Back catalogue: Psych/Garage Rock

Review: You could definitely be forgiven for thinking Elusive Mojo was a much older piece of work, which isn't to say it sounds dated or out of place today; more highlighting the timelessness of high octane heavy metal, its fall out of the limelight but persistence to continue doing what it does very well indeed. Forget the washed up old guard refusing to put a pin in ideas that have repeated themselves for decades, Ecstatic Vision represent the vanguard of a sound we hold dear to our hearts, but don't encounter at its freshest often enough.

Taking a lead from the psychedelic-leaning early metal outfits like Hawkwind and Aphrodite's Child, simply put Ecstatic Vision growl and wail in all the right places, unleashing track after track of juggernaut energy, insane riffs and solos, and industrial power. Steaming ahead of the rest, this latest offering is the kind of record that threatens not just to blow through your hair like a mighty wind, but rip each strand off at the follicle.

Review: A third album of wonderfully intimate, idiosyncratic songwriting from multi-instrumentalist Stephen Gilchrist - formerly the Stuffy in the much loved Stuffy & The Fuses - in his Stephen EvEns guise. The name may be singular, but from the choir of voices singing the opening tune 'A Song For Europe' to the child's voice at the end of seafaring epic 'Hello Salty Salty', this is very much a community effort and feels like it, with Stephen's core collaborators Jimi Scandal (guitar) and Crompton Whesp (drums) joined by guests like former Curve/Echobelly bassist Debbie Smith, longtime Cardiacs keyboard player William D Drake and Hurtling/My Bloody Valentine guitarist and keyboard player Jen Macro. The mood palate is on just as grand a scale as the personnel list, from the Nick Drake-style acoustic guitar/strings interplay of 'Firefly' to the beefy hip-hop backbeat of 'BBQ Head & 7 Bells', a two part track, the first half dedicated to the joys of cooking in the garden, the second about paranoia and the threat of violence. Elements of psychedelia, some gorgeous analogue synth tones, a penchant for a quirky time signature and/or arrangement all add to what's already a very tasty concoction that anyone with an ear for a tenacious earworm or two will love.