Psychlona - Venus Skytrip

Psychlona - Venus Skytrip

Ripple Music - August 2020

Stoner, desert, psych, space

Rated: *****

With the excellent 2018 debut "Mojo Rising" under their belts, Bradford desert rockers Psychlona hit the opposite of a sophomore slump with new album "Venus Skytrip". Building off their desert and psych roots, Psychlona have reached another level of their craft entirely. "Venus Skytrip" lays down psyched out grooves with an added weight of tone, some space rock flavor, and  an overall fullness of sound that elevates the tunes far above standard stoner rock fare. There's no holding back either as the album opens with one of its most entertaining cuts. The aptly named "Blast Off" starts with one of the best licks on the record, piercing guitar notes that seem to strobe and echo out to the farthest reaches of space. Underneath are rocksteady drums that build towards the inevitable explosion of distortion, a  launchpad for a driving groove. The combination of standout, spacey lead guitar and weighted, pushing rhythms is a theme throughout the record, and melds seamlessly with the blown out Ecstatic Vision-style vocals. Prime example "Edge Of The Universe" wields a snaking riff and tumbling drums, interspersed with a spaced-out slide guitar that's straight ear candy. It's not all easy tripping though, as penultimate track "Tijuana" plunges into a rush of riffs and molten low end. Guitar wah is dished out a la Clutch as it barrels along with bashing drums and a southern edge. Special note should be made as well that whether a track is creeping through a doomy stomp or blowing minds with sky high solos, the full tones and epic atmospheres are exhilarating, to say nothing of the grooves. Psychlona have raised the bar way up for both themselves and the entire stoner rock scene with "Venus Skytrip".

(Written by Shastabeast)

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