Words by Jonathan Stout
When not doing freelance writing, Jonathan Stout is heavily involved in the NKY and Cincinnati music scenes as the Marketing Manager for Kentucky based venue The Southgate House Revival and founder of DIY Recording label Lo Fi City Recordings. He’s also an active musician, performing and recording with Sleepy Drums, Mutt Fuzz, Burnt Cabins and Uncle Fungus.
Here we are again, in the last dog days of summer. It seems our culture usually splits into two factions this time of year: those wishing to elongate the season and suck the marrow out of its dying days vs. the rest of us who are preparing for Halloween. I’ve chosen two particularly summery psych records to kick off this edition, in dedication to those wishing to languish in the season further.
Dan Auerbach’s newest protégés, Hermanos Gutierrez made their highly welcomed return in June with Sonido Cosmico (Easy Eye Sound). Aptly titled, these songs are filled with mystery, and could easily soundtrack a lonesome spaceship’s journey throughout a deserted galaxy. However, there’s also something so undeniably alluring and romantic about their music. These compositions often conjure romantic mental imagery of candles in the night (“Low Sun”) or wind swept deserted beaches (“El Fantasma”). The title track bulges at the seams with cinematic drama, mixing together spacey psychedelia with vintage spaghetti western. I’m really rooting for these guys, but also wondering where they’ll go from here. Although this album features a little bit more instrumentation than their first, the two guitars are still the main focus here. It might be hard to maintain their delicate balance if too many instruments interfere. But by the same token, how many albums like this can an artist put out and still be interesting? Oh well, who cares? Because right now, Sonido Cosmico is still a thrilling listen.
July saw the return of groovy psych vibe rockers, Balthvs, with their new release Harvest (Mixto Records). Similar to Khruangbin, Balthvs of Bogota, Columbia create a breezy brand of psychedelic music that blends together aspects of Afro beat, rock, blues, assouf and surf. It’s music that can be listened to on headphones just as easily as it can be used to help entertain a dinner party that pivots to a dance party at the drop of a hat. Vibe is everything with a band like this, and they establish it solidly with Harvest’s opening track, “Sun Colored Eyes” which is at all points both chill and mysterious. The band is able to maintain this sensibility throughout, traveling sometimes to atmospheres slightly more ominous than their aforementioned peers. And just like Hermanos Guitierrez, Balthvs excel at setting the mood with sultry numbers like “Asha” and aptly titled “Lovin’”. Ultimately, this album really has something for everyone and is enjoyable enough to warrant many return visits.
It’s been 5 years since Wand released the masterful Laughing Matter, which saw the band stretching out and re-establishing their sound. Sure, it can be hard to know where to go after releasing such a critically acclaimed work, but as years went by and chief songwriter Cory Hanson began churning out cosmic solo albums, the future of Wand became unknown. Fear not! Wand has returned with Vertigo (Drag City). But prepare yourself! This album is neither a full return to the sound of Laughing Matter nor is it a return to their stoner garage origins. Vertigo instead exhibits the band doing something a bit different once again. Kicked off by the brooding “Curtain Call” which grooves itself into crescendoing intensity at the bridge, only to die down to a slow post rock meditation, with strings and synth bringing the song to completion. The comparisons of Hanson’s voice to Thom Yorke’s is always going to be evident, which makes “Curtain Call” sound all the more like a glorious OK Computer b-side, and I’m here for it honestly. Those who may have expected more straightforward structures after Hanson’s riff crazy Western Cum might be a little shocked at how abstract some of the song structures and arrangements are on Vertigo– the second song “Misteltoe” being a major example, as it goes from an intense syncopated march with screeching guitars, to pulsing bass, airy synth and mournful strings and vocals. The compositions of Vertigo really feel like the band’s going through something heavy, and the listener has been invited to partake in their sorting it out. No matter what muse they evoke per song- the mysterious cabaret of “JJ,” jammy folk rock of “Smile,” or the hard hitting, distortion soaked “High Time”- each piece exists behind a veil of darkness and pensive longing. Similar to Laughing Matter, the listener feels somewhat like they’ve been punched in the gut by the time the album reaches completion.