Psychedelic – Page 4 – 7th Level Music

Live: Osees and DMBQ – Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN – October 22, 2025

I hadn’t been to Indianapolis’ Old National Centre since it was called the Murat Temple Theatre…and that was sometime in the 1990s. Entry was quick, and the woman checking IDs and handing out “21+” wristbands told us, “Straight ahead and down the stairs.” I figured Osees were playing in the large performance space in the building. I figured wrong. They were playing two floors below street level in a room the size of an average wedding reception hall.

Stone pillars on the mosh pit’s four corners.

Low ceilings, no windows, two entrances / exits, and a lot of people. My first thought was, “It’s going to be loud as hell in here.” I also saw many people who weren’t well dressed for an Osees show, possibly because they’d never seen them live before now. There were women in high heels, men in hooded sweatshirts and stocking caps, and a majority of the crowd without earplugs.

My prediction about the volume immediately was proven correct when, all the way from Japan, DMBQ took the stage to open the show and unloaded a crazy set of noise / kraut / punk / acid jazz / chaos. Lead guitarist and singer (and journalist) Shinji Masuko) was a wild man, drooling, slapping and punching himself, kicking the air, and creating a collapsing wall of sound while drummer Shinji Wada played stuff that would make many prog-rock drummers jealous and bassist Maki was a cool anchor the entire time. Again, you could tell that most of the crowd had no idea how to react to so much sound in such a small space. They had a lot of new fans by the end of their set.

Osees came out almost immediately after DMBQ finished crushing us, set up their gear, and started their wild, sweaty set at 9:01pm. Any place is a good place to see Osees, but a small space like the one we were in is perfect. The band and their fierce, energy is right there and it almost overpowers you.

They tore through favorites like “Carrion Crawler,” “The Dream” (during which I started the crowd surfing, you’re welcome Indianapolis), and a fun, somehow even more raucous version of “Contraption” (with bassist Tim Hellman being an absolute beast with his groove).

It was a set of many classic cuts from them, with noting newer than material released in 2018 (“C” from Smote Reverser, which closed the show). This might have been because they hadn’t played an Indianapolis show in a long time. Lead singer / guitarist John Dwyer apologized at the start for them not playing there in many years: “Hey, Indianapolis. I’m sorry we never come here but (drummer) Dan (Rincon) hates it…No, I’m only kidding. He hates that fucking joke.”

“I Come from the Mountain” (again, with a killer bass line from Hellman), “Tidal Wave,” and “Ticklish Warrior” were big hits with the crowd, and I was happy to hear old cuts like “I Was Denied” (from 2010’s Warm Slime, the first Osees record I bought) and “Meat Step Lively” (from 2009’s Help).

The pit, as you might imagine, was a sweatbox being in such a small space. I had to back out after “Tidal Wave” (almost halfway through the show) to avoid overheating and burning the rest of the few calories I had in me. I slugged down a big cup of tonic water and then spent the rest of the show out of the pit but within view of the stage. I overheard a woman, seeing them for the first time, say, “They’re playing all my favorites.”

Mission accomplished, gentlemen.

Want to hear the whole set? Well, here you go.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Lammping – Never Never

Mikhail Galkin and Jay Anderson, sometimes known as Lammping, are a Toronto duo known for producing beats, combining genres, and making interesting, and sometimes weird, decisions that create intriguing music you feel like you’ve heard before…but you’re not sure.

Nowadays, the duo have released the first of four experimental EPs — Never Never, this one with rockabilly one-man-band Bloodshot Bill, whom John Waters once described as “Roy Orbison with a head injury.” Take someone like that and put them in a studio with trip-hop and psych-rock music producers and you get a fun record.

The opening title track alone, with its brush beats, looped saxophone, and upright bass is enough to stop you in your tracks as Bill sings / raps about an unexpected love connection. The somewhat melted guitar on the instrumental “Coconut” oozes into mind-melting beats. “One and Own” is a fun example of Waters’ “head injury” description of Bill as he sings about his girlfriend but sounds like he might be punch-drunk.

“0 and 1” is a fun instrumental trip-hop cut that would fit right onto a St. Germain or Air album. Bill’s vocals on “Won’t Back Down” sound like he’s trying to keep up a brave face while crying into his beer. The gooey, chewy beat loops and western guitar on the track are slick — especially the guitar solo. In a just and right world, the quirky instrumental “Anything Is Possible” would’ve been remixed by MFDOOM by now. The EP ends with “Nitey Nite.” You can just barely hear Bill’s backing vocal sounds in it, which give way to his whistling (which is sprinkled throughout the record) that sends us out with a grin.

The whole EP will keep you grinning. It’s a lot of fun and a great sign of things to come over the next three projects.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jenn at No Rules PR.]

Tombstones in Their Eyes are “Under a Dark Sky” with their new single.

LA-based psychedelic rock outfit Tombstones In Their Eyes presents their brooding single ‘Under Dark Skies’, previewing their ‘Under Dark Skies’ album, to be released via Little Cloud Records (for North America) and Shore Dive Records (for the UK and EU). Without wallowing in self-pity and emotional upheaval, this song leans hopefully toward a new beginning in the understanding that sometimes the bottom is the best place to start.

The video was created by Italian multi-arts visionary Francesca Bonci, known for her work with Federale (BJM’s Collin Hegna), British bard Philip Parfitt, The Dandy Warhols’ Peter G. Holmström a.k.a. Pete International Airport and Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell.

Tombstones In Their Eyes is made up of John Treanor (vocals & guitar), Stephen Striegel (drums), Courtney Davies (vocals), Phil Cobb (guitar), Paul Boutin (guitar), Nic Nifoussi (bass) and Clea Cullen (vocals). What began casually a decade ago has evolved into a powerhouse band known for their expansive psychedelic soundscapes. For Treanor, these sonic explorations are like a cosmic therapy session – an immersive subliminal journey, as well as a way to grapple with anxiety.

This record was created during a year of intense personal change, followed by a clearing of the decks and a move forward into a place light and gratitude. Recorded and engineered by Paul Roessler (Josie Cotton, Nina Hagen, Hayley and the Crushers, Gitane Demone) at Kitten Robot Studios, this album was co-produced by John Treanor and mastered by multi-platinum engineer Alex DeYoung at DeYoung Masters (Michael Jackson, BTS, Macy Gray, The Linda Lindas, TSOL).

“’Under Dark Skies’ is essentially a prayer sent for a path forward from the darkness of the spirit into the light. When the spirit is crushed, a rebirth is possible but the way forward is not always obvious. I feel fortunate to have a creative outlet like music to deal with the chaos in my head. Having said that, fighting the urges for self destruction by self-soothing in harmful ways is still not easy,” says John Treanor.

“We live in a tough and harsh world that is also filled with beauty and joy. Finding beauty and joy is the goal. I’m aware that I have many privileges and do not discount that, but mental health challenges do not seem to discriminate. Finding strength and hope is a daily practice that I must undertake and writing these songs is one of the many ways that I cope. By expressing and sharing these feelings, I let go of the poison and seek connection with others.”

This album arrives a year on from their latest ‘Asylum Harbour’ album (and standout audio-visual trips for ‘I Am Cold’, ‘By My Side’, ‘Gimme Some Pain’, ‘I Like to Feel Good’ and ‘Mirror’), released via Kitten Robot Records.

The single is now out everywhere, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, where the ‘Asylum Harbour‘ album can also be found on CD and on snazzy red vinyl. On December 5, the full ‘Under Dark Skies’ album will be released via Little Cloud Records (US) and Shore Dive Records (UK and EU).

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Shauna at Shameless Promotion PR.]

Review: Birds of Nazca – Pangaea

I don’t know how two people – Guillaume – guitar and Romauld – drums of Birds of Nazca can make so much sound, but they do it on their new album Pangaea…which is somehow heavier than their last (Héliolite).

As you can guess by the album’s cover, it blends desert and cosmic rock and has gravity-defying and / or crushing riffs throughout it. The theme of the album is that each track refers to and is inspired by a different place, landscape, or (I suspect) energy vortex of the Earth.

Beginning with “Batagaïka” (the name of the infamous melting permafrost crater in Siberia), BON explore a place on Earth and in our minds that is withering away to expose things we’ve long buried or have been hidden. Guillaume’s multi-layered guitar chords are like a giant stretching after a long slumber while Romauld harness the sound of cracking firmament.

“Gang Rinpoché,” also known as Mount Kailash” in China, is one of the tallest mountains in the world and perhaps the one with the most spiritual significance to at least three different religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. The mountain is believed to be the connection between heaven and earth and no one has ever reached its summit. Climbing it is strictly forbidden by the Chinese government and anyone who has tried has failed. That doesn’t stop BON from creating a mountain-heavy track dedicated to it and its mystery, however.

“Racetrack Playa” is in Death Valley, California. It’s a dry lake bed where rocks can move during the winter (thanks to ice and wind) for several, if not dozens, of meters and leave “racetracks” in the land. Appropriately, BON stomps the gas pedal and takes off across the salty flats while it sounds like they’re being chased by a post-apocalyptic biker gang armed with chainsaws.

We next travel to Russia and near the Ural Mountains to see “Man Pupu Nyor” (“Little Mountain of the Gods”) – the weird and somewhat spooky rock formations that might be warriors frozen in time. BON makes it feel like those huge warriors are breaking free of their rocky tombs and knocking the rust off their axes in preparation for battle.

The birds fly over to South America and the Andes Mountains for a visit to “Incahuasi” – a mountain that borders Argentina and Chile. I don’t recommend playing this if you’re ascending it. You might cause an avalanche because Romauld’s drums alone sometimes sound like tons of ice roaring toward you.

The album ends with the title track (which itself ends in birdsong) – a reference to the “supercontinent” that existed over 200 million years ago and consisted of most of the land masses we know today. It’s mind-blowing to consider how (relatively) close all the places BON have named on this album used to be to each other until great cataclysms divided them.

It’s the same with people, and I think that’s the underlying message of the album. We all used to be neighbors. We all had sacred connections to spaces and knew Mother Nature could crush us in an instant, so we had to take care of her. We still do. We still can. Put on this album and get to work.

Keep your mind open.

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[Merci á Birds of Nazca!]

Levitation 2025: Day Three recap

You can always recognize faces by the final day of Austin, Texas’ Levitation Music Festival. You see the same people who’ve been sweating and rocking with you all weekend and can tell who hasn’t had enough sleep, who’s been in the sun too long, who’s hungover, who’s dehydrated, and who’s an old pro.

The crowd was light when I arrived to see Daiistar open the final day of the festival. This isn’t because Daiistar is a bad band, quite the contrary, but the people who show up early on Sunday are either the die-hards who are getting every cent of their money’s worth for the weekend pass, the people who can only make it on Sunday and have the same logic, the fans of the first band, and those who are so deep in the festival zone that showing up when the gates open has become as automatic as breathing. All of those people got to see a good set of early-90’s vibe psychedelia from Daiistar that was a good warm-up to a hot, humid Sunday.

Afterwards, shade spots were prime real estate at the outdoor stage for Population II, who brought their fiery cosmic psych all the way from Quebec and wowed the audience. They cracked jokes about touring, their own merch, and lack of English in between songs about everything from pizza to panic.

Population II gathering a large population of new fans.

Two friends, Wes and Chelsea, met me at the festival on this day, and I took them to see A Place to Bury Strangers. This was their first time seeing APTBS. “I envy your innocence,” I said. We walked into the indoor stage area within moments of the opening notes of the set and, of course, were greeted by what sounded like a saw mill on fire. As is now custom at an APTBS show, they came into the middle of crowd, near us, to perform a wild, weird set of hammering rhythms and distorted synth…something. Chelsea said, “It felt like they’d summoned us to be sacrificed and then put a hex on us.” We later told frontman Oliver Ackermann this and he said, “Yes! That’s it.” Chelsea said she was still thinking about their set by the end of the night.

A Place to Bury Strangers casting spells.

As if that wasn’t enough face-melting for you, along came Frankie and The Witch Fingers afterwards with a ton of groovy garage-punk chaos for which I joined the mosh pit and rocked out with the sweaty crowd for a bit (which you could easily have done outside as well since it was so hot and humid that day). FATWF always play well and are a ton of fun.

Frankie and The Witch Fingers casting spells.

We had some time for food at some point. It’s difficult to remember when you eat and which set is at which time when you’re on Day Three. We did remember that The Black Angels were up next for us. The festival’s hosts and curators always play and put on a set of some rare tracks I hadn’t heard in a while, possibly ever, which was a treat.

The final two bands of the night on the indoor stage were indie rock giants -— both of whom drew big crowds. First was Built to Spill, whose lead singer and guitarist Doug Martsch had some of the best guitar tones of the entire festival.

Spilling thrills for the appreciative crowd.

Next, and closing the day and the festival, was Pavement. They had a great time on stage, laughing a lot, poking fun at each other, and getting a lot of cheers from the crowd.

There’s always an odd feeling when Levitation ends. You’ve been there for multiple days and nights. You’ve made some new friends, seen the same groups of weirdos, ate some spicy food, drank too much caffeine, and your ears are sore from wearing earplugs for three straight days or not wearing them at all. You’ve experienced something…and now it’s finished. You don’t feel empty or sad, but you do wish you could squeeze another day or night out of it…and you also feel renewed and ready for next year.

See you in 2026, God willing and the creek don’t rise.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: No Joy – Bugland

Jasamine White-Gluz got out of the city to make Bugland, the newest No Joy album, experimenting and collaborating with Fire-Toolz (AKA Angel Marcloid) for an record that is difficult to categorize, but why should we even bother to try? Why not just sit back and enjoy it?

Starting with electronic bloops, bleeps, and beats, “Garbage Dream House” gets things off to a weird, wonderful start – mixing buzzing guitar chords with synths and processed drums while White-Gluz’s voice bounces off the back wall at some points and nuzzles your ear the next. The title track crunches and munches like an early Garbage track and White-Gluz’s reverb-soaked vocals practically lift you off the floor.

“Bits” has more 90s electro-rock vibes to it, practically begging you to blast it on your headphones as you hit the mid-mark of your treadmill workout. “Save the Lobsters” is based on a true story of White-Gluz smashing open lobster traps washed up on beaches so she could get the creatures back into the ocean. Her vocals are often drenched in distortion or echo effects, seemingly putting you under the water with the freed animals.

“My Crud Princess” not only has a great title, but also a sparkling energy bursting through the slightly sludgy (cruddy?) drum beats. “Bather in the Bloodcells” reminds me of My Bloody Valentine if they turned down the volume a bit and covered Elastica.

“I Hate That I Forget What You Look Like” is a stunner about grief that, for some us, is all too relatable. The snappy drums and synths grow like a mind almost spiraling into panic, but catching itself just before toppling into madness. The psychedelic closer, “Jelly Meadow Bright” is almost eight minutes of trippy bliss, nearly fading out halfway through it and then returning with a wild saxophone-led acid-jazz / industrial freak-out.

Again, I’m not sure how to describe Bugland…apart from it being one of the best releases of 2025 so far.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media!]

Rewind Review: Kid Loco – Kid Loco Presents French Funk Experience (2010)

A compilation of twenty-two French disco and funk tracks from the 1970? Yes, please.

Kid Loco Presents French Funk Experience is loaded with gems you’d swear you heard in an obscure late night movie or while racing through a European airport – and a lot of these tracks are “library music” made for television and film. Take Bernard Estardy‘s killer “Gang Train” from 1972. The synth grooves are from 2072 and the drums are so tight you’d swear they were laid down by a drum machine and not a live human being…yet they are. Résonance‘s “OK Chicago” (1973) is loaded with sampled sirens, police radio chatter, and machine gun ricochets.

P.A. Dahan and Mat Camison break out the handclaps and the Hammond B-3 on “Pepper Drums” (1976). Estardy (who is all over this compilation either with his solo material or working with other artists) returns on the Doobie / Allman Brothers-like funk rocker “Vertigo Leitmotiv” from 1970. Trumpeter and band leader Pierre Dutour shows off his skill on 1974’s “Jungle Trumpet.”

Manu Dibango‘s “Africadelic” (1973) is a thrilling rush, and Pierre-Alain Dahan returns with Slim Pezin on the jaw-dropping, booty-shaking “Electronic Mutation” from 1976. Alain Goraguer‘s “Course de Ten” from 1973 wocka-wocka guitar riffs and “Le Baron” Estardy’s “Bongo Ring” from 1975 is, go figure, full of great hand percussion sounds. Sauveur Mallia, who played bass on Sid Vicious‘ cover of “My Way” no less, brings “All the Bass” and all the funk on this cut from 1979.

Speaking of bass, check out 1970’s “Indian Pop Bass” by Guy Pedersen with all it’s fat bass slaps, weird psych-flute notes, and prog-rock beats. The horn section on Big Jullien & His All Star‘s “Wake the Monster” from 1969 will knock you off your feet. Dahan and Camison’s “Long Playing Time” from 1976 has guitar in it that would make Steely Dan envious. Bernard Lubat‘s organ riffs on 1976’s “Aubergine Time” are outstanding. Ludovic Decosne and Pierre Daubresse‘s “Gloaming” from 1970 is delightfully fun and belongs in a Euro sex-comedy (if it’s not already in one).

Claude Engel gets all trippy with his guitar on the long version of “Belle Gueuse (A)” from 1972. The electric piano and bass on Raymond Guiot‘s “Basse Duetino” (1976) is so groovy you could almost put a turntable needle on it. André Ceccarelli‘s “Funk Number 2” (1970) is a perfect track for strutting / strolling at the club, and “Rythmiques Number 2” (1971) by Dahan is a quick beat drop you’ll want to sample in everything.

Tonio Rubio‘s “Red Medium” (1973) has slick guitar work, and even slicker organ grooves, throughout it. The prolific (over 10,000 tracks to his credit) Estardy comes back one more time for “Riviera Express” from 1973. The organ riffs on it are sometimes funky, sometimes freaky, and sometimes frightening. The compilation ends with 1973’s “Pepper Box” by The Peppers – who consist of Camison on keys, Dahan on drums, and Rubio on guitar. It’s a blast, full of great synth blasts, handclaps, and disco funk. Play it at every party.

This whole compilation is a great time and will cheer you up. You can’t help but groove to it. Blast it through your earbuds as you walk through Paris or down to the nearest boulangerie.

Keep your mind open.

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Kikagaku Moyo’s Go Kurosawa announces his debut album and its first single – “Autowalk.”

Today, Go Kurosawa announces his debut solo album, soft shakes, available now on vinyl via Guruguru Brain, with the digital release to follow on September 5th.

Multi-instrumentalist, producer, co-founder of the independent label Guruguru Brain and drummer/vocalist of Kikagaku Moyo, Go Kurosawa has spent the past decade building bridges between East and West, sound and silence, rock and ritual.

soft shakes is something different. A personal chapter in Go’s journey, it marks his first solo album, created entirely by himself and made, for the first time, purely for himself. What comes through is music that feels playful, layered, rhythmic and delightfully unexpected. Just like Go.

Today he shares with the internet a first and only glimpse of the album ahead of the album’s digital release. “Autowalk” is a mellow, understated summer jam, channeling the signature feel-good moods Go has curated throughout his work thus far. He comments: “I am a big fan of moving walkways in airports. Every time I see them, I get excited to choose if I should stand on it or walk on it and go a bit faster than usual. But you are not supposed to go as fast as possible, unlike the autobahn.”

Listen to “Autowalk”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lb3cm563ZQ
Buy soft shakes on vinyl this Friday here: https://gurugurubrain.space

After Kikagaku Moyo disbanded, Go spent some time producing records for other artists, but with soft shakes, there was no plan. Just the instinct to pick up an instrument, play, and see what might unfold.

As he puts it, “The whole framework is new. When I made music for the band, I always knew who would play what. This time, it was just me. No plan, no expectation. And weirdly, that became the concept: doing it all myself, for the first time.”

Go has a rare kind of musical instinct. He can play anything, hears everything, and yet never takes himself too seriously. For a long time, making music alone wasn’t part of the plan. Music had always been about connection. But over time, as he travelled, collected instruments and set up Guruguru Brain studio in Rotterdam, the sound of a solo voice emerged.

soft shakes came together between January and June in Rotterdam, through dark, rainy, quiet days. Each day, Go would head to the studio, pick up whatever instrument was around and simply play. The process was slow and instinctive. “If something still moved me the next day, I’d add to it. If not, I’d start something new. One step at a time, without pressure.”

Even as a solo record, the music doesn’t feel tight or controlled. It has the looseness of jamming, the joy of following where the sound wants to go. “I wanted that feeling, even if I was jamming with myself.”

The album artwork was created by his partner Ao, her first time doing artwork for a record. “It captures the freedom and boldness of trying something new and I love it,” he says.

soft shakes arrives at a moment of transition. Go recently relocated to Fukuoka, Japan, after years of living and working in Europe. “While making this album, we were deciding where to move. I knew it would be my last creation while living in Europe. When I listen back, I can hear that longing for something, towards a far away home.”

The record feels like the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. “Now I’m excited to build a studio in Japan and start again. I don’t know what will come next, but I want it to be shaped and influenced by new surroundings.”

And while this record might be personal, Go hopes it offers something to others too. “I wish people would travel somewhere else through music. You float around, lose track of time, and when the record ends, you feel the soft comfort of coming home again.”

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity!]

Live: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – August 06, 2025 – Ravinia – Highland Park, IL

It’s always a good time when you get to see King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard live, and seeing them with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia was high on my list this year. I bought lawn tickets as soon as they were available.

As usual, the line for KGATLW merch was long, but it moved well thanks to helpful Ravinia staff keeping things organized there.

The area where we sat didn’t have a direct line view of the stage, but there were plenty of monitors to see the action, and the sound quality was outstanding. It was the best I’d heard King Gizz sound in a long while. All praise to the sound engineers there.

The show was split into two sets, the first being the band and the orchestra playing the new album, Phantom Island, in its entirety. I have no idea how much time each orchestra on this tour in their respective cities gets to rehearse these wild psych-rock songs, but the Chicago Symphony nailed it and were having a great time. “Spacesick” was a particular highlight, and “Grow Wings and Fly” metamorphosed into a stunning jam-rock version of “Theia” that gave the orchestra enough time to take a break, eat a sandwich, answer some text messages, and practically drive to the post office and back before the second set.

The second set was a mix of tunes from older albums that were redone with orchestral arrangements, including an epic version of “Crumbling Castle,” a fun, swinging version of “This Thing,” and even two of their thrash metal cuts – “Mars for the Rich” and “Dragon.” The show ended with a great version of “Iron Lung,” which appears to have become a live show favorite. The weirdest part of the show? Seeing lead singer Stu Mackenzie with short hair.

Seeing this felt as weird as seeing the Osees’ John Dwyer wearing pants.

KGATLW don’t have too many of these orchestral shows left on this U.S. tour, and their “Field of Visions” festival in Colorado is about to begin with the whole thing being streamed live on YouTube. Don’t miss either.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

By now, if you were to hear “King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard is releasing a new album they recorded with a full orchestra,” you’d think, “Yeah, of course they are.”

KGATLW don’t shy away from pursuing new ways to bring their ideas to life, and Phantom Island is another example of this. The cover has weird Lovecraftian elements (the weird fish-men) and scenes of an anthropomorphic band playing as their ancient temple / city / house burns and crumbles above them. Is “Beauty can be found in chaos” the album’s theme?

It certainly sounds like that in the title track opening song, with fun beats, lush strings, and Stu Mackenzie singing about losing and finding sanity. The second half of the song takes off into fast rock with Ambrose Kenny-Smith taking on the urgency of the charging horses on the album’s cover. “Deadstick” is a wild jazz-rock blend.

“Lonely Cosmos” is a tale of a wandering astronaut, ending in string arrangements that sound like the astronaut’s craft is either falling back to Earth or drifting around the edge of a black hole. “Eternal Return” has the band confronting the idea of reincarnation and wondering about their place in the universe in a funky jam-rocker. The groove of “Panpsych” is a lot of fun, reminding me of some Allman Brothers songs at first and then turning up the psychedelic touches.

“Spacesick” has our astronaut feeling sick and tired of being sick and tired in the vast emptiness of space. The guitars crunch and the strings highlight the astronaut’s tension, but you can’t help thinking the explorer will get home and taste real food and soon smell sea air. “Aerodynamic” follows this theme as the astronaut follows a siren-like being and wonders, “I have always wondered if I could step out of my body. Would I be like a fish out of water?”

“Sea of Doubt” might reflect the band’s process of recording and performing their songs with an orchestra behind them, as it was yet another challenge (i.e., “Let’s make a thrash metal album!”, “Let’s make an album only using microtonal instruments!”, “”Let’s make an album that can be played on a continuous loop!”, Let’s make an album that’s entirely in seven-four time signature!”, “Let’s put out five albums in one year!”) they’d accepted and weren’t sure how it was going to sound in the end. It’s a catchy tune, with a subtle guitar solo hidden in it.

The closing track, “Grow Wings and Fly,” calls for us to “Get real high…Transcend this life.” “I want to drift from the beehive.” is a great lyric, encouraging us to stop being drones and go play in the fields. It follows up on a theme brought up in “Aerodynamic,” in which the band explore the idea of shedding the ego and engaging in the moment.

A lot of KGATLW records are like this. They’re not so much albums as they are experiences. They’re currently touring a lot of cities and playing with full orchestras, which is a must-see event if you ask me, and this is yet another must-hear album from them.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR!]