Dead Sea Apes ‘Psychic Tension’
Latest album release on Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube
A Dead Sea Apes album release has become an event these days as they have carved out their own place in the modern underground music scene, without ever seeming to play the media game or go out of their way to seek attention. There is an air of integrity and honesty around the band, and they’ve earned the trust of their listeners with a string of releases that are always pushing boundaries and never afraid to head into new territory.
There is no easy way to define their sound; each album or phase has been different, and things constantly shift and evolve, built mainly around the classic trifecta of bass, drums and guitar but on some albums incorporating a heavy dose of electronics as well. From early neo-psychedelic guitar led soundscapes to dystopian electronica to thunderous apocalyptic dub, agitated industrial punk and more gentle and reflective tones, they’ve moved through all these zones, often with collaborators (Black Tempest, TBWNIAS, Nik Rayne, Adam Stone etc) and kept their own strong identity throughout.
For me they soundtracked the lockdown period; I was familiar with them before then but something just clicked into place in my head and it all made a lot more sense and so began an obsessive search for as much DSA vinyl as I could lay my hands on …a wonderful if slightly expensive distraction from the wall-to-wall news and fear. The unspecified sense of dread that we all felt was echoed in the music and somehow that seemed to help and fit the times. Perfect catharsis!
That odd time has passed and feels like some weird hard to grasp dream memory…now the world is still falling apart albeit in different ways, and we still need Dead Sea Apes as the visceral soundtrack to our warped reality of wars, corporate control and paranoia…which brings us to the new LP ‘Psychic Tension’, co-released by Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube.
Dead Sea Apes have never shied away from being heavy and dark, but this one takes it to new levels and there is no gentle intro as ‘Damn Your Eyes’ whips straight to the point; after a prowling drums and bass intro the guitars steal in and by the time you’re a minute into the track they’ve got you by the throat and you’re pinned against the wall grinning!
It is taut and muscular throughout and the whole album hits like a sledgehammer but there is always time and space between the noise and volume. Once you’re over the initial shock of the sheer brutality of the sound and the supernaturally heavy riffs and tempestuous lead guitar lines you can tune yourself in and notice the spaces and its these spaces that somehow add extra weight as the tracks evolve, warp and bend with the brief guitar drop outs, where bass and drum dominate, adding to the menace. There are deftly buried dub dynamics, expressive coiling bass lines and drums full of vitality, each track seeming to be constantly building and reaching further.
The title track if anything ups the levels of ferocity with shuddering tectonic bass, kick in the balls whiplash drums and white-hot barbs of metallic guitar. I don’t think Dead Sea Apes have ever sounded quite as incendiary as they do on this record, but it is tightly controlled reined in fury, kept in check and weaponised.
By the time you reach closing track ‘Deathless ‘ – for the first few minutes giving the impression that you might be in for a gentler ending but then going off like a grenade – it feels like you’re approaching the level where there just aren’t adequate words to convey the sheer power and galactic scale of the sound. You’ve reached the event horizon of heavy fuzz-loaded existential psych music…who knows what lies beyond this?
‘Psychic Tension’ – out in September – is visceral, keenly focussed and apocalyptic but occupies that special Dead Sea Apes hallowed territory; sacred sonic geometry that somehow provides calm within the chaos and offers up frequencies that are strangely comforting as well as energising . They seem to be on a bit of a creative high at present so brace yourselves for whatever comes next…
Gary Powell, September 2026
