Back catalogue: Psych/Garage Rock

Review: ***B-STOCK: Original sleeve is missing so LP is in a generic sleeve, otherwise in excellent working condition***


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There's a gritty but spatial feeling to Vyvyd. One minute you're disorientated by walls of guitar, bass and vocals that seem to be capable of translating strobe lighting into audio, another moment things are floating along on an ethereal plane, passing by gentile twanged melodies and wavy vocals en route to somewhere most likely gated and pearly

The Venetian alternative rock outfit have certainly found their stride in the last decade or so, with this latest effort arguably the most personality packed. Of course, it has debts we're well-versed in, but this is more a case of considering established genre lines rather than regurgitation or repetition. A murky, cosmic but ultimately commanding take on tough-yet-loose distorted rock 'n' roll, it packs emotions every bit as powerful as the understatedly epic and expansive instrumentation.

Review: Nick Nicely, born as Nickolas Laurien, stands as a strange anomaly in the British music annals, no less than one of late twentieth century psychedelia's single greatest 'one who got away'. Despite a baffling lack of success, he's been creating strange and unique lysergically-fried avant-pop sporadically ever since, and Space Of A Second marks a rare full-length album of new material in a career chequered by both genius and inertia. Something like an otherworldly collaboration between Robyn Hitchcock and Mark Hollis, yet with a beguiling and soft-focus-styled production oddly redolent of modern-day innovators like Ariel Pink, this is a strange and fascinating transmission from a rare talent and an eternal outsider.

Review: Don't worry, if this is the first encounter with Nolan Potter's Nightmare Band. Take it from us the troupe are anything but the stuff hiding beneath the bed and in the closet. In reality, they're nothing short of overtly-positive, life-affirming, and celebratory, calling on vast walls of sound and to create commanding avant-folk and psychedelic rock overtures. Stylistically, there's a mythological undercurrent, like being transported to some strange alternate dimension, where nymphs play Fenders and wizards a Wurlitzer. Quite where the inspiration comes from is anyone's guess (well, OK, a little research will tell you plenty), but let's not get bogged down in conceptuality. Songs such as "Seahorse Retreat" are perhaps the best examples of the act's ability to make surrealism feel universally accessible, ode to joy and love and happiness. "Pity In The City" is a jangling combination of acoustic and plugged-in guitars, Potter's vocals lilting atop incredibly complex arrangements.