Various - 4 Bands Split Vol. 1

  by Paul Waller

published: 11 / 6 / 2014

Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Format: CD

intro

First-rate compilation album from Rome-based label Heavy Pysch Sounds, which showcases four bands, NAAM, White Hills, Black Rainbows and the Flying Eyes

A couple of months back the Heavy Psych Sounds label appeared on my musical radar when they released the fantastic Wisdoom album, and to say I was looking forward to this release would be somewhat of an understatement. Of the four bands on this split release the only one I had heard of previously was New York’s NAAM, and from what I remember of their track ‘Vow’ that I had heard a couple of years back now they were a trippy indie act that reminded me a little of Thee Oh Sees. Well, this is different. It’s more laid back and way more.. um… cosmic feeling. The track ‘Thickening Web’ really hammers home the feeling of drifting into the distance. It’s icy and baron and I love it. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. White Hills, also hailing from the Big Apple, deliver the longest track at one second over eleven minutes; they are definitely a band that I want to explore much farther. Their song ‘They’ve Got Blood… Like You’ve Got Blood’ is, I would say, closer to post rock and bands like Silver Mt. Zion than spacey psychedelic rock, and just when you think the song isn’t really going anywhere at eight minutes in it transforms itself into a gentle electronica piece akin to the more ambient Aphex Twin recordings. It’s a weird one for sure and a little out of place here. Band of the split has to be Italy’s Black Rainbows. They are perfectly suited to the record label moniker, their fuzzy riffs literally rip up the somewhat restrained music that has preceded them and frazzles all in its path. You can imagine the studio chit chat during the recording. Band: Mr. Producer Man, can you possibly add a little more reverb on the vocals please? Mr. Producer Man: Nope, if we did that the vocals would run backwards or implode or disappear all together. Stop now, please or I may cry. This thing feels absolutely drenched in psychedelic drugs and classic rock leanings. I could listen to it all day swimming in the producer’s tears. Hailing from Baltimore, the final band the Flying Eyes must have overheard the studio chatter above and thought, “You know what? We can get more reverb than that plus we can add this weird little underwater wobbly effect for good measure.” It is totally nuts and it works absolutely, but it does detract slightly from the music. ‘Evil Little Leslie’, for instance, could have benefitted from some vocal clarity in the first verse at least. All in all it’s a brilliant compilation, even though this type of format is probably redundant in this digital day and age. Having said though if I hadn’t stumbled across this. I may never have heard of Black Rainbows and that would be a very sad thing indeed.

Track Listing:-

Label Links:-