Review: Cobra Family Picnic - Magnetic Anomaly

So far this year I reckon there have been 3 or 4 releases that could easily stroll to the top of a 'best of' list come the end of the year...and we can add another to that list! Coming from the 'dream team' that is Cardinal Fuzz and Sky Lantern Records comes this absolute belter of an album from Cobra Family Picnic, a band who had never previously registered on my radar. They hail from Tucson and brand themselves as 'Psych Space Noise Rockers' and having shared stages with Mugstar, White Manna and The Myrrors over the past 3 years they have certainly moved in the right circles. As to 'Magnetic Anomaly'...well, it is a fascinating and enthralling romp through the psychedelic world, drawing on different influences and styles to become what my old Nan would call 'Fuckin' A'..it twists and turns leading you up one alley before doubling back and taking you in a different direction. In a word...brilliant!

Opening with a sample of a rocket launch countdown, a more apposite sample I cannot think of, 'Draags' blossoms into a kraut inflected gem....the fuzz laden guitars weave hazy patterns over which some funky synths and jazzy drums lift everything into a territory all of its own. The vocals are muted, almost inaudible, and the overall feel is laidback but highly infectious. 'IPT 001' is pure Berlin School...drones and electronica combining with strangely garbled vocals to produce a track that is right up my boulevard. 'Elysium' sees the wonderfully fuzzy guitar return, this time in conjunction with some tribal sounding drums and the static hum of feedback. There are flashes of electronica that add an extra layer and, with the vocals, everything comes together to produce a neo-psych beauty that constantly evolves over its seven minute journey. 'IPT 011' is a luscious sojourn into the world of synths and drones and echoey guitar. The chattering of electronica sounds like birdsong and with the soft shimmer of cymbal it is a bucolic beauty. 'Frost' is a stormer that comes across like Can on steroids. The motorik rhythm and groove laden guitar lay the base for some plaintive vocals...a brilliant, brilliant track! 'Gilgamesh' changes the tack once, this time with some righteous psych guitar and a bassline that throbs like a hammer struck thumb. There comes a point in the track when the guitar really opens up and lets rip and on every listen has brought an admiring smile to my lips. 'IPT 111', like the previous 'IPT' tracks, sees the psychedelic stylings swapped for a more electronica based approach. This one is the most abstract, at times verging on the musique concrete with discordant stabs of synths and percussion. These interludes are a touch of genius when considering the structure of the album....they add different dimensions and a soupcon of intellectual curiosity to proceedings which raise this album above 'normal' psychedelic fare. 'Moody Mountain' is a slow burner...beginning with some mournful, sunbaked guitars and more tribal drums a la The Myrrors....it paints a soundscape of mesas and prairies and warm breezes. As is becoming increasingly evident, Cobra Family Picnic are not a band to just let a track drift..they build on structures to create music that is multi-layered and infinitely fascinating. The album is brought to a rollicking close with 'Contact'..another built on a krautrock base with metronomic drums and wavering synths over which the feedback and reverb of the guitar does its magic. It is a fantastic track which seems to wrap up the proceeding tracks in one sublime precis....that fantastic guitar, the electronica flourishes, the kosmische rhythms and a modicum of post-punk moodiness for good measure.

'Magnetic Anomaly' is a work of majesty and genius. Packed to the gunwales with everything that the average psych lover will adore and it is all put together in a way that is enthralling and unbelievably satisfying. Like all great records it more than stands up to multiple plays, in fact it demands it...I've had it on a loop for most of the day and every listen is as fresh as the first. Cardinal Fuzz is a label that is not short of truly great recordings; the Cardinal has an exemplary ear for quality, but with this it has something of a diamond. An astounding record! It is released on 22nd May but the vinyl and CD are up for pre-sale now at Cardinal Fuzz here and those stateside can get the vinyl and tape from Sky Lantern Records here.