Review: Hotel Wrecking City Traders - Phantamonium

Undoubtedly one of the musical highlights for me last year was the split 12" on Australia's Wild Animals label of Hotel Wrecking City Traders and Hey Colossus....it was way up my list of Singles/EPs for 2015. The HWCT track, 'Droned and Disowned (Pt.2)' was a twenty seven minute monster of drone, feedback and fuzzy acid jams. I delved further into the HWCT's back catalogue courtesy of their Bandcamp page and found some real treasures amongst the past releases. What became apparent was that this was a band who are not afraid to experiment with genres. sounds and approaches. When the news came through that the band had a new album imminent I, for one, was excited. The band are ostensibly a duo, brothers Ben (drums) and Toby (guitar) but they are joined on 'Phantamonium' by Raul Sanchez i Jorge (River of Snakes/Magic Dirt/Midnight Woolf) and between them they have produced four tracks of monumental psych/acid jams that are guaranteed to rattle the rafters and dislodge the roof tiles. It is brought to us by Evil Hoodoo, one of many fine small labels here in the UK that are proving to be the very lifeblood of decent music.

'Dusted Pines' opens proceedings, initially gently with some softly strummed guitar and then joined by some solid drums, all underpinned by some spacey synth and setting up a repetitive groove that is infectious and hypnotic. Gradually the track blossoms with the drums really hitting their stride and the synth morphing into a ominous, cosmic drone. The guitar gets heavier and fuzzier until the last 2 or 3 minutes become a maelstrom of galactic proportions, the guitar, drums and drone combining to meld into a veritable force of nature. Title track 'Phantamonium' is another gentle starter, the guitar chiming brightly over some more rock solid drums. The mid-tempo pacing draws the listener into a false sense of security, only the odd burst of feedback acting as a harbinger of what is to come. About halfway through the track's eleven plus minutes it all kicks off....some awesome acid guitar, all wah-wah and attitude, explodes into life and the drums raise the tempo to match. The last half is a glorious banquet of feedback, noise and psychedelic jamming...now this is what it's all about! 'Droned and Disowned (Pt.1)' is a prequel in both name and sound to the aforementioned track from last year. A barrage of feedback greets the listener before the drums come crashing in and, after a gradual build up, it becomes a juggernaut...the sheer power is staggering whilst not losing its precision and focus. This is acid jamming of the highest order, ripping a hole in the space-time continuum...fucking huge! 'Entering The Lodge' closes the album and is the one track that starts with any urgency..the drums are straight on it, matched by some more fine psych guitar work. A spacey drone is added to the mix to give the track a space rock vibe. It is mesmerising stuff, the repetition is again hypnotic and holds our attention throughout. Despite the pacey start there is still room for some acceleration and it evolves into another cosmic jamming session of gargantuan proportions.

I'm gonna run out of superlatives for this record...it is simply amazing! The power and scale of the four tracks takes the listener's breath away, and yet it has a precision that keeps it all tight. There is enough variety in the tracks to hold you rapt...whilst they are all huge leviathans of psychedelic improvisation they have their own individual approach and styles. If this does not make my personal top ten this year, then 2016 will be a year of mythic proportions. 'Phantamonium' is available from the Evil Hoodoo webstore here. It is a limited release of 300 and comes in white vinyl and artwork by Mike Eginton of Earthless. Pre-orders are up now with a release date of 18th March...get in quick 'cos you need this in your life!