Here’s the list you’ve all been waiting for. As always, there are so many good albums out every year that it’s impossible to keep track of them all. Here are my top thirty.
#30: The Dunes (self-titled) – A great return for the Dunes, this album of Australian psychedelic rock is full of reverb, fuzz, and even surf touches.
#29: Underworld and Iggy Pop – Teatime Dub Encounters – This EP was made during lunch meetings at a hotel and blends great stories from Pop with Underworld’s masterful beats.
#28: Avis: Sova – Shampoo You – This Chicago’s three-piece’s newest garage rock-psych record gets better with each listen.
#27: Windhand – Eternal Return – This doom metal album became one of my favorites of the year as soon as I heard it. I immediately began recommending them to anyone and even bought it as a birthday gift for a pal.
#26: Makeness – Loud Patterns – This electro album wasn’t on my radar until Makeness’ label sent it to me for review. It turned out to be a solid record with interesting structures to it.
We’re into the top 25 tomorrow. Come back for more!
Keep your mind open.
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You know you’re in for a psychedelic music treat when an album opens with a track entitled “The Intergalactic Drifters Inn Welcoming Center Theme Song Pt-1.” Recorded between the Dunes‘ home land of Australia and their part-time homeland of Texas, the psych-giants’ newest (and self-titled) record is a welcome addition to 2018 releases. I’m a longtime fan of the band, and learning this record was coming out this year was like getting an early birthday present.
The opening track mixes shoegaze guitar droning with desert wind synths and didgeridoo tones to put you in the right frame of mind without the need for any kind of of, ahem, enhancements. It will do the work for you. “When You Wake Up” then bursts into your brain like the sun coming through the window after a long night of partying. The reverbed vocals speak of either sleeping off a bad trip, putting the past behind you, or reincarnation (“When you wake up, it’ll be all right.”). It could be all three for all I know. Just let the wall of distortion wash over you.
Psychedelic surf guitars step up front and center on “Making Friends with Codeine.” It’s appropriately trippy and catchy as all get-out. The cleverly titled “(Just Because You’re Not Being Followed Doesn’t Mean You’re Not) Paranoid” reminds me of Black Angels‘ tracks in that it’s creepy, rocking, and mind-melting all at the same time.
“Mountain” is something the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would’ve created if they’d become a psychedelic rock band instead of an art-punk band. The tribal of drums of “New Old” drive the track for over seven minutes of powerful psychedelic rock complete with vintage keys and guitars that stomp their fuzz pedals into submission.
“It feels like the bottom of the sea,” Stacie Reeves sings on “WKNDS” – a track heavy and weird enough to be on your playlist while doing deep sea research on bioluminescent fish or color-shifting cephalopods. “Pariah” is nearly nine minutes and it’s a fine journey toward a desert sunset while walking alongside an Aboriginal shaman.
“The Intergalactic Drifters Inn Welcoming Center Theme Song Pt-II” closes the record, letting us know that our tour of the cosmos has come to a conclusion. The Dunes have taken you on a journey that is difficult to describe, but you know it was mind-altering while you were on it. Thankfully, you can take the journey anytime you want and will probably notice something different every time.
Keep your mind open.
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June 22, 2016: The Dunes are proud to announce a new single “Mountain” which is out now on Soundcloud/Bandcamp/Youtube. The new track has all the trademarks of a track by The Dunes; reverb drenched vocals, fuzzed out guitars and bass, 60’s keys, dark buzzing synth and driving drums, but it shows the band growing and expanding their sound. The new material more truly captures the bands live set, and is a taste of things to come – with a full length album being worked on for release in later 2016.
You can listen to the track by clicking on any of the below links;
There is a little write up below on the song, as well as announcement on our next show… We can’t wait to catch up with our interstate friends and see some great music. Make sure you come along.
Keep your mind open.
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