Here’s a little factoid: I’ve been to both Bradford and California, and they really aren’t too similar, albeit time could have confused my memories. Last time I was in Bradford was a few decades ago as a sixth former playing Rugby Union (the correct kind of Rugby, okay!) against Bradford Grammar, whilst the last time I was in California was only two years ago where I went to a Heavy Pysche Sounds all day show. However, whilst they may be from Bradford, the psychedelic four piece Psychlona have their sound firmly routed in the sands of the Coachella Valley, rather than post-industrial Yorkshire, the vibe of the Desert Scene resonating through every chord in their forth full length release ‘Warped Vision’.
‘Jasmine’ opens the album with a pounding drum beat and thunderous bass that made me wonder if they were about to travel down to ‘Devil Gate Drive’ on a convoy of chugging motorbikes, the riffing guitars joining the rhythm section to create a stomping track that grabs the listener and shakes them demanding they just have fun. ‘Let’s Go’ keeps the party going as the band swagger out on the town, pulling the listener along for a fuzzy, blurred night out of bar crawls and beery bonhomie. All, however, is not good times and indulgence; whilst ‘Smoke’ might have a title like a tribute to the joys of THC, and indeed the mellow opening delivery and lyrics promise such a story, there is a dark and personal side it, becoming as it does a story of reminiscence and loss. This mournful trip down memory lane is initially threaded through with early Pink Floyd introspection, before a determination forces through the sound, the band transforming from chilled hippies to angry Desert Punks, raising a stiff middle finger in the direction of the vicissitudes of life.
This anger continues in ‘Cut Loose’, a very British song delivered in a very American way, railing as it does at the ongoing shit show that is Brexit, as well as the liars and shills that miss-sold it to the public. Included is an anger at the added costs and complexity faced by a band travelling from the UK to the EU, a recently comparatively easy task now beset with complication and red tape. I have friends who are touring musicians who tell the very same story, with each bit of merch counted and taxed before it’s even sold. That may be something big acts with big label support can absorb, but in the underground wherein Ave Noctum lurks it is a genuine hindrance. Anyway, enough of the politics, and back to the music, and after the preceding bile, it feels as if the band took a good long hit of the good stuff, turned on, tuned in and dropped out, ‘Topanga’ being a darkly trippy telling of the tale of twisted family man Charles Manson. Whilst it may not be as heavy as Church of Misery’s ‘Spahn Ranch’, it is nevertheless a jarring story of the end of the age of love and peace. This menace continues with the Doom laden punch of ‘Kaleidoscope’, before things are again chilled out with the Hawkwind tinged space rock of ‘Split’, the band then climbing aboard their ‘Magic Carpet’ to be carried high into a sky full of fragrant clouds and mellow vibes, the hopeful waves of late Sixties Haight-Ashbury being channelled through the medium of four Yorkshiremen, and no, I don’t mean the Pythons.
Psychlona have created an album that they can rightfully be proud of, not departing radically from their established style, but rather evolving and developing. They have some upcoming shows and festivals, and I can only hope for more dates to be announced as I for one want to hear track from ‘Warped Vision’ performed live, and until then, can only commend the album to you.
(8.5/10 Spenny)
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