Back catalogue: Psych/Garage Rock

Review: After a break from touring, Black Pumas hit the road again in 2024 to promote their highly praised sophomore album, Chronicles of a Diamond. The Live From Brooklyn Paramount 2xLP set encapsulates the vibrant "Electric Church" experience crafted by Eric Burton, Adrian Quesada and their band. This live recording showcases a blend of tracks from both their Grammy-nominated debut, including the hit 'Colors' and their latest work. Standout performances include 'Black Moon Rising', 'More Than A Love Song' and their rendition of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car'. The album perfectly captures the dynamic energy of Black Pumas' live shows, allowing fans to relive the electrifying atmosphere that defines their performances. With this release, the band reaffirms their place as one of the most engaging acts in contemporary music.

Review: Grammy-nominated Texan psychedelic-soul band Black Pumas, led by Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada, return after their 2019 self-titled debut album - leading to the pair being put up for 'Best New Artist' in 2020 - with a bold statement to break the sophomore album curse. Lead single 'More Than a Love Song' is the perfect introduction to the sound, Burtons commanding voice riding on a wave of progressively zanier instrumental patches and choir vocal samples, with a sultry deep south tone that, oddly, reminds me of CeeLo Green. Quesada's production style is quick and loose, oozing with soul - nothing more to be expected from former member of Grammy-winning funk band Grupo Fantasma. The two describes Black Pumas as an "electric church", the synths and digital organs punctuating Burton's wistful wailing perfectly. If you're looking for a soul release to close out the year, this is it.

Review: Fill Your Lungs is the third album from the acclaimed Aussie psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It is one of many of theirs getting the reissue treatment right now and it came initially only months after their debut Eyes Like the Sky. The album hit No 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart and marked a quick change in style for the band. This album found them embracing their psychedelic sound even more and featured second drummer Eric Moore using a real drum kit as possessed to the keys and theremin of the debut. It's a greatly experimental album with memserising riffs.

Review: It's not that fans of King Gizzard never expected this from the band's 15th long form outing, but rather anyone who stumbled upon the alliterated outfit on their last offering - "Fishing For Fishes" - is likely to be dumbstruck. Forget the life-affirming blues hues of that record. "Infest The Rats' Nest" sees the band at their heaviest - they are barely audible here beneath the din and cacophony of thrash metal. Exploring Earth's fate in the age of environmental degradation and pollution through "Superbug"'s slow chug and low, bellowed chorus, the driving riffs of "Mars For The Rich", the intensity of "Perihelion" and the screeching chords of "Venusian 2", the album's 9 tracks are as legit as anything this sub-genre has thrown at us since inception in the 1980s. More astute fans will have heard nuances of this on 2017's LP, "Murder of the Universe" and various manic musical explosions in Gizzard's back catalogue. "Infest The Rats' Nest" is a constant barrage of unrelenting energy from start to finish, and quite possibly their strongest album yet.