Review: Blown Out - Celestial Sphere

Blown Out were responsible for 2 of the densest, face-melting slabs of psych of last year - the nestling of 'Planetary Engineering' and 'Jet Black Hallucinations' next to each other on hundreds of record shelves were the real reason for the recent detection of gravitational waves...black holes, nah! Show's what Einstein knew. Christ alone knows what the recent release of 'Celestial Sphere' will do to the known universe. The combination of Mike Vest (guitar), John-Michael Hedley (bass) and Matt Baty (drums) have come together again to produce another 28 minutes of monumental, lysergic psych, only this time there is no vinyl. For those disappointed by that news, just be glad it can be in your life at all, and also sales will help the band hit the road in April so you can go get your brain scrambled live. The tour will take in Belgium, The Netherlands and Northern France:

Wednesday 20th - Peniche Legia, Liege (BE)

Thursday 21st - La Malterie, Lille (FR)

Friday 22nd - Hall of Fame, Tilburg (NL)

Saturday 23rd - In De Ruimte, Gent (BE)

Sunday 24th - OCCII, Amsterdam (NL)

Tuesday 26th - dB's, Utrecht (NL) w/ GNOD + Bong-Ra

Wenesday 27th - Magazin 4, Brussels (BE) w/ GNOD

Thursday 28th - CinePalace, Kortrijk (BE)

Bloody hell, Blown Out and Gnod on the same bill - I think some sort of counselling service or neurological trauma team should be on hand.

To the music - 'Celestial Sphere' is split into 3 parts, "Phase I', 'Phase II' and 'Phase III'. 'Phase I' is the longest track at 14 minutes; waves upon waves of acid-fuelled psych guitar, drenched in reverb, that gets into your head and won't leave. The throbbing bassline and pumelling drums give the track a megalithic backbone and the overall effect is....well, just Blown Out (note to Oxford English Dictionary - 'Blown Out' -adjective - something dense and solid; To move mountains using music; mind fuck). As with previous releases it produces a pleasant claustrophobia; listening on headphones you feel at once trapped and yet blissfully free. The track ends with some glorious feedback. 'Phase II' continues the sonic onslaught but feels a bit more urgent. The same undulating guitar and incessant rhythm on the same cosmic scale. The track morphs a tad, the rhythm slows and Vest's guitar becomes clearer and given some space to roam over the sonic wall of fuzz, it wails like the voices of so many tortured souls. 'Phase II' is by far the shortest track at under five minutes. Packed with fuzzy wah-wah, jackhammer drums and pulsating bass it throbs like a wounded beast and shimmers with an almost spiritual ecstasy....it's not nearly long enough.

'Celestial Sphere' continues where previous releases left off - dense layers of guitar and reverb with a rock solid rhythm section that wraps the listener in a cocoon of psychedelic bliss. I've made no secret in the past of my love of all of Vest's projects, Blown Out especially, and this album just solidifies that admiration. It is an essential album, one that all lovers of heavy-as-fuck psych MUST have. As mentioned it is only available as a download at the moment, but rejoice, fellow travellers, that these sonic warriors continue to give us the doses of lysergic medication that we need. 'Celestial Sphere' can be downloaded via the Blown Out bandcamp page here.