Review: vert:x - From Now To Now

The lasting influence of the punk rock explosion of the seventies is a subject oft discussed and now is not the time to debate the musical nous of the Pistols etc. However, the one, over-riding legacy for which we can all be thankful is the spirit of 'Do It Yourself'...The Buzzcocks would not have become the iconic the band that they are if they had not had the cojones and the sheer 'fuck you' attitude to self-release the 'Spiral Scratch' EP, which has now gone on to be a defining moment in musical history. Sure, there were some 'weird' ramifications of the DIY spirit....casualties like Sid Vicious became a 'musical' icon despite not having a clue...but who cares! The lasting legacy was one of a shift of the cultural paradigm with regard to music....it took some of the power away from the major, commercial labels and passed it into the hands of a new breed..the 'Indies'. Don't worry, I am going somewhere with this....the upshot is that now in the psych 'scene', the most original, creative and downright awesome releases come via small labels....the likes of Cardinal Fuzz, Drone Rock, Riot Season etc. And the big difference? They do it for the love of the music; a deep and abiding respect for the artists they release and a true belief in the product....if they like an artist and wanna hear some music, fuck it, they will release it...they are the very lifeblood of the scene that we all love so much. With this in mind, when you hear about a group of like-minded music lovers with little or no experience of 'the biz' decide that they want to put a record out, it is something to be applauded and admired. The Weird Beard are one such collective - connected by a deep love of music, specifically all things psych and fuzzy, they have bitten the bullet and dived headlong into the thankless, potless world of music labels. And the subject of this debut release? None other than the estimable vert:x! If I may quote the press release (and I think I may!) "Armed only with their coruscating guitars, metronomic beats and a hangar full of spacey electronica, vert:x have been traversing the space rock continuum for 10 years, thrilling the various lifeforms they meet on their way with their own unique brand of psychedelic / krautrock / spacepunk meanderings." A band who have appeared on 2 of the best compilations in recent times ( Drone Rock's 'Magnetic North' and Terrascope's 'Paper Leaves') as well as many self-released CDrs, vert:x are getting the vinyl treatment they deserve and boy....does it sound good!

There are but 3 tracks on 'From Now To Now' but clocks in at a mighty 50 minutes. The album opens with 'Space Junk' and immediately we are thrown into a lysergic maelstrom of cosmic guitars and spacey electronica that more than channels the spirit of Hawkwind - they take what that hoary, hairy bunch of rockers have spent decades honing and makes it look a bit....well, paltry...this is grade A space rock that soars and swoops and leaves you feeling breathless. I'm gonna utter some words that will be heresy in some quarters...if you like space rock, then vert:x are the band to whom you need to listen..forget Hawkwind! 'Space Junk' is an exhilarating ride through the cosmos that is, frankly, spectacular! 'Suns Of Ra' is, if anything, even better. Initially it is a tad more sedate than 'Space Junk' but if the tempo has been reduced, the spacey vibes have been ratcheted up. The play on words of the title should not be missed - 'Suns Of Ra' does have a touch of the Sun Ra about it - the same extra-planetary rhetoric, swapping Ra's jazzy precision and structures for ones deeply embedded into psychedelic space rock There is more emphasis put on krautrock in this track with motorik rhythms and the same enveloping atmospheres created by some of the greats. For a track of over 15 minutes in length, it passes in the flash of an eye, such is its immersive nature. The last track is HUGE! 'Planet Of The Mindstealers' is a mighty half an hour long and is a monumental tract of music. It takes the listener on a rollercoaster ride from here to the Horsehead Nebula and back accompanied by a soundtrack that artfully mixes driving space rock with krautrock sensibilities and swathes of kosmische synths. It envelopes you like a heavenly cocoon..mesmerising and hypnagogic to the extreme and genuinely worthy of the 'psychedelic' epithet...when it comes to a close you are left wondering where the last 30 minutes have gone. If we jump forward 100 years, classical musical scholars will hold this up as a magnum opus of the space rock movement..in the same way we talk about Beethoven's 9th or Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Scheherazade'. Brilliant, brilliant stuff!

I've long been an admirer of vert:x, getting hold of physical products where I can,but usually making do with digital and so I am genuinely excited by this record. That vert:x have been immortalised on wax is reason enough to celebrate, but when it is as good as this..wow! This is space rock par excellence...exhilarating, mesmeric and, as with of vert:x's output, played with exceptionally high levels of technical knowhow and musicianship. The Weird Beard have chosen well in their debut release and if they continue in the same vein then maybe we will talk about them the same way we do about our own favourite labels - kudos! 'From Now To Now' will be available on pre-order from The Weird Beard shop here and comes in a otherworldly green splatter vinyl.