo conjure up a spectral symbiosis of birdcall, field recording, zither, and, rather appropriately, reed instruments, all captured amongst the eerie wetlands of Poland’s Barycz Valley, which is something of a biodiversity hotspot in itself. ‘Barycz’ occupies a virtually uncategorizable zone of its own, somewhere betwixt ritualistic, eco-acoustic jazz-psych and ambient. Birdsong, amphibian croak and insect chatter – 35 different species in all on this one record alone – are all arranged with uncanny sensitivity into a trippy world of sound, one where folk-lore dissolves into a post-industrial visionary New Reality led by devotional chant. I’m strongly reminded of Tara Burke's Fursaxa, who coincidentally (or maybe it wasn’t?) also appeared at Terrastock 6. Fursaxa’s music was always  a web of paradoxes. At once post-modern and medieval, technologically-aware and lo-fi, part of a free folk movement and sui generis, albums such as her ‘Alone in the Dark Wood’ (recorded both in Tara's native Philadelphia and in Finland) have often sounded like the perfect accompaniment to the unmaking of the world. Similarly subtly haunted by recent ecological distress in the region, ‘Barycz’ is a fascinating sonic refuge that both offers hope and entertainment. I love it, and I think you will too.

(Phil McMullen)

EL SAGUARO – ENTHUSIECSTASY EP

(LP, Digital on bandcamp)

The tags at the bottom of El Saguaro’s bandcamp page say “70s hard rock, 70s rock, rock, heavy psych rock, psych rock, psychedelic rock, Lisbon.”  Is that a suitable description?  The explosive power trio hails from Lisbon, Portugal (see above) and have launched like a million flaming arrows on their debut EP.  They consist of Lucas Hugues on guitar and lead vocal, André Horta on bass, and João Ferreira on drums, with assistance from Marco Lima on keys/synths.  All these guys strut confidently in and proceed to knock your socks off.

The four track, 24 minute EP is kind of a sampler of the different styles within styles, tempos, tones and even languages El Saguaro has to offer.  Even the individual songs sometimes tend to be almost medleys, as they shift and change (or strip) gears.  Erupting forth on the riff from Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” played at about Mach 7, lead track “Ticket to Fly” just rips.  Lucas Hugues’ guitar playing is smoking, equal parts funky and filthy, and his singing is pretty stunning, too. Horta’s bass and Ferreira’s drumming are locked in airtight.  The rhythm section is both creative and pulsing.  The track swerves and jives until it altogether jumps the tracks onto a different highway.  I once saw someone in a bowling alley accidentally launch the ball airborne in which it landed in the next lane over and continued its journey.  That’s what El Saguaro does here, albeit with more skill.  Ferreira plays a drum solo with Horta goading him on with his bass until Hugues piles on with some blazing guitar work that takes us back to the beginning motif.  The Hendrix Experience comparisons are heavy with this one.  It’s a “Ticket to Fly” indeed.

You’ll need to catch your breath after that one, so on “Viaje,” this time sung in their native Portuguese, they slow things down to a bluesy, mellow nocturnal number – for a while.  Midway through the track, as if to say ‘enough with this chillout business,’ Hugues steps in with a lengthy, blistering guitar solo.  Man, can this dude play.  Horta and Ferreira back him with a jazzy sounding rhythm that works perfectly.

The instrumental “Nazaré” likewise starts out in a quiet, relaxing pace.  But you can just forget about any thoughts of rest and relaxation or catching up on your knitting, as the band soon takes off into another hard rocking guitar boogie for the duration.  It’s impressive how you can hear clearly all three members contributing to the whole sound.  On closer “Slow n’ Easy,” we’re back to English vocals and more excellent singing by Hugues.  It may start out in relative serenity, but by this time, you weren’t fooled by that title “Slow n’ Easy,” were you?  Right you are, because again it shifts into another freakout, with Hugues shredding between distortion and wah-wah and Horta and Ferreira laying down a terrific groove, and we’re all the better for it.

This is a smashing debut by El Saguaro.  In just 24 minutes over four songs of hard rocking, they span many influences, styles, tempos and tones, and play like virtuoso badasses.  I also want to give a shoutout to EchoEcho Illustrations for the cover art.  Both the front and back covers are some of the best artwork I’ve seen on a debut EP in a long time.  Well done, all.

(Mark Feingold)

DUNCAN PARK – PATH TO THE GALLOWS

(LP on Carbon Records and Feeding Tube)

The first thing that’ll strike you about this exquisitely packaged LP, a co-release on the Carbon and Feeding Tube imprints (a collaboration which has also seen releases by Terrascope favourites Eric Arn and Handful of Dust amongst others), is the striking cover art by Cam Löfstrand. It’s digitally created, but in the style of an etching and was designed to be screen-printed by hand. It serves as a perfect representation of the contents, an album of songs all loosely connected by the title, ‘Path to the Gallows’. What’s hidden at first glimpse however is the musical expertise of the artist himself, Duncan Park. Opening (once the hand-held cassette tape recorder is rolling) with the twelve-minute long progressive folk extravaganza ‘A Moon Possessed Corpse’, Duncan treats us to some dazzling semi-acoustic guitar playing in the style of Six Organs of Admittance accompanied by his dog Sage yowling in the background – shades of Iceberg’s ‘Crosby: Second Class Citizen Blues’ on which Crosby the dog (once one of three dogs resident at Deke Leonard’s pad: you can probably guess what the other two were named) took over the mic for an interlude between tracks. Instead of a doggie interlude however, after closing out ‘A Moon Possessed Corpse’ with some gorgeous fingerstyle guitar which reminded me in a good way of Josh Kimbrough’s ‘Sunbathing Water Snake’ (from the album ‘Slither, Soar and Disappear’), although others have invoked the names Bert Jansch, Robbie Basho and Daniel Bachman by way of comparison, and I can see that too; anyway after the twelve minutes are up Duncan chooses to document his own thoughts on tape on ‘Talking and Tuning’, setting the recording in a particular moment like a sepia photo while he tunes and warms up, preparing us for the torrent of banjo played in the American primitive style entitled ‘Flood Warning’.  Then on the excellent ‘Leaving Beeston Blues’ (I should add here that although Duncan is based in South Africa, ‘Path To The Gallows’ was recorded partly in Beeston, UK and partly back in Durban) Duncan reverts to the gentler acoustic guitar style, this time with a backwash of keyboard sounds. Finally the Basho-esque ‘Weaver’s Nest’ dissolves into a minute or two of chirping insects, wind chimes, tape hiss and almost inevitably a farewell from both Duncan and Sage-dog. What a lovely way to end a really quite magical record, one which you’ll find plenty of reward in playing over and over.

(Phil McMullen)

ANTON BARBEAU - MUSIK FOR ENTITIES 2

Available on Bandcamp

A self-described soundtrack for “D-tripping” (think Gaspar Noe’s Enter The Void over against Lennon’s voyages), Barbeau’s follow-up to February’s Antbient 1: Music For Entities is another headphone extravaganza as a warm shower of synths (Sequential Trigon and Prophet 6) envelops you in an “Antbient” glow of marshmallow numbness. There’s a playful gaiety to ‘Trigon Hypnotherapy’ that will sooth even the most savage breast. Evocative blips and bubbly giggles conjure memories of Beaver and Krause, New Age icons Kitaro and Aeoliah, and Krautrockin’ anesthetists Tangerine Dream. As each synth creates its own sequence like some AI keyboard gone amok, the melodies flow in and around each other like a DNA strand of musical ecstasy. Keep calm and enjoy the trip, floating downstream on a raft of analog bliss. At fifteen minutes, it never wanders off-target and could probably continue for another fifteen without losing our attention.

     ‘Dueling Seq’ (a punny reference to Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith’s bluegrass shuffle popularized by Eric Weissberg and Stephen Mandell in Deliverance?) presents a bit of a wobbly atmosphere -  perhaps a blip in your spaced mind continuum - and I started hallucinating an Inferno-like trip scored by Ennio Morricone and escorted by Guy Maddin and David Lynch based on a script by Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel. Holy fuck, what have I stumbled into?

     ‘T&P, Gentle/Nice’ is a comforting, chill-out comedown. Tears of ecstatic joy trickle down your cheeks - you’re gonna survive! A guided tour through the garden of your mind with waterfalls, sunshine, perfumed flora, gently rippling brooks…nirvana! I feel invigorated, refreshed, and ready for another dose of Ant musik for Ant-ities. Part 3, please!

(Jeff Penczak)

DONOVAN’S BRAIN - INSECT ACCESSORIES

Available on Career Records

For nearly 40 years, Donovan’s Brain have been exciting, enticing, and mesmerising us with their psychedelic-tinged rock extravaganzas, but their seventeenth album marks several milestones - it is (I believe) their first double album and, since the tragic demise of three members in 2021/2022 (Ric Parnell, Bobby Sutliff, and Tom Stephens) their first as a trio. For a band that has featured contributions from members of Rain Parade, Man, Help Yourself, the dBs, Radio Birdman, Young Fresh Fellows, The Posies, The Idle Race, et. al., releasing an album (let alone a double) with three core members can be a daunting task. But the Brain are up to the challenge. Recorded mostly over the past two years (the Brain are well known for their extensive catalogue of completed recordings in search of an album and a few of Scott Sutherland’s tracks date from 2017), the album feels fresh and full of energy- not like a revisit and polishing off of sometimes years-old tracks. All three members contribute songs, although the majority come from the pens of stalwarts Ron Sanchez and Sutherland. Drummer Joe Adragna had enormous shoes to fill with Ric Parnell’s passing in 2022 and comfortably settles in, adding some guitar, bass, keys, and vocals.

     Eschewing the typical Side 1, 2, 3, and 4 or A, B, C, and D, the band have cleverly adopted the punny “Asides,” “Besides”, “Seasides”, and “Decides”, adding a bit of levity to the package such that we’re already in a good mood before the laser hits the disc. Sutherland’s ‘And Now I’m Looking’ kicks off with fireworks guitar lines bursting through its inviting melody that draws us and leaves us eagerly anticipating anther satisfying outing. Adragna’s spacey ‘Run From Me’ floats around the room on the back of Sanchez’s mesmerizing Minimonsta and Mellotron, while ‘Your Philosophy’ (originally considered in 2017) settles down in the style of one of Brian Wilson’s pocket symphonies. ‘Alien Infusion’ is another kettle of fish altogether. Ricocheting from pop to progressive to blistering guitar solos that tiptoe into heavy metal, it’s one of the band’s more complicated arrangements, but the trio keep everything together and what could have disintegrated into muddled mush stands out as an early highlight. The sharp ending seems to drop off before Sutherland is finished with his solo, adding to the song’s unease and placing it squarely in the “improves with repeat listens” category.

     ‘They Are Not There’ has a complicated backstory (read all about it and the other tracks here) and is actually a reworking of a song originally began life back in 2018 with Parnell and Deniz Tek. Shelved from several albums, the trio reworked it with some striking guitar solos from Sutherland and rapid-fire drumming from Adragna and it finally finds a home and an excellent addition it is with its dreamy psychedelic feel with hints of Floyd and Crimson. ‘No One Listens Anymore’ is a lightweight pop dittie that kicks off “Besides.” A welcome respite from the “heaviosity” we’ve encountered on “Asides.” Sanchez has a little fun with the sequencing, following ‘No One Listens Anymore’ with ‘No One’s Answering’, serving as both a call and response and “answer song”  The latter is also one of Sutherland’s more infectious numbers. There may be a hit single lurking in there somewhere!

     ‘Clouded Memory’ is eerily haunting, yet magnetically unforgettable with an appropriately sly nod to Opal via its “Happy Nightmare Baby” lyric. The musicologist in all of us (and there are few musicians with such a vast musical knowledge as Sanchez) will appreciate the reference. ‘One Thin Soul’ keeps us in the haunted house - sequencing is key to Brain albums, as Sanchez works meticulously to get the segues to flow seamlessly. This one has a bit of a Claypool Lennon Delirium vibe to it. ‘Layered Sky’ is one of the older songs on the album and it went through several revisions before  arriving at what you hear here (yes, musicologists, I worked on that one for a while!) It fits perfectly in this sequence, making “Besides” one of the Brain’s darkest sides. Young Fresh Fellow/Minus 5 compadre Scott McCaughey stepped in with some ideas for ‘Sea Legs’ [the song, not the meal] which drops in a rather familiar riff (that I’ll leave to you to recall) throughout its otherwise rather dreamy fabric. Another Wilsonesque montage sends the track in several directions before a smooth landing. And with that, we complete disc 1.

     “Seasides” begins, appropriately with Adragna’s sorrowful ecological warning ‘Maybe They Couldn’t Fly’ segueing brilliantly into Sanchez’s dream-inspired ‘Never Arriving’ with several tasty guitar nods to Spirit and Randy California (Caution: Musicologist At Work ). Ron’s recording notes for Scott’s ‘Useless Things’ suggest a Help Yourself influence, never a bad thing, particularly Scott’s dreamy guitar solo which has Richard Treece’s fingers all over it, even if not an intentional tribute to their late bandmate.

     We’re into the homestretch as we flip over to “Decides” for Sutherland’s bright and spritely pop psych ‘Matter Of Fact.’ The trio all contribute guitar which adds an extra shimmer to the mix and fills out the sound magnificently. I’m hearing a bit of Neil and Crazy Horse is Ron’s ‘I Never Lied’, another three-pronged guitar attack with Joe’s solo unleashing another hidden asset: I don’t know of many bands whose drummer can double on guitar so effectively! By the time Scott’s ‘Day After Anything Goes’ saunters into the room on the back of a fiery resonator guitar it’s becoming clear this is the “rawking” side of the album. Another scorching solo from Adragna seals it.

     ‘Not A Home’ is essentially a Sanchez solo track with Joe’s drumming appended. It’s slows down the pace a bit, but this only helps us gather our thoughts to enjoy a little navel gazing. Perhaps the “proggiest” track in the set, Sanchez’ piano, B3, minimonsta, string machine, and mellotron adding to the atmosphere. Saving some of the good stuff for the end, Scott’s ‘Starring You’ rocks out and touches all the psych bases. A couple of organ solos and slide from Ron and a gruff and tumble vocal from Scott sent my mind into a Camper Van Beethoven tailspin, but I recovered long enough to search the grey matter for that familiar guitar stomp kicking off Adragna’s closer ‘When You Try.’ I still haven’t figured it out, but that’s the fun of diving into a Donovan’s Brain album. These subtle little Easter Eggs keep us on our toes and keep us coming back for more. As is typical of the Brain, the gang are already thinking ahead to the next one. In the meantime, let’s enjoy all the treats on display!

(Jeff Penczak)

THE RIGHT HAND IS DOOMED TO BLACKEN - GREENBRIDGE 12.11.24

Available on Cruel Nature and from the band

This enigmatic project is the debut release from an international trio comprising Australian singer/songwriter Michael Plater, Italian multi-instrumentalist Massimiliano Gallo, and Greek electronica artist Tasos Koromilas. The album captures the trio’s titular live, improvised performance recorded during Plater’s 10-day residency at the Greenbridge arts space in Trikala, Greece. Assisted by Tasos on synths and Massimilano on violin, piano, melodica, and percussion, the three lengthy pieces run the gamut from cinematic soundscapes, meditative jazz tinklings, and motorik psych rock to darkwave, acid folk, neo-noir, and navelgazing contemplative thousand yard stares with progressive annotations.

     Opener ‘Spiral’ hints at experimental explorers like fellow countrymen The Necks and meditative jazzers Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, with Plater’s gloomy, doomy deep vocals recalling Nick Cave in his most depressed, Gothic ballad phase. ‘Antipodes’ tenderly picks up the thread, Plater’s spoken word stream-of-conscience lyrics adding hauntological elements while a molasses-slow backing trickles down your spine like hot lava searing into your soul. Gallo’s ominous violin touches waft around your skull like smoke curling heavenward in some nefarious back alley den of iniquity populated by hookah-smoking caterpillars and evil-eye twitchers ready to pounce.

     The closing half-hour centrepiece ‘We Gather The Fragments’ introduces a krautrock influence via Koromilas’s repetitive synth beat serpentining over, under, sideways, and ‘round Gallo’s searching piano notes as disorienting, far-off atmospherics prepare us for Plater’s hypnotic pronouncements. Synth bleeps and burps giggle at Gallo’s melodica interjections and I felt I had stumbled into one of Nico’s hallucinogenic performances. Like all great improvisations, we’re not sure where these cosmic explorations are leading us - perhaps they don’t know either, but it’s exciting to join them on the trip! A perfect example of the old adage, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

(Jeff Penczak)

BALTHVS – FLESH AND SOUL

(Bandcamp)

BALTHVS, the three-piece band from Bogota, Columbia is a mostly instrumental psychedelic combo who combine moody laid-back atmospheric grooves with clean toned, heavily reverbed lead guitar.  They blend a wealth of ethnic and international musical styles and flavors including psych, surf, Middle Eastern, funk, disco, House and Cumbia.  Their sound shares a lot in common with artists like Khruangbin and Hermanos Gutiérrez, but they ably carve their own path.  The band is Balthazar Aguirre on guitar and vocals, Santiago Lizcano on drums and vocals, and Johanna Mercuriana on bass and vocals.  Mercuriana has recently been on maternity leave and Vanessa “Vane” Cejudo has been sitting in for her on stage and in the studio.  Aguirre is a former attorney who had a personal reckoning after a near-fatal rock-climbing accident and decided to pursue his dream of music.  Lucky us!

Since forming in 2019, they’ve been burning it up as hard-working, veritable recording and touring machine, churning out four albums and tons of singles, with millions of streams and appearances at many major festivals and concerts. This year they’ve been touring at times with the bands Lettuce and My Morning Jacket.

Flesh and Soul may be a brief 14-minute, four-track EP, but as such it’s a perfect sampler for you to explore and decide whether to dive further into their catalogue.  If you’re like me and the result was an emphatic YES, the natural next step is their immediately previous LP, 2024’s Harvest.  That album is very similar in sound, but with a few more vocal tracks.  Flesh and Soul has one vocal track, “Mood Swing (Principles of Rhythm),” with its whispery female-led vocals more of a background ornamentation.

My favorite of the four tracks is “Year of the Snake.”  It’s an infectious booty shaker, with a superb rhythm combining a funky African or Middle Eastern groove line, fabulous bass playing, drums and congas, and just a hint of mysterious vocals.  Balthazar Aguirre’s guitar steers the way, halfway between a narcotic burning Saharan haze and an exotic spice market.  The title track is also outstanding, a noirish, mystical cut oozing with style.

BALTHVS’s hard work recording and touring is beginning to pay off as their profile continues to expand.  Spare yourself 14 minutes for Flesh and Soul and come out of it a fan.

(Mark Feingold)