Posts Tagged ‘desert rock’

21st July 2025

Christopher Nosnibor

I’ve been digging GSXT for a whole decade now and shouting about it whenever the opportunity arises. I’m not sure how many people have been paying attention, but anyone who hasn’t has been missing out. They took their timing building up to their debut album, released in 2022, with half a dozen EPs preceding it. ‘Cosmic’ is the first material since Admire, three years ago, and this new single continues their trajectory of extending their repertoire, taking the form of a slow-building expansive brooder.

A cinematic piece of post-punk desert rock, and with hints of recent releases by Earth ‘Cosmic’ tones down the snarling overdrive that’s the duo’s signature sound in favour of something more hypnotic, in the vein of ‘Sonores’. It suits them well, as it happens: Shelly X’s voice drifts and aches through the bass-led verses, floating in a growing swirl of guitars in the chorus before a straight-up rock guitar solo swoops in.

To describe ‘Cosmic’ as commercial would be rather misleading, because it’s certainly no sell-out. But it does mark a significant step. What’s more, it’s absolutely huge, and immediately accessible, making it the cut which has the broadest appeal yet. Maybe now they’ll listen up, eh?

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Returning with their first release since their debut album Faithless Rituals, Sky Valley Mistress have launched back into the sonic stratosphere with their brand new single ‘Too Many Ghosts’.

Recorded at The Nave Studios, Leeds with engineer Danny Blackburn (Adult DVD), it’s clear that the sound of the desert still fuels this band wherever they go as their latest cut is cactus needle sharp. From the moment the track picks up, Sky Valley Mistress drive you beyond the horizon and leave you hanging by the hook of the chorus ready to ride again. Or as the band explain:

“This song is meant for the open highway. Somewhere you have the freedom to put your foot down and still feel like you’re cruising”.

Watch the lyric video for ‘Too Many Ghosts’ now:

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Now streamlined and stripped back to the two original members, refusing to conform to conventions, on the record Sky Valley Mistress have doubled down their studio sound and present themselves as a four-piece band. How the hearse rollin’, flare strollin’, speaker ‘splodin’ outfit recreate this in the flesh as a Duel-Drumming Duo however, has to be seen to be believed. Lead vocalist Kayley “Hell Kitten” Davies picks up the sticks and play one half of a drum kit, with former drummer Maxwell Harvey William Newsome III taking on the electric guitar and keeping one foot on the kick drum. No samples. No backing tracks. No click tracks.

No one is playing rock and roll the way that these two do.

With a new album recorded and ready to be released September 2025 on cult indie label New Heavy Sounds, just like an adrenaline shot in the hands of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, this band is ready to hit unsuspecting fans in the chest with a sound that will make them feel electrified, spiritualised and give them the overwhelming urge to stand in front of a mirror, grab their butt cheeks and exclaim, “ I AM ALIVE!”

TOUR DATES:

Sat 29th March – The Ferret, Preston

Fri 4th April  – Our Black Heart, London w/ Bear Bones

More TBA

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British desert rockers PSYCHLONA turn out to be sly cool cats that invite you to a chill ride on their ‘Magic Carpet’. This is also the title of their latest video single taken from the forthcoming new full-length Warped Vision, which is scheduled for release on September 27, 2024.

PSYCHLONA comment: “At the beginning, ‘Magic Carpet’ was a jazzy guitar piece that Martin brought along to rehearsal one day”, singer and guitarist Phil Heay tells on behalf of the band. “The riff sounded so cool and upbeat that we brought it down with some dark lyrics, and we also gave it some welly with a mega-riff in the second half. This one should get the pit going – then it’ll be goodnight from us.”

Watch the video here:

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PSYCHLONA live
28 SEP 2024 London (UK) The Black Heart (Release Show)

PSYCHLONA European Tour supporting GREENLEAF & SLOMOSA
01 OCT 2024 Berlin (DE) Lido
02 OCT 2024 Hamburg (DE) Gruenspan
03 OCT 2024 Köln (DE) Club Volta
04 OCT 2024 Bielefeld (DE) Forum
05 OCT 2024 Leeuwarde (NL) Into the Void
06 OCT 2024 Pratteln (CH) Up In Smoke
07 OCT 2024 Innsbruck (AT) PMK
09 OCT 2024 Wien (AT) Arena
10 OCT 2024 Zagreb (HR) Vintage Industrial Bar
11 OCT 2024 Graz (AT) PPC
12 OCT 2024 München (DE) Keep It Low
14 OCT 2024 Leipzig (DE) Werk2 (changed new date)

HIGH DESERT QUEEN celebrate the release of their sophomore full-length Palm Reader with a new video single of the title track. The Texas desert rockers are also streaming their hot new album in full now on all relevant outlets.

“We couldn’t be happier with how this album came together,” vocalist Ryan Garney writes. “Going to YellowDog, and deciding to record the whole thing live without a click track while creating new songs after getting off the road allowed this to be an album that’s helping mold what High Desert Queen is becoming. The title track came together in the studio when Phil started playing the drum beat as a joke. We were all laughing until Rusty ripped into the intro guitar riff, and within an hour we had the music completely written. What you hear on Palm Reader is what we created in real time, and it’s not like anything we’ve written before. We knew right away it needed to make it on the album, and it really showcases the spontaneous creativity behind the entire record.”

Watch the workout video for ‘Palm Reader’ here:

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