The Grok – Dream Creature

 

 

The Grok – Dream Creature
Self-released – 2026
Rock, Psych, Prog
Rated: ***

It came out in the middle of September and somehow seemed to have not gathered the attention it clearly deserves. It’s the new The Grok album Dream Creature! The project has been sending out tunes into the cosmos since 2013. But have actually been a live experience from the get-go. And the crazies behind The Grok have all been delivering the goods for ages. And two parts have now also joined the Phantom Logic project… 

San Diego's The Grok invite listeners down a wonderfully unpredictable rabbit hole with Dream Creature, a 15-track journey that embraces the eccentricities of progressive, psychedelic and experimental rock. The three part opening track The Legend of the Avant Guardian immediately captures the imagination with their prog and stoner take of something more ‘avant garde’. Their psychedelic guitar textures and exploratory playing never scare you off, but are constantly on the verge of becoming much more. More in terms of freedom, free of convention and free to move into realms not usually associated with this kind of heavy rock.

But then comes the gutter, errr, punch in the form of Passionate Punch. Mischievously heavy and utterly mystifying, that there’s once again such a wild band out of San Diego, that once again produces something so simple and catchy upon first listening and then turning it inside out with every following listening session. A mischievous imagination resides within their heads as well, just check out the song titles. 

The more expansive The Voyager shows a fascinating contrast between their playful experimentation and longer-form progressive ambition. It’s their willingness to constantly shift between different musical ideas and structures that feels entirely enchanting. There is something appealingly old-school about this approach: the spirit of adventurous seventies prog and psychedelic rock, filtered through a distinctly offbeat, modern underground sensibility. Underground it is. Rather than following a straightforward musical roadmap, The Grok appear intent on creating their own peculiar wonderland universe. But how deep does this Rabbit Hole go? And do you dare to follow? 

(Written by JK)

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