eyeplug.net/magazine – eyeplug.net/magazine
type: channel
date: 2026-02-26T12:58:11Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: HELICON X AL LOVER ‘Arise’
items: Tearing up God’s living room…
items: Mellowmaker – new Black Market Karma album on Fuzz Club records
items: Totally wired – ‘Monkeypunch’ by The Dirt
items: The Men ‘Buyer Beware’
items: Stuffed Foxes ‘Standardized’
items: Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K Sub and other strange stories Volume III, by Alvin Gibbs
items: Nothingheads ‘The Art Of Sod’ LP review
items: Skloss ‘The Pattern Speaks’
items: Black Doldrums – ‘In Limerence’
items: Upupayáma – Mount Elephant
items: Black Market Karma – ‘Wobble’

HELICON X AL LOVER ‘Arise’
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2026-02-12T19:18:33Z
subject: Bands
subject: Features
subject: Music
subject: Psychedelic
subject: Reviews
subject: Rock
subject: trip hop
subject: trippy
subject: dance
subject: bass
subject: Arise
subject: Al Lover
subject: sitar
subject: beats
subject: Fuzz Club Records
subject: neo psychedelia
subject: scotland
subject: glasgow
subject: helicon
subject: album review
subject: psych
subject: Fuzz Club
subject: Psychedelia
subject: psychedelic
description: Helicon have been flying high for a few years now but have just raised their game even further and are set to blow the musical landscape wide open with this one; ‘Arise’ – just released on Fuzz Club – is a game changer right from the beginning of the opening, title track. Once it swirls …
encoded: Helicon have been flying high for a few years now but have just raised their game even further and are set to blow the musical landscape wide open with this one; ‘Arise’ – just released on Fuzz Club – is a game changer right from the beginning of the opening, title track. Once it swirls into life it takes just seconds to launch you into new realms; it’s a celebration, expansive and laid back, full of soul and fire and it feels like some sort of a crescendo even though it’s only the first track. So far, each Helicon record has been very different to the one before, moving away from generic psych and any sort of predictability, delving further into new zones and hipper territory altogether. After the debut self-titled album, the ‘Zero Fucks’ 10” and then the ‘This Can Only Lead To Chaos’ LP it felt like they’d taken the guitar riffs and psych stylings way beyond their normal boundaries and could probably continue in that way for years..but then along came ‘God Intentions’, cinematic and reflective and with even greater depth and vision, different to anything else around and a unique twist on urban psychedelia . And now….boom! they’ve hooked up with Californian avant dub electronica guru Al Lover and dropped this monster! Helicon have always been collaborators like no other band I’ve ever known, always happy to embrace other influences and to work with and support other bands and artists. After swapping ideas and working remotely on demos the American producer and DJ hooked up with the band In Glasgow and the album showcases the results of these alchemical musical meetings. The partnership might seem unlikely in a way, but the connection is obviously a strong one and they’ve worked some serious voodoo together. It’s big and bassy and danceable, but it’s still very much Helicon, it’s still got that grit and psych punch; never slaves to genre conventions anyway the collaboration has pushed all involved deeper into new textures and sounds. <img decoding="async" class=" wp…

Tearing up God’s living room…
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2026-01-15T21:54:13Z
subject: Bands
subject: Dark
subject: Music
subject: Post-punk
subject: gang of four
subject: the third sound
subject: tricky
subject: golden hours
subject: brian jonestown massacre
subject: LP review
subject: album
subject: album review
subject: psych
subject: dark
subject: Post Punk
subject: Fuzz Club
subject: Fuzztones
subject: Gary Powell
description: An early dose of salvation delivered to us for the new year…Golden Hours are back with ‘Beyond Wires’, following up 2023s self-titled debut…and they’re back with a lush evocative masterpiece, once more on Fuzz Club records. The latest offering is as dark and poetic as you’d expect given the previous release and the history and …
encoded: An early dose of salvation delivered to us for the new year…Golden Hours are back with ‘Beyond Wires’, following up 2023s self-titled debut…and they’re back with a lush evocative masterpiece, once more on Fuzz Club records. The latest offering is as dark and poetic as you’d expect given the previous release and the history and previous form of the band members , but this one seems even more direct and powerful. It’s one of those rare records where every track sounds like a single (so I’m not going to describe each one – you need to hear them!) and each instrument seems in the spotlight at different times. I confess to being a bit bass-obsessed so I’m always listening out for it but it would be miraculous if a sweeter, more satisfying bass sound makes it to vinyl all year – often a fat, threatening low-end rumble and at others nimbly lurking and snaking around the drums – the way the two interact is a big feature of the album. The twin guitars blaze and fuzz in epic style making the whole thing sound beautiful and grand and noisy…. The vocals are taken in turns and shared equally between Hakon (guitar) and Wim (bass); both have deep rich baritones that work perfectly with the widescreen cinematic lyrics; shadowy tales and distressed anthems – ragged and velvety in turns, portraying a twilit world of love, loss and the strange drama of existence lit up by flashes of hope and light, a strung out modern blues, hymns of fuzz and reverb. The whole set manifests a resigned or questioning melancholy but at times a venomous menacing undercurrent takes over and there is plenty of rock ‘n’ roll thrust and swagger. No single genre tag fits for this record as there is a pure and timeless feel to it, and although there’s certainly an early 80s post punk feel and sound – dark, driving and enigmatic – there are other, less straightforward elements lurking, little unexpected cracks and bursts of sound and atmosphere that seem to crawl out from the storm and set this apart from anyth…

Mellowmaker – new Black Market Karma album on Fuzz Club records
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2025-06-13T13:39:35Z
subject: Bands
subject: Psychedelic
subject: rocknroll
subject: mellowmaker
subject: black market karma
subject: Fuzz Club Records
subject: LP review
subject: album
subject: album review
subject: psych
subject: guitars
subject: psychedelic
subject: Psychedelic Pop
description: The Black Market Karma journey continues….it seems like Stanley Belton, who writes and records all the sounds on this album, is currently firing out these nuggets at will and each time takes us further into his world, revealing more of his vision. ‘Mellowmaker’ is a close relation and perfect companion to last years ‘Wobble’ also …
encoded: The Black Market Karma journey continues….it seems like Stanley Belton, who writes and records all the sounds on this album, is currently firing out these nuggets at will and each time takes us further into his world, revealing more of his vision. ‘Mellowmaker’ is a close relation and perfect companion to last years ‘Wobble’ also on Fuzz Club – liquid grooves over rattling drum loops, vocals beamed in from another time and place; still hovering in a liminal zone somewhere between realism and escapism – evoking strong memories and flashbacks that I can never quite put my finger on or pin down The title track lays the course for the rest of the album; warped chugging guitars clattering drums and those distinctive dreamlike faraway vocals spinning out shimmering memories from a parallel universe – so many ideas, vibes and different instruments packed into just over 6 minutes but still coherent and organic feeling. ‘Soft & Heavy’ takes us even further into the mystery…the rhythm section weaves and tumbles and the keyboards bring out the beauty of everyday life that sometimes only music can reveal – the soul and substance underneath the grey dull surface layers. It really is a beautiful piece of music, transporting and uplifting. Later in the album ‘Nautodelia’ has a similar feel – slower paced and dripping with wistful sweet nostalgia; timelessly transporting you to idyllic golden hazy times. Even though it all feels like there’s a unifying concept behind this, something intangible that only Stanley himself understands fully, there’s still plenty of variety on the record’ – ‘Jellylegger’ is pure and poppy and upbeat, ‘Lagging Through The Soup Of Yesterday’ has a grumbling bassline propelling an elastic Madchester dance groove and surreal electronics, and neatly leads into recent single ‘Adoration’ which might just hint at new directions – it sounds totally contemporary. The ghosts of psychedelia past are long gone; hip hop drums, electronic quirks and some epic sounding…

Totally wired – ‘Monkeypunch’ by The Dirt
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2025-06-01T09:33:19Z
subject: Bands
subject: Music
subject: Post-punk
subject: Punk
subject: Reviews
subject: psych punk
subject: guitar
subject: chaos
subject: protest
subject: monkeypunch
subject: the dirt
subject: Sister 9 Recordings
subject: vinyl
subject: bands
subject: review
subject: album review
subject: psych
subject: dark
subject: LP
description: ‘Are you angry?’ asks Jack Horner shortly after The Dirt launch into ‘End Game’ the second track on their second album ‘Monkeypunch’. He clearly is and so should we be too – if we’re not angry at the state of the country and the world at this point in history we may as well all …
encoded: ‘Are you angry?’ asks Jack Horner shortly after The Dirt launch into ‘End Game’ the second track on their second album ‘Monkeypunch’. He clearly is and so should we be too – if we’re not angry at the state of the country and the world at this point in history we may as well all give up now. The scene has already been set during the intro – these are dark times requiring resistance and togetherness. What follows is a bizarrely life affirming stomp through modern times, portraying a real darkness, a rough guide to the decaying urban jungle but at the same time projecting hope. It’s a rallying cry and a call to arms but much more than that, it’s also a blistering guitar overload assault on the senses and an album that will propel The Dirt on to great things. The husband and wife duo (Jack on words/vocals, percussion and Sachiko Wakizaka casting spells with guitars and pedals) have been building real momentum over the last 18 months or so, spreading the word via regular gigging up and down the country, tirelessly promoting themselves and other DIY acts, promoters, writers and venues on social media and just generally being out there and visible in and around the grass roots music scene. This record feels like the culmination of all that effort, a fitting end to a period of development and the start of the next bout of frantic activity. With this searing, adrenalin rush of an album behind them things will really start happening around this band… If you’ve seen them live you’ll have a good idea of what to expect – Jack is a force of nature, wired and full of pent up barely controlled energy, spewing out words, bursting at the seams to…let it all out, exorcise the demons, purge the frustration, reveal the scabrous state of society and it’s injustices. While he leaps around the stage Sachiko cooly works her magic, the calm directing the storm, seemingly effortlessly firing out the warped and fuzzed up carnage. Whatever alchemy she works produces sounds with real bite and in…

The Men ‘Buyer Beware’
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2025-02-26T19:47:03Z
subject: Bands
subject: Dark
subject: Garage
subject: Music
subject: Punk
subject: Rock
subject: Brooklyn
subject: New York
subject: Fuzz Club Records
subject: LP review
subject: bands
subject: album review
subject: psych
subject: Fuzz Club
subject: fuzz
subject: Eyeplug
subject: garage rock
description: I have to confess to not being aware of The Men until Fuzz Club released their ‘New York City’ record in 2023 and the album length ‘Sessions’ shortly after. Turns out they’ve been around for a good while and released a wealth of music; listening back to older productions they’ve got a distinctive sound, but …
encoded: I have to confess to not being aware of The Men until Fuzz Club released their ‘New York City’ record in 2023 and the album length ‘Sessions’ shortly after. Turns out they’ve been around for a good while and released a wealth of music; listening back to older productions they’ve got a distinctive sound, but it never seems to stay the same and that’s evident here as this isn’t like recent outings at all and it seems they get even more direct and focussed with time. We blast off with the furious ‘Pony’ and following that you get another 12 short sharp shocks of high voltage rock ‘n’ roll, all of it electrifying, raw and primal. The spirit of early proto punk is evident throughout, back when the emphasis was on dirty grinding rock ‘n’ roll with catchy tunes – think Heartbreakers, MC5 and Stooges. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ARTWORK-1024x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-16451" srcset="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ARTWORK-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ARTWORK-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ARTWORK-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ARTWORK-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ARTWORK-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ARTWORK-2048x2048.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> It feels like a much-needed release of pent-up frustration; chunky guitar riffs, short spiky solos and a manic rhythm section, drums furious and explosive (almost D-beat on ‘Control’). The gravelly vocals give a strong feel of strangled desperation, weatherbeaten and damaged. There’s spectral boogie rock piano buried in a couple of tracks, and some rich saxophone in the title track and everything is infused with a ragg…

Stuffed Foxes ‘Standardized’
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2024-12-02T22:02:16Z
subject: Bands
subject: Dark
subject: Features
subject: Gigs
subject: Music
subject: Pop
subject: Post-punk
subject: Stolen Body Records
subject: Bristol
subject: France
subject: Standardized
subject: independent
subject: Stuffed Foxes
subject: LP review
subject: shoegaze
subject: vinyl
subject: album
subject: album review
subject: psych
subject: Post Punk
subject: Eyeplug
subject: Gary Powell
subject: LP
description: Bristol’s Stolen Body Records have a real knack for unearthing a range of disparate bands and bringing them to our attention, with no genre shackles holding them down – early champions of acts like Al Lover and Ivan The Tolerable and in recent years being a big part of the rise of the likes of …
encoded: Bristol’s Stolen Body Records have a real knack for unearthing a range of disparate bands and bringing them to our attention, with no genre shackles holding them down – early champions of acts like Al Lover and Ivan The Tolerable and in recent years being a big part of the rise of the likes of Karkara and, most obviously, Slift. Add another French band, the 6-piece Stuffed Foxes, to that list! This isn’t their first release but they’re new to me and definitely warrant attention.. It’s impossible to pin the album down as it constantly shifts styles and song structures – from the weighty shoegazey implosions of opener ‘Biting The Dawn’ and the title track, to the jerky twitching guitars of ‘Merry Xmas’ and ‘Pretend To Be A Dog’, and quite a few tracks that defy description and occupy a number of zones at once. The band seem to inhabit the same headspace as current noise makers such as Spectres and Sex Swing but also seminal post punk legends Wire and Gang Of Four but you can’t really define the record on that as there is also the occasional descent into crushing shoegaze soundscapes and on a number of tracks the ghosts of Steve Harley and ‘Hunky Dory’ era Bowie seem to pay a fleeting visit. ‘Standardized’ is an eclectic record, fresh and full of ideas; an agitated art punk experiment; a new wave of no wave… Stuffed Foxes sound cerebral, weird and ever so slightly Wired and have got me intrigued…luckily they are heading to the UK for a handful of live dates in February 2025 so we’ll soon be able to see what they’re about! <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="819" height="1024" src="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/467479162_18285093265243388_2589542846679364803_n-819x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-16444" srcset="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/467479162_18285093265243388_2589542846679364803_n-819x1024.jpg 819w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/467479162_18285093265243388_25895428…

Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K Sub and other strange stories Volume III, by Alvin Gibbs
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2024-11-14T20:35:51Z
subject: Bands
subject: Articles
subject: Culture
subject: Eyeplugs
subject: Gigs
subject: Literature
subject: Media
subject: Music
subject: Picks
subject: Punk
subject: Rock
subject: Diminished Responsibility
subject: book
subject: on tour forever
subject: writing
subject: book review
subject: Alvin Gibbs
subject: U.K Subs
subject: punk rock
subject: on the road
subject: on tour
subject: rock n roll
subject: live music
subject: Gary Powell
description: Chances are if you’ve read this far you’re already familiar with the legendary U.K. Subs and their place in punk rock history. Their debut album was the first punk record I ever bought (and probably only the third of any sort) so they’ve been part of my life for a very long time, and I …
encoded: Chances are if you’ve read this far you’re already familiar with the legendary U.K. Subs and their place in punk rock history. Their debut album was the first punk record I ever bought (and probably only the third of any sort) so they’ve been part of my life for a very long time, and I know they are held in high esteem by many in the punk scene and beyond. We’re familiar with their ‘on tour forever’ status, their A-Z of album releases over the years and of course the legend that is Charlie Harper (it may well be illegal to utter his name without the word ‘legend’ in the same sentence!) but what most of us won’t be aware of is the detailed background story of the band; multiple line-up changes, personnel rifts, money issues and just how totally chaotic things were at times! That’s where long standing Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs steps in…and he pulls no punches in telling us about both the highs and lows of being a touring and recording punk musician. Volume 1 of Alvin’s memoirs told us about his early years and his initial entry into the world of music including his first stint as a U.K. Sub starting in 1980 and his first appearance on album – with ‘Diminished Responsibility’. Volume 2 dealt with a period of time spent between LA, London and many other parts of the globe and included his time playing with Iggy Pop and Cheap & Nasty. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" data-id="16430" src="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Jez-Keefe-to-be-credited-1-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-16430" srcset="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Jez-Keefe-to-be-credited-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Jez-Keefe-to-be-credited-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Jez-Keefe-to-be-credited-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Jez-Keefe-to-be-credited-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, h…

Nothingheads ‘The Art Of Sod’ LP review
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2024-10-27T15:25:52Z
subject: Features
subject: Post-punk
subject: Punk
subject: Nothingheads
subject: noise
subject: Sister 9 Recordings
subject: dark
subject: Post Punk
subject: Eyeplug
subject: Gary Powell
subject: London
description: Nothingheads debut album punches it’s way out of your speakers from the beginning of ‘Private Pyle’ and doesn’t let up until ‘More Minutes Please’ ends some 35 minutes later. It’s an explosive, furious record that spans the gap between scathing post punk and riff heavy modern garage rock but quite rightly pays no real regard …
encoded: Nothingheads debut album punches it’s way out of your speakers from the beginning of ‘Private Pyle’ and doesn’t let up until ‘More Minutes Please’ ends some 35 minutes later. It’s an explosive, furious record that spans the gap between scathing post punk and riff heavy modern garage rock but quite rightly pays no real regard to genre boundaries. The overall feel seems to be a horror and bemusement at the current state of the world, an irreverent and fairly stark take on modern life. The guitar sound ranges from sharp Keith Levene inspired spidery metallic barbs, discordant and abrasive, to big scuzzy garage punk riffs. The sardonic vocals are propelled along by a bone rattling bass sound and brutal kick in the balls whiplash drums. It’s a full sound but lean and aggressive. Although there’s a fairly frenetic pace throughout, typified by the sneering ‘Cabaret’ and current single ‘Salt’ with it’s spat out vocals and low-end rumble there are a few that burn a bit slower like the smouldering ‘Crumbs Of Pleasure’ and the slightly more detached grind of ‘Down The Doomhole’. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="622" src="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sod-1-1024x622.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-16422" srcset="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sod-1-1024x622.jpeg 1024w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sod-1-300x182.jpeg 300w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sod-1-768x467.jpeg 768w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sod-1-1536x933.jpeg 1536w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sod-1-2048x1244.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> This is the more in your face end of the broad post punk spectrum. Escapism this isn’t, savage and uncompromising and full of spiky disaffected anger it is. Find the album on Sister 9 Recordings here. Gary Powell, October 2024

Skloss ‘The Pattern Speaks’
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2025-02-26T20:08:43Z
subject: Bands
subject: Dark
subject: Features
subject: Music
subject: Post-punk
subject: Psychedelic
subject: The Pattern Speaks
subject: space
subject: Fuzz Club Records
subject: LP review
subject: neo psychedelia
subject: space rock
subject: album
subject: debut album
subject: album review
subject: psych
subject: Fuzz Club
subject: fuzz
subject: Eyeplug
subject: Psychedelia
subject: psychedelic
description: Something is coming your way psych lovers, fuzz lovers, drone lovers and general noise lovers….and its name is Skloss! This band seems to have crawled out of the ether (or Texas and Scotland…), already fully formed and ready to blow a hole in the universe to give us an album that is going to be …
encoded: Something is coming your way psych lovers, fuzz lovers, drone lovers and general noise lovers….and its name is Skloss! This band seems to have crawled out of the ether (or Texas and Scotland…), already fully formed and ready to blow a hole in the universe to give us an album that is going to be talked about for some time. There’s only two of them – Karen Skloss on drums and vocals and Sandy Carson on guitars- but they make a sound like some colossal galactic implosion! <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SKLOSS_TPS_final-digital_cover-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-16456" srcset="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SKLOSS_TPS_final-digital_cover-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SKLOSS_TPS_final-digital_cover-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SKLOSS_TPS_final-digital_cover-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SKLOSS_TPS_final-digital_cover-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SKLOSS_TPS_final-digital_cover-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SKLOSS_TPS_final-digital_cover-2048x2048.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> ‘The Pattern Speaks’, out very soon on Fuzz Club Records, is a sustained fuzz blast of corrosive guitars, subterranean riffs and deep heavy drones; the sound of space folding in on itself, powerful and huge. At times it just DROPS with a bone crushing density, the combined weight of guitars, thumping earthy drums and warped effects; slightly distorted and bent out of shape but beautifully wholesome somehow. There are some quieter more reflective passages within the storm and Karen’s voice, slightly disembodied and spectral weaves through like vapour trails. The whole album sounds impossibly g…

Black Doldrums – ‘In Limerence’
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2024-10-09T20:05:29Z
subject: Bands
subject: Cult
subject: Dark
subject: Music
subject: Post-punk
description: Black Doldrums have been growing in stature over the last few years with their live shows sounding bigger and more assured and the audiences growing and with the release of their second full length album, again on Fuzz Club, they’ve reached new heights. In hindsight previous album ‘Dead Awake’ feels like the end of a …
encoded: Black Doldrums have been growing in stature over the last few years with their live shows sounding bigger and more assured and the audiences growing and with the release of their second full length album, again on Fuzz Club, they’ve reached new heights. In hindsight previous album ‘Dead Awake’ feels like the end of a chapter and it now feels like the transition from the old Black Doldrums is complete and this was where they were heading, the evolution over the last few years has brought us to this. One of the remarkable things about this record is that the quality never lets up throughout and just how much the identity of the band dominates despite there being some obvious reference points. It would be easy enough to name apparent influences as there are echoes and fragments and glimmers that feel like they originated back in the days before goth was called goth but the sound is distinctive and unmistakeably their own. Within a totally coherent sounding album they have managed to add a huge variety of sounds and styles. The first five tracks are a great example; each one different in pace and style but with an all-pervading feel and mood. It crackles into life with ‘Hideaway’; furious drums, searing metallic guitar, pumping bass and vocals deeper and darker than ever. It’s fast and punchy and the perfect opener. The pace drops for ‘Dying For You’ with wintery layers of synths, twanging guitar and a misty dark romantic feel. This is followed by ‘Summer Breeze’ which is the perfect dark electro pop song, ridiculously catchy and deserving to be played on radio stations across the globe. After that another change; ‘Dwell Or Depart’ is dense and rich, beautiful guitar lines cutting through the swampy psychedelic murk, claustrophobic and dreamlike. ‘Painted Smile’ is a tribal post punk stomp ideal for maximum smoke and strobe effect, a goth dance floor filler that for me sums up the current Black Doldrums sound and is a killer live track. And that’s just side one, the jou…

Upupayáma – Mount Elephant
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2024-09-02T19:10:10Z
subject: Bands
subject: Exotica
subject: Features
subject: Folk
subject: Music
subject: Psychedelic
subject: Reviews
subject: Fuzz Club Records
subject: vintage
subject: LP review
subject: neo psychedelia
subject: vinyl
subject: music
subject: album review
subject: psych
subject: fuzz
subject: Gary Powell
subject: Psychedelia
subject: psychedelic
description: The ‘Mount Elephant’ journey flutters into being with ‘Moon Needs The Wolf’; acoustic guitar, flute and voice immediately transporting you to a different plane of existence; a near 8 minute glide through varied textures and sounds that, like the rest of the album, never stays in one place for too long. The gentle intro morphs …
encoded: The ‘Mount Elephant’ journey flutters into being with ‘Moon Needs The Wolf’; acoustic guitar, flute and voice immediately transporting you to a different plane of existence; a near 8 minute glide through varied textures and sounds that, like the rest of the album, never stays in one place for too long. The gentle intro morphs into plaintive eastern faraway vibes and then shifts to an insistent bass and drum section that ups the tempo and adds more guitars before dropping back to bass and bongos and heading off into yet another direction…anything goes here and you just have to drop preconceptions and go with it. ‘Thimpu’ to me sounds like a dreamy hymn to fertility gods of old, ancient and playful, a slowly building dervish dance. And then ‘Fil Dagi’; a hypnotic fireside chat with Lucifer, seductive and mystical and somehow knowing . But those are just my interpretations and I don’t suppose for a second they reflect anyone else’s which is the beauty of the album. Some music leads you to a certain feeling or imposes its own mood and meaning; Upupayáma seem to give you the textures and sounds to work with and then let you get on with it. For that reason there seems little point describing each track; suffice to say the whole trip is fertile global psychedelia, rich and intoxicating with a folky, rustic and mystical feel, blending many different instruments (including flutes…I do love a flute!) and employing multiple shifts and jumps in timing and pace. If that makes you think over-serious muso noodlings don’t fear; there’s a mischievous and devilish lightness which sits strangely and fittingly with the rich tones and exotic sounds.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-16397 aligncenter" src="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/UPUPAYAMA-MOUNT-ELEPHANT-FINAL-PACKSHOT-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" data-wp-pid="16397" srcset="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/UPUPAYAMA-MOUNT-ELEPHA…

Black Market Karma – ‘Wobble’
type: item
creator: Gary Powell
date: 2024-07-25T13:16:47Z
subject: Bands
subject: Features
subject: Instruments
subject: Music
subject: Psychedelic
subject: Reviews
subject: Vintage
subject: record
subject: retro
subject: flower power
subject: black market karma
subject: Fuzz Club Records
subject: vintage
subject: neo psychedelia
subject: vinyl
subject: album
subject: psych
subject: Fuzz Club
subject: fuzz
subject: Art
subject: Gary Powell
subject: LP
subject: Psychedelia
subject: psychedelic
subject: Psychedelic Pop
description: If 2024 ever does serve up a summer of any note you have the soundtrack to it right here…. ‘Wobble’, Black Market Karma’s third album in recent years (after ‘Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas’ in 2022 and ‘Friends In Noise’ in 23, both on Flower Power Records and both essential) exists in its own time …
encoded: If 2024 ever does serve up a summer of any note you have the soundtrack to it right here…. ‘Wobble’, Black Market Karma’s third album in recent years (after ‘Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas’ in 2022 and ‘Friends In Noise’ in 23, both on Flower Power Records and both essential) exists in its own time and space, equally ideal to transport you to another place on a melancholic rainy suburban day or during a sparkling lysergic sun trip. It’s uniquely British sounding, dated but bang up to date, from grainy black and white to glorious colour. Out any day now on Fuzz Club, this is authentic, organic and uplifting, literally a dream of a record. Kind of lo-fi but at the same time lush and packed with hooks and melodies; looped drum beats, vocals run through miles of effects, weird electronica and organic layers of guitar…it’s a quirky pop record that vibrates with a 60s feel but nothing is forced or false, this genuinely feels psychedelic in a peculiar understated way and captures a strange childlike innocence and optimism. It doesn’t rely on just a druggy haze of tropes and doesn’t need to resort to cliches. Totally authentic and seems to be effortless, hitting peak psychedelic pop perfection on a regular basis. It’s one of those records that conjures up childhood memories from idealised times and situations that probably never happened, that weird nostalgic ache that makes no sense but can be found in certain tunes and sounds. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-16385" src="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wobble-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" data-wp-pid="16385" srcset="https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wobble-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wobble-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wobble-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.eyeplug.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wobble-768x76…