Review: Psychic Lemon - Psychic Lemon

Pretty much on a daily basis I get 4 or 5 emails from bands/labels/PR bods asking for some coverage on Dayz of Purple, which is really cool. Some are big names in the scene, some not so well-known and some are small and probably known only in their local town....again really cool. In a week I reckon on 4 or 5 being pretty essential, 2 or 3 being OK, 3 or 4 not really within the remit of this blog and the rest don't really float my boat. However, every now and then a 'small' band will contact me whose material just blows me away...Psychic Lemon are one of those. Psychic Lemon are 4 guys from Cambridge whose influences include " Goat, The Heads and Amon Düül II" and who rehearse and record 5 minutes from Syd Barrett's place...off to a flyer boys!. They play some awesomely good psychedelic/krautrock stuff that is filled with groove and oozes class.

First track, 'TiCkToK' opens with an irresistible bassline before some frantic wah-wah kicks in. The track settles into a post-punk kosmische tune, the vocals interspersed with that fab guitar. I defy anyone not to nod their head or tap their feet to this....it maintains the krauty feel but is simultaneously funky. Towards the end we are even treated to some jazzy flute (Ron Burgundy anyone?). 'Death Cult Blues' is the standout track, a real 70s krautrock feel and more flute. It flows and rocks effortlessly...these guys know what they are doing. The flute lends the track a proggy feel (I'm trying really hard not to mention Jethro Tull!) but the overwhelming vibe is cosmic. The track evolves into a psych jam of the highest standard...I find it hard to believe that these guys only played their first gig together 18 months ago. By the end of the track guitars, drums, flute and spacey synths come together effortlessly to play out what is a fantastic track. 'Good Cop Bad Cop' is a funkier affair with a Gang of Four, post-punk bassline, and some seventies inflected wah-wah. The ever present flute adds to the seventies feel while lush washes of synth imbue the track with a spacey feel....another irresistible track. The beginning of 'Analogue Summer' changes the mood with the sound of birdsong and Cocteau Twins-like guitar giving it a hazy, dreamy feel...keyboard effects and what sounds like slide guitar adding to the bucolic atmosphere, almost verging on Americana. 'Dilator' arrives with a flourish; another driving tune with a motorik rhythm and guitars straight from the Hawkwind manual. The vocals, when they arrive, have a cynical tone which gives the track a flash of flint and menace. This is another kosmische number rooted in the seventies. The album is closed with 'Horizon', the longest track on the album at just over ten minutes. Opening with a snatch of spoken world before some Dick Dale guitar kicks in over another motorik driven rhythm driving things forward. Just as you think they are going to reach a crescendo, things break down into a softer, lilting guitar part before the drums kick in again and the vocals plaintively urge " Lie still with me" which acts as a cue for some wah-wah and more metronomic drums. After another vocal passage things start building again towards a crescendo...and this time it arrives, with squalling guitar and a gallimaufry of space effects before the album is played out with a howl of feedback......a suitably satisfying manner in which to finish an exceptional album.

If an album of this quality was released by a 'better known' group, it would be hailed as a classic. I find it remarkable that this is the debut of a band who have only been together five minutes....the cohesion and synchronicity they show belies this fact....this sounds like the work of a band who have played together for years. The clever mixing of styles and instruments shows true creativity and invention. In case I haven't made it clear....I fuckin' love this. I will be following these guys' career with interest. 'Psychic Lemon' is not released until 4th March and will be available as a download (£3) or CD (£5) through their Bandcamp page here (the link won't be live until 4th march, but rest assured, dear readers, I WILL be reminding you!)