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Album Review
VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF THE SONIC CATHEDRAL
Various Artists
The Psychedlic Sounds Of The Sonic Cathedral
[Sonic Cathedral]
8/10


A play on the similarly titled 13th Floor Elevators album, this is Sonic Cathedral’s tribute to both the band and its highly influential frontman, Roky Erickson. Aptly featuring a selection of thirteen artists, the record opens with a live track from fellow Austin psych rockers, The Black Angels, backing by Erickson himself, his harsh bark sharply contrasting the winding, insectile guitar limbs of ‘Roller Coaster’. Meanwhile, Dead Meadow positively nail ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, wrenching vocals and all, tapping into the sinister, stomach-churning vibe of the track and drawing out the murky blues-weighted pace. Sarabeth Tucek’s eerily sweet take on ‘Splash 1 (Now I’m Home)’ strays the furthest from its original but is also one of the most poignant covers on the compilation, effectively expressing what a diverse body of artists have been influenced by Erickson’s music.

By Polly Rappaport


ZOMBY – NOTHING
Nothing
[4AD]
6/10

Your worst fears about ‘Nothing’ are probably right. The late-year, post-album extended-play sounds like the runoff of a few constructions that didn’t make the cut for ‘Dedication’.

MILAGRES – GLOWING MOUTH
Glowing Mouth
[Memphis Industries]
3/10

Milagres are a Brooklyn-based quintet fronted by a certain Kyle Wilson, whose soaring vocal style sits somewhere between Thom Yorke and Chris Keating of Yeasayer.

FOE – BAD DREAM HOTLINE
Bad Dream Hotline
[Vertigo]
6/10

On first encounter, ‘Bad Dream Hotline’ is your standard emo-goth release – black on black cover art, tracks called things like ‘A Handsome Stranger Called Death’ and ‘Dance & Weep’.

STANDAR FARE – OUTS OF SIGHT, OUT OF TOWN
Out of Sight, Out of Town
[Melodic]
3/10

‘Out of Sight, Out of Town’ is an album that concerns itself, in the main, with casual sex.

LA VAMPIRES – SO UNREAL
So Unreal
[Not Not Fun]
8/10

When LA Vampires first released ‘So Unreal’ on a limited vinyl run in 2010 it sold out in a flash, perhaps because of its superbly kitsch artwork by Spencer Longo.

DAN MANGAN – OH FORTUNE
Oh Fortune
[Merge]
8/10

Dan Mangan is a husky-voiced, melancholic Canadian singer-songwriter who does all the things you expect husky-voiced, melancholic Canadian singer-songwriters to do.

FAVOURITE SONS – THE GREAT DEAL OF LOVE
The Great Deal of Love
[Low Rent]
7/10

Favourite Sons is the most recent project of Ken Griffin, formerly of nineties outfits Rollerskate Skinny and Kid Silver.

FRANK ALPINE – FRANK ALPINE
Frank Alpine
[Weird]
7/10

Synth enthusiasts must have been veritably jumping with joy of late (would a synth enthusiast do that sort of thing?).

MARK SULTAN – WHATEVER I WANT, WHENEVER I WANT
Whatever I Want, Whenever I Want
[In The Red]
6/10

A long lasting member of the American garage rock scene since the late Eighties, Mark Sultan has cooked up a hotpot of a new album.

THE SOUND OF ARROWS – VOYAGE
Voyage
[Low Rent]
5/10

Some very big noises are being made in the mainstream press over this Swedish duo, and their calculated pop sensibilities go a long way to explaining that.