2017: A Retrospective

As 2017 marches inexorably towards its denouement, the time has come to reflect upon the players and the plays that have made it a true annus mirabilis. As has been mentioned countless times by myself and many other commentators we have been truly spoilt by the amount of fantastic music that has been released. On a personal level it has been a rollercoaster; soul sapping lows and euphoric highs but the continual inundation of top class music has been like a steadying hand on the tiller....mollifying the lows and highs and evening out the bumps. Indeed, it has been such a good year that I am going to forego the usual 'Best Of' list - there are just too many good albums that just do not deserve to 'fall through the cracks'. That said, there have been some standout albums, in itself a feat when you consider the competition. With that in mind I have decided to offer you a review of the year from my own perspective.

Standout Albums

Back in February I experienced the nearest thing to what misguided evangelists refer to as 'rapture'; this moment of epiphany was sparked by a simple email from Andy from Riot Season records...the subject, and accompanying files, was a Japanese band called Hibushibire and their album 'Freak Out Orgasm'. It was, and remains, the most viscerally exhilarating album I have heard..the sheer muscularity of the freakout psychedelia blew my tiny mind. If I remember correctly, in the review I drew analogies to "guitar pyrotechnics of Acid Mothers Temple, the hard-as-nails scuzziness of The Heads, the lead heaviness of a fucked-up Blue Cheer and the instrumental dexterity of Hendrix on speed" and I stand by that. It is simply amazingly glorious....'nuff said.



As any regular readers of this blog know Dead Sea Apes hold a special place in my musical heart and any new release I can pretty much guarantee will get the big 'thumbs up'. However, and this is a huge admission on my part, when I listened to 'Sixth Side Of The Pentagon' for the very first time I was a tad disappointed....in hindsight I realise that this was because I was foolishly, and somewhat blinkeredly, expecting another 'Lupus' or 'High Evolutionary'. Once I had chastised myself thoroughly (with very little bloodshed) I listened again and it all fell into place like pieces of a challenging jigsaw. What DSA have done is nothing short of genius....they have subverted their own musical form and bent it into new shapes like a piece of old willow and all in the pursuit of a "damning indictment of this modern world but without polemic and histrionics but rather through imagery and allusion.". - the use of cavernous dub and electronica is sublime and the dexterous guitar of Brett Savage more potent than ever. This album, especially when coupled with the stunning 12" with Adam Stone ('In The Year 2039'), have made Dead Sea Apes one of the most important bands around. As ever, Cardinal Fuzz were responsible for this beaut, all part of the great year that the label has had (I subject I will cover later!).



Flange Circus had already tickled my pickle with a couple of EPs over the past couple of years ('Ekranoplan' and 'Overexposed') and so I thought the album was a pretty safe bet to be a good'un. However, 'Abandoned Glow' proved to be more than that - a clever collection of tracks that take in krautrock, kosmische, hauntology and synth driven soundtracks, from the very first note to very last I was hooked. The album displays a deep knowledge and a deeper love of music and the band utilise these with respect for for their influences and with a mischievous grin on their faces. It is an album that keeps on giving regardless of how many listens.....brilliant, brilliant stuff.



Moths & Locusts' 'Intro/Outro' is another gamechanger of an album. That the band know their chops was a given (last year's 'Helios Rising' proved that they were a band capable of scorching space rock and driving psych) but, like the Dead Sea Apes album, they subverted their own form and played with structure to produce something quite, quite startling. Based on recognised psych tropes they felt comfortable enough in their own abilities to bend and shape these tropes to their purpose. It takes in dub, electronica, spoken word samples, a touch of folk and some serious groove. Again, like the DSA, this is an important album....one that should shape the psych landscape and show that guitar pedals are not the be all and end all of making a good album. Initially out on tape via the wonderful Eggs In Aspic, it was given the vinyl treatment by Cardinal Fuzz and Noiseagonymayhem



Those albums above are only the very tip of the iceberg with regards to fantastic releases. I was intending on listing my faves but that proved to be: a. very difficult and b. in danger of missing so much quality music. In order to catch all those releases below is a resume of 2017.

A Smorgasbord of Quality

It has been a bumper year for the Nordic Countries and has gone someway to cement in place that region's claim to be the current 'Psych' capital. Those who mine the past for great music will already be aware of Sweden's heritage - Träd, Gräs & Stenar, Pärson Sound and Baby Grandmothers were turning out quality music decades ago. This mantle has been firmly grasped by the new generation, none more so than Kungens Män. They have been around for a few years but 2017 saw the release of what may be their masterpiece - 'Dag & Natt' (Adansonia Records) - a simmering, luxurious album that is exhilarating and restful in equal measure. Put this with their 'Tomhetens Furste' tape (Eggs In Aspic) and you have a very fine year for the guys. Later in the year Eggs In Aspic also threw us another Scandinavian gem in the shape of Charlottas Burnin' Trio (CB3) and their 'From Nothing To Eternity' tape, top notch psych jamming with nods to prog and jazz. The year started well with the release of Lamagaia's S/T album via Cardinal Fuzz and Sunrise Ocean Bender. It proved to be a huge album full of attack and krautrock goodness. One of the real surprises of the year came via the snowy vistas of Finland - Soft Power's 'In A Brown Study' is a glorious album that takes jazz as its building blocks and weaves it among strands of psych. prog and even some lounge. A real standout of the year and an album that I would heartily recommend to everyone. Of course, we mustn't forget that the legends themselves, Träd, Gräs & Stenar, gave us a new album - 'Tack För Kaffet' - that is as brilliant as anything they have done. Throw into the mix cracking albums from Domboshawa and Love Is The Answer and it would seem that it is definitely NOT grim up north!



O Canada!

This year Cardinal Fuzz graced us with what is possibly the best compilation of the year - 'Return Of Son Of Gutbucket - An Underground Canadian Psych Explosion' was an exploration of the utterly brilliant stuff coming from Canada. It had tracks from The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol, Shooting Guns, Moths & Locusts, Radiation Flowers, Anunnaki, Backholmes, Hawkeyes and Psychic Pollution and every single one of those brought their 'A' game to the table. Regardless of the premise the comp is outstanding but when you consider it all came from one country.....outstanding! I've already waxed lyrically about Moths & Locusts but there were plenty of other contributions throughout the year that shows that Canada has a very rich seam of psych running through it. The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol offered us two exceptional products; the 'Quality Rolls' split LP with Crab Boat (a heartfelt tribute to a dearly missed friend of the band) and 'Cosmic Curios (a trip into the TBWNIAS archive) that also marked the sophomore release from The Weird Beard label...expecting big things from those guys in the coming year!. It has long been held as a truth that TBWNIAS are THE foremost purveyors of improvised kraut/psych jams and every release just bangs that rep firmly in place. Again 2018 promises big things from these solid guys. Way back at the start of 2017 saw my first exposure to the brain-melting of Anunnaki (a side project of Dave from Moths & Locusts)...'Exploitations of the Chiromancer' was, and remains, a highlight for me...a gloriously heavy and challenging album which was followed in short succession by an equally good EP 'The Chelaship'. 2017 also saw a new one from Holy Mount - 'The Drought' was a more than worthy follow up to 2015's exceptional ''We Fell From The Sky'. Other Canadian highlights were a long awaited album from garage/psychsters The Intelligence Service, a new one from the multi-talented Khan Tengri and some psychedelic doom from Low Orbit.



The Italian Job

It goes without saying that there were plenty of releases from Italy that rocked my world. Any new album from Heroin In Tahiti is a cause of celebration but doubly so when it is of the quality shown in 'Remoria'...more of the band's ritualistic and atavistic percussion wrapped around glitchy electronica and hauntological musings..it is an outstanding album! 'Remoria' was released by a new imprint of the Soave label - the 'Grandangolo' series is curated by Donato Epiro, the doyen of Italian left-field sound composition, and this series also brought us new material from Golden Cup and Squadra Omega. It was one of the two new Squadra Omega releases this year, both exceptional but very dufferent. The Grandangola release was 'Materia Oscura', a cerebral, complex layering of electronica and skronky freeform jazz - not an easy listen but an ultimately rewarding one. This was followed by 'Nervosa' a much more psychedelic outing but rooted in musique concrete. The one Italian based album I keep coming back to on a regular basis is 'Volume Uno' by Stromboli (Maple Death Records)..an exercise in industrial soundscape conjuration that is deeply immersive and incredibly addictive. Boring Machines has been one of my very favourite labels in recent years and they continued to release thought provoking and challenging records, the highlights being the wonderful WK569 and their homage to the Italian electronic pioneers and some mesmerising ambient music from Adriano Zanni. 2017 also saw a new offering from JuJu - 'Our Mother Was a Plant' - a more afrocentric and less shamanic affair than his amazing S/T debut but just as effective and hypnotic. A special mention to Da Captain Trips who brought us a wonderful album of trippiness with 'Adventures In The Upside Down' - a great mix of psychedelia, kosmische, prog and surf that is a real balm for the soul. Without doubt though, regardless of how good all the above are, the best Italian record this year must be Julie's Haircut and their 'Invocation And Ritual Dance Of My Demon Twin' (Rocket Recordings) - a masterful fusing of smoky jazz with ritualistic mantras, shamanic vibes and fuzzy psychedelia. On record a masterpiece but live lifted to something higher....awesome!



Vorsprung Durch Technik

Sulatron, as ever, lead the German charge at 2017 with the release of a new Electric Moon, a 're-imagined' Zone Six and solo outings for Sula Bassana. March saw the release of 'Stardust Rituals', an album of new material from Electric Moon that saw a shift in the band's approach; a more laid back vibe and vocals, but absolutely no drop in quality..an absolute gem of an album. The Zone Six is the band's debut offering from many, many years ago but this is the 'original' instrumental version (the original released version had vocals) and it is a stormer with the masterful playing that you associate with the band. It is a record that is notable for being a. quality and b. a document that marks the nascent beginnings of one of the premiere space rock outfits out there. Sula Bassana gave us his first ever film soundtrack and a new solo album. 'The Ape Regards His Tail' (from the film of the same name) showed that Sula had an inherent grasp of what makes a good soundtrack...atmospheric electronica that conjures mental images of landscapes ... and it worked as a stand alone body of work. 'Organ Accumulator' from earlier in the year almost set the scene for the soundtrack with some fabulous electronica and Carpenteresque touches. Tonzonen continued their run of top quality releases the pick of which were the Cholo Visceral 'Vol II' album, with its sheer energy, drive and creativity (and before anyone gripes...yeah, I know the band are not German but hail from Peru, but the label is German...deal with it!), and label owner Dirk's own project Sounds Of New Soma and their 'La Grande Bellezza' album - a wonderful neo-krautrock electronica..challenging, experimental but undeniably beautiful. I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be a Tonzonen record that will be the one to beat next year! Elsewhere Adansonia brought us a 3 disc boxset ('EOXXV') from Electric Orange, a simply dazzling collection of cosmic krautrock from one of the premier bands around.



Cardinal Fuzz

As you may have noticed, 2 of the 4 standout albums came to us via Cardinal Fuzz and that is of no surprise bearing mind the quality that the Cardinal has brought us throughout the year. As well as the already mentioned albums the label also brought us two other albums that would be in my top ten were I to have one! 'Magnetic Anomaly' by Cobra Family Picnic, an album of such invention that it is staggering....interlacing blistering psych with krautrock and building layers and layers within tracks...in my review I called it a "work of majesty and genius" and I truly believe that (co-released with Sky Lantern). The Plastic Crimewave Syndicate album 'Thunderbolt Of Flaming Wisdom' is something else, a scuzzy and downright dirty collection of tracks that manages to channel The Stooges, Hawkwind, Butthole Surfers, New York 'No Wave' and jazz in just five tracks. A visceral hit of an album that exhilarates and invigorates the listener...absolute fucking class and an essential part of any collection. These and the aforementioned albums are just a few of the stunning records brought to us by CF this year, any of which will no doubt grace peoples' 'Best Of' lists. In my view, one of the most important labels in the world and long may it continue!



Drone Rock

Brighton's Drone Rock Records continues to go from strength to strength and 2017 has been a stellar year for the label. Starting the year in fine style with the brilliant 'Zen Bastard' from Earthling Society (one of two albums by the band and, in my view the superior of the two..although 'Ascent To Godhead' via Riot Season is still pretty damned special!). ES have been one of my fave bands for a while and 'Zen Bastard' only re-affirmed that..an alchemical mix of space rock, prog and psych that combine to form something very special indeed. To follow this up with the debut vinyl of blog favourites Stupid Cosmonaut was inspired..'Algol' payed homage to the kosmische/krautrock pioneers with an album of gravitas and atmosphere. Throughout the year Drone Rock have plied us with top quality material...every release has been a winner...and I'm pretty darned sure that that will continue throughout the years to come and one of the live highlights of the year will be the Drone Rock alldayer in Brighton on 24th Feb (all your Drone Rock faves with added Carlton Melton!)....good on ya Adam!



Tapes, Tapes, Tapes

One of the more satisfying trends this year has been the re-emergence of 'tape culture'....labels that release primarily tape based music have proliferated during 2017 and the upshot is that much more interesting music is getting a physical release. I have neither the space or the time to list all these labels but special mention must go to two. Eggs In Aspic have grown to become on of my fave labels and they have built a catalogue of scintillating and varied music, all primarily psych based but individualistic. I've already mentioned the CB3, Kungens Män and Moths & Locusts albums but there have been many, many more.....Black Doldrums, Monster Killed By Laser and Oulu Space Jam Collective, among many others, were all different but all equally brilliant...each demonstrating individual facets of 'Psychedelic' music. The love and attention that the label pays to its releases is evident and I, for one, wish them continued success. The other label is Cruel Nature, a label that revels in all things noisy and, as with Eggs In Aspic, every release is different. I have lost count of the great tapes that have dropped through the letterbox this year from CN but I have to say that 'Ancient Alien Tempel Ritual' from Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska is up with the best I've heard this year...sublime reverb psychedelic explorations that are dripping in atmosphere and arcane rituals...absolutely brilliant!



Some More

Some of my faves of the year don't fit into my somewhat tenuous groupings so here they are: Prana Crafter gave us his 'MindStreamBlessing' album.....a wonderfully evocative and atmospheric collection of songs beautifully realised by William Sol. One of the most blissful records of the year. Kikagaku Moyo's 'Stone Garden' caused a fuss, but for the wrong reasons - logistical problems and issues with distributors lead to it becoming a very late arriving record.....but after the fuss died down it was the band doing what they are best at. Comacozer represent our antipodean brothers with their heavier-than-fuck 'Kalos Eidos Skopeo' album.....these guys are getting dangerously to becoming one of my all-time faves! Finally The Myrrors released 'Hasta La Victoria' to great acclaim...I must admit I still prefer 'Arena Negra' but when talking about The Myrrors that like saying I prefer a Mclaren to a Ferrari.

All in all it has been a fantastic year...so much great music by old favourites and new discoveries and the year was rounded off by the first Dayz Of Purple and Orange live gig.....Psychic Lemon, Thee Telepaths and Cowboy Flying Saucer came to Chelmsford and all played a blinder. Hopefully there will be many more nights like that in 2018.