Review: Two From Eggs In Aspic - Skyjelly / Black Doldrums

Eggs In Aspic are fast becoming one of my favourite labels - for a new label they have certainly hit the ground running. They've already given us some red hot stoner rock from Smokonomicon, superlative psych/space rock from Oulu Space Jam Collective (read my review here) and a blistering live set from perennial faves Cult Of Dom Keller. We can add two more top notch releases to that already impressive roster; a new album from Skyjelly and one from Black Doldrums.

Skyjelly have already graced these pages with a review of their 'Blank Panthers/ Priest, Expert or Wizard' album (review here), and very good that was too. They return, via Eggs In Aspic, with their 'Góst Rock' album. Comprised of 6 tracks that pretty much run the gamut from afrobeat based world music to full on Krautrock. Opener 'Seamagnet's The Bullet' has the feel of a psychedelic Guided By Voices, a lo-fi indie track but with some lovely ringing guitars. 'Energy Vampire Weekend' extends the indie theme, if only in the pun in the title - the track itself is slow burning, melancholic number with metronomic, thudding drums under some soulful lyrics but it's around the four minute mark when things become really interesting when the guitar breaks out into some impassioned psych...almost screaming in pain. 'High Neighbor' (another pun!) is an interesting track....it sounds very 'world' with some guitar straight from an afrobeat release and primal, tribalistic drumming and the vocals matching the afro vibe. It took me a good 3 or 4 listens to 'get' this but once there, gotta say I love this track. 'You're In A Chair In The Sky' has a definite krautrock feel to it, from it's Damo-like vocals to the broken snatches of coruscating guitar, all with an audible hum of bass underneath..probably my fave on the album. 'Two Hawks' is another ace track, full of chiming psychedelic guitar and more clockwork drums. 'Blowing Up My Mind' is lovely track, full of ethereal, keening vocals and more of that trademark Skyjelly guitar, coming together to create a track of beauty and lush atmospheres. This is not an album that will appeal to those who like their psych hard 'n' heavy, but anyone who likes music with intelligence, wit and imagination will undoubtedly get a great deal from this....a great album from a highly creative group of dudes. 'Góst Rock' is available from the Eggs In Aspic Bandcamp page here or the webpage here



Black Doldrums were a new name to me, I didn't even know of their existence until Eggs In Aspic brought them to my attention....and I'm bloody glad they did too because 'People's Temple' is an absolute stormer of an album. This London based duo have already released an EP which, I'm ashamed to say, completely passed me by. The album kicks off with 'Dreamcatcher' a monster of a track with an impenetrable wall of fuzzy sound and crashing drums over which lay the vocals. It's a track that does not let up from start to finish, flying along like a freight train at full speed..brilliant stuff. 'Sidewinder' starts with a great rock'n'roll riff, drenched in reverb and accompanied by more impassioned vocals, it's just as intense as 'Dreamcatcher' but already the album has proved that the band are more than a one-trick pony. 'City Lights' gets off to a smouldering start, all shimmering guitar and the buzz of electricity before it evolves into a great neo-psych number with more great guitar that sounds very garage punk at times. 'Exit City Lights' follows after with it's tribal drums and drones before growing into a track with, initially, more than a whiff of the sixties about it. It grows and grows until it becomes a glorious miasma of fuzzy guitar and crashing percussion. 'Take Me' is firmly rooted in the punk/blues camp, with a guitar drenched in attitude and vocals to match while 'Runaway' sees the duo fall back into neo-psych territory with amped up guitar and vocals that sound a lot 'cleaner' than those heard previously. 'It's A Dandy Massacre' has an intro that sounds like the Dr Who Theme played by Sabbath and the track doesn't look back from there - a veritable hum of electricity hangs over the track, the fuzz so thick you could cut it with a knife. It is the longest track on the album at nine and a half minutes and is a definite standout. 'Skyline Rising' sees the band revisit the blues, but blues ramped up 1000%...a rollicking track, heavy and echo-laden that lays the ground for the closing track 'Maya' which is full to the brim with sharp drumming, ace neo-psych guitar and full of attitude. This album was a bit of a revelation for me, and I love it when that happens. It is chocka with fuzzy energy and positively crackles through the speakers...on this showing the band will sure as eggs is eggs become the favourites of an awful lot of psych heads. 'People's Temple' is available from the Eggs In Aspic Bandcamp page here or the website here. Both this and 'Góst Rock' are released on 3rd Feb but are up for pre-order.