Psychedelic – Page 7 – 7th Level Music

Black Moth Super Rainbow return with new single from upcoming album due June 06, 2025.

*Photo Credit: Black Moth Super Rainbow*

Black Moth Super Rainbow – now two decades into their candied up career – emerges from the technicolor pollen puckered Pennsylvania landscape with a new and reformulated fructose-blasted seventh album. Soft New Magic Dream is announced today for a June 6th release via Rad Cult, and it comes that familiar rush of flavors that pump directly from the BMSR soda fountain; that signature blend of strange neon nostalgia, sweetly melancholic synth pop wizardry, hip hop head bobbing, and citric acid tinged freak out flourish.

Today they share the new single “Open the Fucking Fantasy,”alongside an announcement of a North American tour in summer 2025. Check out the new searing new single via YouTube(as well as the video for the previously released “All 2 of Us”), and see below for the full list of tour dates. Pre-order the album here.

It’s been seven years since the more sinister Panic Blooms, and in that time plenty has happened in the house of Rad Cult, but with Soft New Magic Dream, we are invited to bask in the analog sweet and sour embrace of that classic and here notably chilled out and snoozled up BMSR sensibility.

Soft New Magic Dream has a nuanced flavor profile; these are freaky love songs, they funk up crunchy and rattle the speakers here and there, they melt down gelatinous at the right temperatures, and even go full ballad in a few extra-soft spots. The album balances sugar kinked romance with their distinctive and here notably downtempo funky production. Never fully eschewing BMSR’s signature strange liquid centers, these songs still flirt with the uncanny while honing in on the deeply melodic and approachably groovy tendencies they’ve have been exploring in their twenty years of lid flipping. Soaring synth leads ribbon through taffy colored chord changes and highly tactile and fractured drum programming and breaks.

Tobacco’s classic vocoder vocals, puckish as ever, burble fawning tenderness and body horror quasi erotic double dares in the fizzy saturated mist. These gummy serenades will leave you blissed out with a cavity-crumbled ear to ear grin.

As the BMSR project has evolved, from the scuzzier and folk-tinged backwoods leaf worship of the first albums into the more anthemic roller disco fog machine scenes of their mid-career, and then darker turns in the last few recent albums, Soft New Magic Dream feels like another subtle and surprisingly tender twist on that now-classic sound you’ve come to expect from BMSR. A turn towards something more serene, more direct, playfully wooing us without totally ditching that enigmatic crooked smile.

Lose your toothbrush in the clouds and get ready to guzzle down this potent marshmallow cloudscape concoction optimized for falling into face first.

Black Moth Super Rainbow

Upcoming Tour Dates

8.7.25 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall

8.8.25 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s

8.9.25 – Chicago, IL @ Metro

9.11.25 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge

9.12.25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts

9.13.25 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair

10.9.25 – Nashville, TN @ Main Stage at Eastside Bowl

10.10.25 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall

10.11.25 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Purgatory

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to George at Terrorbird Media.]

Blackwater Holylight announce new EP, “If You Only Knew,” with its first single – “Wandering Lost.”

Blackwater Holylight crafts music that offsets airiness and immediacy. Today [February 26, 2025], the Los Angeles, CA band announces their new EP, If You Only Knew, out April 18, 2025 via Suicide Squeeze Records. Though it clocks in at just four tracks, the EP traverses countless cosmic peaks and sludgy valleys. The band has also shared the single “Wandering Lost,” premiering on FLOOD Magazine, which gradually evolves from atmosphere to heaviness. Over the course of almost seven minutes, metal, shoegaze, and psychedelia coalesce. The song was slowly conceptualized while Blackwater Holylight was working with acclaimed producer Sonni DiPerri (Animal Collective, DIIV, Suzanne Ciani) in Los Angeles, and mimics the mysterious, sometimes painful chapters of life by shifting between multiple movements. Like all of Blackwater Holylight’s material, there is an ample dose of beauty to be found beneath “Wandering Lost”‘s snarling exterior.

On “Wandering Lost,” singer, guitarist, and bassist Sunny Faris shares: “‘Wandering Lost’ came to us in pieces throughout a handful of weeks in Los Angeles. The four of us intentionally wanted this song to have multiple parts to tell a story that takes you on a journey throughout. This song is very special to us because it represents us as musicians individually and is a perfect reflection of what we’ve created as a group. It’s a song about wandering through the chapters of life, curiosity, and the connection we all have to each other through the unknown of how it will all unfold.”

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[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

Levitation France announces its 2025 lineup.

Levitation France has announced its full (?) lineup for 2025, and they’ve packed a lot of good bands into just two nights.

Vendredi (Friday) brings in Italy’s New Candys (whose new album, so far, sounds pretty cool), UK’s Ditz (a sharp new post-punk band), Spain’s Hinds (also promoting a new album), Danish metal giants Kadavar, and the U.S.’ own Blonde Redhead.

Samedi (Saturday) has Angers post-punkers Rest Up, UK’s mysterious HONESTY, goth-queen Heartworms, experimental psych-rockers Bryan’s Magic Tears, and psych-proggers bdrmm, plus the U.S.’ synthwave duo Boy Harsher, and finally French psych heavyweights The Limiñanas.

It’s a good lineup with some serious rock in it this year, and it’s in a new location – a pyramid on a lakefront, no less. Don’t miss it.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: The Death Wheelers – The Ecstasy of Möld

First, I need to give The Death Wheelers a thumbs-up for the Ennio Morricone joke with titling their new album The Ecstasy of Möld. The Death Wheelers are big fans of cult films and cinema in general, and the riff on Morricone’s classic “The Ecstasy of Gold” from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is brilliant.

As is the album. Opening with the short but heavy “Loud Pipes Take Lives,” and a man declaring he’ll purify the world with blood, the album lets you know right away that this is going to be a wild ride. Need further evidence? Well, the thrash metal banger “Homicycle Maniac” (which my computer’s autocorrect wants to write as “Hemicycle Maniac,” which works just as well) will convince you. “Hella Hammered” continues the thrash metal shredding, proclaiming that the motorcycle gang of the band’s moniker are a “bunch of real psychopaths.”

“Un Pneu Dans La Tombe — Aide Musicale À Mourir” dips a bit into psychedelia before it turns into a riff-raging rocker. The title track claims “There is only one ecstasy…Death!” and then launches into pounding punk rock. “Blood, Bikes and Barbiturates” has more heavy cymbal crashes than I could count.

“Bleu Nuit (Les Plaisirs De La Chair)” is one of the trippiest tracks on the record as the band goes looking for pleasures “more primitive” than what you’d find in a strip club. The groove on it is top-notch. The distortion and reverb are cranked on “Way of the Road” for you and your neighbor’s enjoyment (and don’t miss the salute to Led Zeppelin in it).

“The Heretic Rites of Count Choppula,” apart from having a great title, adds touches of horror-surf rock to the album that show another side of The Death Wheelers you didn’t expect at first, but think, “Oh yeah, that tracks.” when you hear it. Finally, “Get Laid…to Rest” ends the album on a Pink Floyd-like mind trip to give your brain a chance to reset after all the chaos you just heard.

It’s another fine instrumental rocket blast from The Death Wheelers. Get in on this roadtrip or get the hell out of the way.

Keep your mind open.

[I might reach ecstasy if you finally subscribe today.]

[Thanks to Daniel at RidingEasy Records.]

Rewind Review: Vuelveteloca – Sonora (2017)

I discovered Vuelveteloca at the 2017 Levitation Music Festival where they played a great show at the now long-gone Barracuda club. I hadn’t heard them before then, but their Chilean version of metal, psych, krautrock, and stoner metal was something to behold. I snagged their Sonora album from their merch table…and it got lost in a stack of CDs in my office for years. It’s a shame I’m finally getting around to reviewing it eight years later, because it’s a slick record.

First, you should know that the band’s name translates as “Go crazy.” in English. That lets you know what you’re in for with this record. It’s a fitting name.

The album’s title translates as “Sonorous” – which implies something deep and powerful. Opening track, “La Niebla” (“The Fog”), stomps the gas pedal to the floor and charges through the titular weather with reckless abandon. The brief moment of coasting (around the 3:30 mark) lets you feel the wind on your face for a bit before the guitars from Marcos De Iruarrizaga and Tomás Olivos come back to melt it.

“Alta Montaña” (“High Mountain”) displays their love of stoner metal and cosmic rock, as Juan Gili hammers out mantra-like beats to induce rhythmic head-nodding. “Ataque Masivo” isn’t necessarily a tribute to the band “Massive Attack,” but I wouldn’t be surprised if Massive Attack were an influence on them. The track has krautrock leanings, but also synth touches that lean it a bit in Massive Attack’s direction.

The fuzz returns in full force on “Carnaval,” sending us on a trippy journey down streets full of masked people who might have dark intentions. “L.A.” slows things down into 1960s psych-rock. It’s a neat change in tone from the heavy stuff that’s come before it as the song builds in power and volume. “El Lado Frio” (“The Cold Side”) takes that power and volume and uses it to cause your brain to swirl in your skull.

“Tormento” (“Torment”) is a song you’ll want to blast while competing in a demolition derby. “Chepical” dives back into krautrock, but adds soaring cosmic rock guitars to the mix. Ending with the interestingly titled “Cientologia & Altiplano” (“Scientology & Plateau”), the album uses Jose Navarrete‘s bass grooves to maximum effect and creates a great jam track with limited vocals and maximum head-trip riffs.

It’s a wild record, and one I slept on for too long. Don’t do the same.

Keep your mind open.

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Broncho release first new music in six years.

Oklahoma-based band Broncho announce Natural Pleasure, their first new album in six years, out April 25th, and present two singles, “Funny” and “Imagination.” Broncho – Ryan Lindsey (vocals, guitar), Ben King (guitar), Penny Pitchlynn (bass), and Nathan Price (drums) – has always been synonymous with reinvention, and Natural Pleasuremarks their boldest transformation yet. This long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Bad Behavior dives headfirst into lush atmospheres without abandoning the raw, gritty energy that made them a household name in indie rock. This is an album meant to be savored with headphones—a long-playing experience with rich textures and hypnotic soundscapes.

Since their breakout hit, “Class Historian,” in 2014, Broncho has been at the forefront of indie innovation, finding fans in legends like Josh Homme, Jack White, and Hayley Williams. Their music—equal parts gritty rock and dreamy psychedelia—has been featured in TV shows like Girls and Reservation Dogs, further cementing their status as cultural touchstones.

Natural Pleasure was recorded primarily at Blackwatch Studios in Norman, Oklahoma, with Chad Copelin, and completed at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas. Tulsa remains their spiritual home, a city whose musical lineage—from Leon Russell and JJ Cale to The Flaming Lips—infuses every note they play. The album balances spontaneity with careful craftsmanship. Lindsey’s unmistakable vocal delivery is a phenomenon in its own right. His lyrics are often enigmatic, delivered in a way that feels like an instrument of pure emotion rather than straightforward storytelling. At first listen, it may be impossible to catch a single word, yet the emotional intensity he summons is undeniable. It’s a rare and uncanny ability—one that connects listeners to the music on a visceral level before the lyrics fully reveal themselves.

From the opening tracks “Imagination” and “Funny,” Natural Pleasure sets the stage for a sonic journey defined by playfulness and introspection. “Imagination” envelops listeners with layered production and Lindsey’s understated yet captivating vocals, pulling them into a divine haze of possibility. The track “was written in the early hours of a pandemic morning in my garage. I imagine the whole neighborhood might have heard me writing that one,” says Lindsey. “Funny” follows with its offbeat charm and infectious groove, encapsulating the duality of self-reflection and levity that defines the album. In Lindsey’s words, “although none of our songs are written about any one subject, funny is loosely based on my ability to steal my girlfriends jokes.”

Watch Broncho’s Video for “Funny” & Listen to “Imagination”

Listening to Natural Pleasure is a sensory journey—a plunge into a dimension where reality blurs into something more fluid and profound. With this record, Broncho reaffirms their status as indie rock stalwarts, delivering a masterpiece that’s alive, unpredictable, and deeply human.

Pre-order Natural Pleasure

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Goat (self-titled)

It’s always good news when Goat decides to release a new album, and their self-titled album from October 2024 is full of their characteristic voodoo-psych sound with complex guitars, hand percussion, dual female vocals, and themes of death, rebirth, and how our spirits are never-ending.

The opening track is even called “One More Death.” It’s a song about reincarnation and how death isn’t anything we haven’t already experienced. The drums and percussion on it grab you straight away and you’re encouraged to cast away fear and step forward on the new journey…and, good heavens, when the guitar solo kicks in it almost shoves you into the astral plane.

It wouldn’t be a Goat album without a song with “goat” in the title, and this time it’s “Goatbrain” – a song about, among other things, “vibrations made by love, moments on Earth.” It has this cool rhythm to it that only Goat see able to create. The flute of the instrumental “Fool’s Journey” seems to come to you from the other side of a valley you’ve only seen in meditations.

“Dollar Bill” is a gritty, great takedown of upper crust rich and the illusion of wealth (“Everyone is going mad. Dollar bills inside your head.”). “Zombie” brings in hip hop beats and loops and is an absolute jaw-dropper. You’ll want this booming out of your car windows. If this doesn’t get you dancing, then “Frisco Beaver” certainly will with its themes of giving up worry (“Do what you like.”) and fear (“Don’t be afraid.”). The guitar riffs sizzle across the whole track. “Look and you will find light of the fire,” they say, and you believe them.

“The All Is One” is another guitar-rich meditative track that weaves back and forth from psychedelia to desert rock. The addition of birdsong in it gives you a contented smile when you hear it. The album ends (Or does it?) with “Ouroboros” – a song named after the symbolic snake eating its tail. Dance beats mix with echoing vocals that remind you that “God lives in every part of you.” The bass kicks in and you’re dancing all over the place, happy to know that all is endless and death and rebirth is not to be feared (and don’t miss the epic saxophone solo!).

It’s one of Goat’s best albums, and that’s saying something since they’ve yet to make a bad record. They’re somehow still one of the best kept secrets out there.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Gus Baldwin & The Sketch – The Sketch

Gus Baldwin is one of the hardest working dudes in the Austin, Texas music scene. When he’s not cranking out solo material, he’s often working with The Black Angels, or Christian Bland and The Revelators, or collaborating with Danny Blackwell of Night Beats, or he’s teaming up with his pals in The Sketch to create The Sketch album, and, since he’s so busy, he and his pals recorded it in one day.

Opening with “Part I,” “Part II,” and “Part III,” the album is raucous right out of the gate with guitars that sound like a battleship groaning as it collides with an iceberg. The album moves back and forth between garage punk and trash rock. The fourth track, “Itch,” is a wild punk barn-burner. “Steady on It” lands somewhere between Frankie and The Witch Fingers and Ty Segall, but with extra-funky bass for good measure.

“Luxury Television” teems with Osees-like intensity and mania as Baldwin sings “I got a strange addiction. Your hate is my prescription.” You don’t get much more punk than that. “Slacker’s Prom” and “(She’s Gone) Arigato” continue the punk fun, and the latter even brings in a bit of 50s-ish doo-wop on the backing vocals.

“What the Freaks Say” could fit right in on any college radio playlist, and by the end, “Sympathy for Sunday,” they go all-in on heavy psych-rock.

It’s a wild ride, and over before you know it. It’s also a good launch for Baldwin and The Sketch. They’ll be ones to watch in 2025.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Population II let you know to take the kettle off the stove with their new single – “Le Thé Est Prêt.”

Population II is a band dedicated to its disengagement, constantly working on refining their imposing, yet unpretentious sound. Composed of singer/drummer Pierre-Luc Gratton, guitarist/keyboardist Tristan Lacombe, and bassist Sébastien Provençal, the trio began recording a handful of independent releases that soon caught the attention of the independent label Castle Face Records, who released their debut À la Ô Terre in 2020, and in 2023 the band released their sophomore album Électrons libres du québec via Bonsound, which lead into a heavy period of touring in the US and Canada, including a run with OSEES.

The band delves into tasseomancy on their new single “Le thé est prêt” (French for “The tea is ready”), which arrives today to mark the announce of their new LP Maintenant Jamais, their third full-length album, which is due out on March 28th via Bonsound. The release also coincides with the start of a European tour, which includes shows in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK (full details of the tour dates can be found below).

LISTEN TO POPULATION II’S “LE THE EST PRET”

A crisp, spellbinding intro sets the mood for the first song on Maintenant Jamais, Population II‘s third album. With the guidance of producer Dominic Vanchesteing (Marie Davidson, Chocolat, Peter Peter), the turbulence of the band’s previous releases is structured and refined. The result is a sophisticated rock album that surprises with its languorous grooves, as heard on Le thé est prêt, while staying true to the raw power for which the band is renowned, as demonstrated on vigorous tracks such as La Trippance and Rédemption naturelle.

The album follows with Prévisions, a song that ripples with finesse before abruptly transitioning into the instrumental number Macavélique rock. While Haut-fond and Cardinaux are true feats of elegant prog rock, Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai) and Homme étoilé prove that Population II is also endowed with a profound melodic sensibility capable of creating catchy and explosive hooks.
On this new album, the trio fine-tunes the distinctive style they’ve been developing for several years, thanks in part to a fusion of shared influences – from Soft Machine to MC5 to L’Infonie – but also to a rare complicity that can only blossom between such close friends. This creative chemistry is what makes the band’s complex songwriting seem so fluid and supple. Population II breaks through their previous sonic frontiers while staying true to their roots. Therein lies the achievement of Maintenant Jamais, to be released on March 28, 2025, via Bonsound.

PREORDER MAINTENANT JAMAIS HERE

Tour Dates

01/14 – Biarritz, FR – L’Atabal*

01/15 – Bordeaux, FR – Rock*

01/16 – Angers, FR – Chabada*

01/17 – Rennes, FR – L’Antipode*

01/18 – Brest, FR – La Carène*

01/21 – Antwerp, BE – Trix*

01/22 – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg*

01/23 – Liège, BE – Le Reflektor*

01/24 – Dijon, FR – La Vapeur*

01/25 – Orléans, FR – L’Astrolabe*

01/27 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK – Cumberland Arms

01/28 – Sheffield, UK – The Washington

01/29 – Brighton, UK – Dalton’s

01/30 – London, UK – The Shacklewell Arms

01/31 – Bristol, UK – The Lanes

02/01 – Manchester, UK – Big Hands

02/02 – Guildford, UK – The Boiler Room**

02/04 – Paris, FR – Le Petit Bain

*Opening for SLIFT

**Opening for Miki Berenyi Trio

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]

Top 25 live shows of 2024: #’s 5 – 1

Here they are: My top five concerts of 2024. They were doozies.

#5: Slift – Reggie’s Music Joint, Chicago, IL, October 18, 2024

This was the first time I saw Slift in 2024, and the second time I’d seen them in a small venue. It had been a while since I’d been to a show at Reggie’s, and I’d forgotten how small it is. I figured Slift were going to blow off the back wall with their cosmic rock, and I was right. I don’t know how the building didn’t collapse.

#4: Osees – Thalia Hall, Chicago, IL, October 19, 2024

Yes, I saw Slift one night and then Osees the next. This was the second of two shows at Thalia Hall for Osees (another yearly tradition for them), and seeing them on a bare stage with a fun crowd in one of my favorite venues was outstanding. It was, as always, a blast and the pit crowd is like a reunion of pals you haven’t seen in a year.

#3: LCD Soundsystem – Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, May 26, 2024

It’s always good to see LCD Soundsystem, and this was night three of a four-night residency at the Aragon for them. It was also my girlfriend’s first time seeing them, and experiencing that with her was delightful. They had a nice tribute to Steve Albini during “Someone Great.”

#2: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Huntington Bank Pavilion, Chicago, IL, September 01, 2024

It had been a couple years since I’d been to a KGATLW show, and this was my first three-hour marathon set by them I was able to attend. Good grief, they slayed this stage, playing everything from Nonagon Infinity cuts to a short techno set. They even went longer than three hours by ending the show with a nearly twenty-minute version of “Head On / Pill.” The massive crowd was in heaven.

#1: Orbital – Radius, Chicago, IL, March 23, 2024

This show was like stepping into a time machine and emerging into a 1995 rave. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see Orbital, and they hadn’t been in Chicago in many years. This was also my girlfriend’s first “rave” of sorts, and the crowd was a mix of Gen Xers like us, new rave kids, goths, and even senior citizens. I hadn’t danced that much in a long while.

I’m looking forward to shows in 2025. I already have tickets to see Viagra Boys this year, and will soon have tickets for King Buffalo‘s current tour. Other bands I hope to catch this year are George Thorogood and The Destroyers, Mdou Moctar, Helmet, Kelly Lee Owens, Soft Play, Gang of Four, Amyl and The Sniffers, A Place to Bury Strangers (again), Diana Krall, Alison Krauss, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard (again), and Osees (again).

Keep your mind open.

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