Tidal Wave Records – 6th September 2024
Christopher Nosnibor
Advance single cuts ‘Indeterminate’ and ‘Distant Glows’ whetted the appetite for III, the latest long-player from the cumbersomely-monikered purveyors of swirling psychedelic rock with a propensity for motorik rhythms. And the album does not disappoint.
Sure, there’s an element of formula here: sprawling psychedelic rock may have its roots in the 60s, but the 90s revival really cemented the form, and since then, it’s just kept on coming in wave after wave: it’s never really been totally on trend, but it’s never been out of favour, either. But when done well, it’s utterly enthralling, and Huge Molasses Tank know exactly what they’re doing here.
After a short, shimmering keyboard-led intro, first single ‘Bow of Gold’ wafts in like a heat haze, a steady, trickling melt of tone and texture – mellow, bleached-out hues ripple as the guitars bend and drift, bleeding into the mid-paced flow of the cloudlike ‘Tenuous Form’, where I’m reminded of Nowhere-era Ride, but also – perhaps less well-known but no less worthwhile – The Early Years. Time simply floats into a passing drift, and in your mind’s eye you see vintage photographs and movie clips, the oversaturated colours glaring and the details, the faces and forms blurred. Five minutes, six minutes, as you become immersed within the hypnotic flow of each song, time and reality evaporate in a sonic haze. It’s beautiful. Compelling and calming in equal measure, you start to feel your limbs loosen.
I’ve no great insights or exploratory reflections to posit here, no theories or musings: I simply find that music of this ilk hits a certain spot. You can sit back and let it unwind, and unwind with it. The original 60s sound may have been revived in the 90s, but since then it’s been a cyclical return to the space in between these as the past is filtered through endless contemporary filters and refractions, and receded further into the distance.
‘Indeterminate’ brings the synths to the fore and is more assertive and overtly Krautrock in its stylings, but still possesses that essential depth and dynamic which drives the more guitar driven songs – among which the penultimate track, ‘The Fall’, stands out with some solid riffery in the wake of the more dreamy, drifting, less overtly structured lower-paces ‘Eerie Light’. Yes, here they bring to energy and some pace, highlighting the album’s range. But for that range, III is a coherent work which pulls together the corners of all things psychedelic, and its quality is consistent – and it sure is a groove.
AA
Aural Aggravation 