Hello Shindiggers!
This blog is no longer being updated, for news and reviews please head over to www.shindig-magazine.com
When you're there you can also sign up for the weekly newsletter to get the latest sent to your inbox.

Friday 31 August 2012

Record Review - Surf School Dropouts

SURF SCHOOL DROPOUTS
Summer Is A State Of Mind

self-released download

For some people summer never ends. We can dig that at Shindig! HQ. For this Copenhagen band Brian Wilson is a pill to be taken twice daily. The title track perfectly encapsulates the dark heart and deep harmonies that he trademarked. Lead singer Andreas Jacobsen laments "Think About Those Summer Days/And the girls that we could chase/Close my eyes and and leave this place behind". Sentiments many of us could relate to.

This album begins as a pure pastiche of the Beach Boys, some songs taking the lead from that early, innocent doo-wop surf sound of '63 whilst others are a bit more mature, more singer-songwriter in style (Sunflower-esque), with some CSNY styles in there. 'Follow The Sun' could be The Left Banke; the 'Interlude' trilogy is pure prog. I estimate the album finishes sonically in 1972. The jangle and organ quotient is high throughout, and could not sound more 60s pop if it tried.

This sort of approach to music will either delight or infuriate, so take your sides and go buy/ignore (delete as appropriate).

Phil Istine

Edgar Broughton live in Leeds

Edgar Broughton, singer-songwriter and guitarist was a founder member of the Edgar Broughton Band in the 60's, a formidable live draw propelled by a heavy psychedelic blues sound and Edgar's phenomenal, if untutored, singing. He appears at The Hi-Fi Club in Leeds on October 5th.

Edgar is well known as one of the most strident protest singers, but at times one of the most accessible. His involvement with political activism has continued down the years and many of his songs reflect this. Once described as a proto-punk, his music is firmly rooted in the blues and tinged with echoes of European folk music. His solo performance is an emotive, entertaining tour de force containing both old favourites and new songs from the heart.


Friday October 5th
@ The Hi-Fi Club, 2 Central Road, Leeds
Doors 7:30pm (please note that the curfew for this gig is 10:15pm)
Tickets are £8 in advance. Tickets will be in Jumbo and Crash in Leeds and on Wegottickets


Thursday 30 August 2012

Event: the Beat Convention, London

The annual garage & beat festival Beat Convention takes place this September at St George's Hall, in the attractive environs of Cranley Gardens, Crouch End, London. Beat Convention 2011 was a great success with The Hollers and The Roves and this year there's a lot more acts in on the, er, act.

It's a rare chance to see some of the most popular and current garage acts on one stage, all in the space of one afternoon/evening. Especially exciting is the live comeback London appearance from The Kaisers/The Rapiers supergroup Janey & The Ravemen. Grab a permit quick before this Saturday  and save five pounds off the entry price!

Full line-up:


LES BOF!
JANEY & THE RAVEMEN
THE ROMLEYS
MFC CHICKEN
KING SALAMI & THE CUMBERLAND 3
THE AROUSERS
THE HI CLASS JOES
FLORENCE JOELLE'S KISS OF FIRE

Plus on the decks shall be the garage/beat superstar DJs 
Phil Istine (Sweet but Deadly Promotions) PJ (Dirty Water Records)Marco Traxel (Soundflat Records), Tom H. Wing (The Uptown 3), and Scottish "beat ambassador" Tony Bailey.

Saturday September 22

@ St George's Hall, Cranley Gardens
Crouch End, North London. N10 3AH
Nearest Tube & Rail: Highgate, Haringey
4-11pm
Early Permit Registration: £5. No Permit Entry: £10
email sohosoundmanagement@gmail.com giving your details to guarantee yourself a permit.

Facebook Event


Record Review - Sons Of Otis

SONS OF OTIS
Seismic

Small Stone CD

Summertime in good old Blighty and on a lucky day you might just see the odd glimpse of the sun. On such days it’s customary to play some sunshiney skittish pop like The Beach Boys or The Association – so it was with with incongruity that I put on the latest album from Canadian super-heavyweights Sons of Otis.

The sky darkened as the first notes of ultra-monolithic psychedelic doom cracked the speakers on my stereo. The touchstone influence here is Electric Wizard; though don’t think for a moment that SoO are some sort of Johnny-come-lately outfit, the band having been active in some form since ’92. The similarities to EW come in the huge crescendo-riffing that still retains a groove, the malignant vocals and the crushing arrangements laced with echo and delay to create a disorientatingly woozy head-bursting metal totem. Some lighter relief is provided by the cover of Mountain’s ‘Never in my Life” though even that track is doused with punishingly psychoactive week-old bongwater.

Towards the end of the record a couple of instrumental tracks, ‘PK’ and ‘Cosmic Jam’, take things one stage further, jetting off from the netherworlds into an equally dark nebula, bringing the full effects overload guitar pulveriser with them. Leaves fall and decay. Fruit withers on the vine. Winter’s coming. Doom up children.

Austin Matthews

The See See + Red Sands live in Glasgow

This Saturday Glasgow is in for a musical treat, as The See See arrive in town, promoting their new album Fountayne Mountain.

Support is from local six-piece outfit Red Sands, a band risen from the ashes of power-pop combo Figure 5. Their biog says "dreamy West Cost Psych to fuzzy Acid Folk and Prog, the band wear their musical hearts firmly on their sleeves, never forgetting their love of classic British Rock and Pop".

Saturday September 1st 
@ The Berkeley Suite, Glasgow. 11pm – 3am. £8 entry.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Comus live in Liverpool

The Sound of Salvation are proud to present a rare live performance by the legendary acid folk band Comus. This will take place at The Kazimier, Liverpool on Thursday November 1st.

Comus concerts are extremely rare and not to be missed. They have lost none of the intense live quality that has helped make them such a legendary and influential band. Their debut album "First Utterance" was notable for its unique blend of folk, progressive rock and psychedelia, mixed with elements of paganism and the macabre. This heady blend delivered with a startling intensity has helped Comus become one of the most unique and influential folks bands the UK has ever produced. Over the last 40 years this influence has gone far beyond the folk scene into many diverse genres.

Comus recently returned to the studio to produce a new album titled Out of the Coma which was released this year to great critical acclaim.
Ticket price is £15 and can be purchased on www.ticketline.com and www.skiddle.com

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Record Review - French Boutik

FRENCH BOUTIK
Les Chats de Gouttière

copaseDisques 7 " / download


The debut EP from French-American mod-poppers comes in a striking beautiful sleeve. The simple ideas are often the best.

The title track translates as 'The Alley Cats' but there's nothing dirty and common about this blast of hyper-melodic sunshine Hammond Ye-Ye pop. Vocalist Gabriela sounds as cool as you like. 'La Vedette' ('The Star') is a bittersweet sounding romp about war, with a glam rock/Kinks guitar stomp driving the beat, only to be cut-up by moody interludes à la Blur. I bet it sounds excellent live in concert.

On the flipside 'Le Clope' ('Cigarette', well actually 'Gasper') is a funny story of smoking where you should not, set to plentiful 'Ba Ba Ba's and sat on a bedrock of Ian McLagan/Booker T-styled organ. It's late-60s, hippy Brian Auger Trinity fare you may say. It's pure happy music for the uncynical amongst you too. Finally the one English sung tune, 'New Bossa', is ironically the least interesting number, sounding a bit forced and slight, in spite of some lovely harmonising.

This Parisian quintet are definitely ones to watch. A full album by them would no doubt be great...but for now, buy this!

Phil Istine

Smoke Fairies new video and tour

Smoke Fairies have made a video for new single ‘Let Me Know’ that captures the band performing on a beautiful summers evening high above the houses on a London rooftop, as the city glows beyond. The single is out now digitally and on limited-edition 7" via V2 come September 10th. You can watch the video here:


The band will also be heading out on their Autumn tour in October. Those tour dates in full:

Monday 17 September – GUILDFORD – St Mary’s Church (£9)
Tuesday 18 September - CARDIFF - Buffalo Bar (£8.50)
Wednesday 19 September - PORTSMOUTH - Wedgewood Rooms (£8.50)
Thursday 20 September - BRIGHTON – The Haunt (£8)
Saturday 22 September - NORWICH – Arts Centre (£8)
Sunday 23 September - OXFORD – Academy (£9)
Monday 24 September - BRISTOL – The Fleece (£8)
Wednesday 26 September - BIRMINGHAM – Hare & Hounds (£9)
Thursday 27 September - LEEDS – Brudenell Social Club (£9)
Friday 28 September - HEBDEN BRIDGE – Trades Club (£9)
Sunday 30 September - NEWCASTLE – Cluny (£8)
Monday 1 October - EDINBURGH – Pleasance Theatre (£9)
Tuesday 2 October - GLASGOW – Oran Mor (£9)
Wednesday 3 October - YORK – Duchess (£8)
Friday 5 October - MANCHESTER – Deaf Institute (£8)
Saturday 6 October - LINCOLN – Engine Shed (£9)
Sunday 7 October - NOTTINGHAM – Rescue Rooms (£9)
Monday 8 October - CAMBRIDGE – Portland Arms (£9)
Tuesday 9 October – LONDON – King's College London Student Union (£12)

Monday 27 August 2012

The Poets vocalist, George Gallacher, has died


Sad news has reached us that George Gallacher, singer in Scottish freakbeat/psych legends The Poets, has passed away over the weekend.

Once managed by Andrew Loog Oldham, the band had a string of classic singles on Decca and Immediate in the 60s but never managed an album. They reformed in 2011 and played a handful of shows. Their former guitarist Tony Myles, left this post on Facebook:

"I was privileged to be amongst some of the most talented guys in the business and they showed me the path to creativity for which I have been eternally grateful. Far too soon they have been summoned to play in the ultimate rock band and with the sudden death yesterday of George Gallagher.
 I am now the only remaining member of the original POETS. Just a few years ago the remaining four of us decided to plan a get-together - then before it happened there were only three of us. Then two. Now there is no one to get together with. One of our fans is quoted as saying - 'Life is what happens when you're making plans'".

Thursday 23 August 2012

Record Review - Ian Evans

IAN EVANS
Ghostwatch

Download / CD

London solo artist Evans has experimented with the genres over the past decade, landing on a unique sound that is hard to define, with “psychedelic art-rock” perhaps being as close as I’d like to attempt. This home-recorded three track EP is a progressive romp through his tastes. Opener and title track ‘Ghostwatch’ sets the scene, 80s sounding production and looping, jangly guitars, with the discordant melodies of the post-punk era too. His voice is sweet and unsettling, like he might hug you to death.

‘Too Tasty For You, Lager Boy?’ is as knowing as the title, with an American college indie/Polvo/ Pavement/mid-80s REM heart. Nothing you’re unlikely to have not heard before in your misspent youth, but a comforting soft punk blast of disharmony nonetheless. Finally we have a literal ‘Storm In A Teacup’, the most indie-est of the tracks here and a little headache-inducing for me. The sharp guitar line is a joy though, just not enough to rescue it from ‘forgettable noise’ to these ears.

Clearly a talented man, Evans would probably benefit from a full band to realise these songs fully. I look forward to more of his warm discordant pop songs soon.

Phil Istine 

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Liverpool Psych Fest: final line-up revealed





It's time to start the countdown....

The Liverpool International Festival Of Psychedelia is very nearly here, ready to expand your mind and enrich your very being. 


The festival will take place at Liverpool’s newest and flyest hotspot, Camp & Furnace – a converted former industrial furnace in the city’s buoyant Baltic Triangle.  
HEADLINE ACTS

THE TIME & SPACE MACHINE




The first act to be confirmed for the Psych Fest THE TIME & SPACE MACHINE source the best bits of vintage and modern pyschedelia and recasts it into startling new forms. Booked to play Liverpool earlier in the year, the gig was postponed as the concept for the Psych Fest began to take shape with T+SM playing a central role.

The band’s headline slot at LIFP represents something of a homecoming for bandleader Richard Norris, whose Liverpool club The Hangout in the mid-80s, featured playlists stuffed with psych and garage classics.  Aside from T+SM, Richard is one half of in-demand remixers Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve, whose 2010 debut album Reanimations Vol.1 was warmly received.

Live, T+SM appear as a quintet, constructing their huge hypnotic psych jams from swirling Hammond organ, woozy melltoron, phasing backwards guitars all wrapped in massive space echo and backed by a stunning lightshow. Forthcoming LP Taste The Lazer was recently trailed by ‘Pill Party in India’, which picked up heavy airplay on BBC 6Music and was descried as “incredible” by DJ Lauren Laverne.

T+SM’s set at Psych Fest follows a busy schedule of summer festivals for the band including appearances at Standon Calling and Green Man.


http://ttasm.com/

DEAD SKELETONS


Proclaimed “Icelandic psychedelic overlords” by The Quietus,mighty drone rockers DEAD SKELETONS make their Liverpool debut at LIFP.  Coming to world attention via a MySpace upload of their mesmeric ‘Dead Mantra’ track in 2008, the band amassed a huge buzz in cyberspace without anyone knowing about them beyond the solitary track. Critical praise from The Stool PigeonThe Guardian and The Quietus followed in quick succession.

The mantra in question, ‘He who fears death cannot enjoy life’ is applied to the band’s music, a forward-thinking collision of hypnotic vocals, fuzzy guitars, endlessly looped basslines and motorik beats.  Led by visual artist Jón ‘Nonni Dead’ Sæmundur along with Henrik Björnsson, Ryan Carlson Van Kriedt and guests, the band counted Brian Jonestown Massacre mainman Anton Newcombe amongst their members late last decade.

Debut LP Dead Magick, released on 11.11.11 (the date chosen due to ‘planetary alignments’) quickly sold out its initial pressing and was swiftly followed by a second batch of vinyl. Hailed by The Guardian as “pure rock ’n’ roll magic’, the band will come away from the Psych Fest with scores of new converts
.

http://deadskeletons.com/home.html

WOLF PEOPLE



The first British act to sign to revered US independent label Jagjaguwar, WOLF PEOPLE stake out similar sonic territory as prog-psych figureheads Wooden Shjips, with hints of late ’60s Brit blues rock giants Cream and Traffic. Led by singer/guitarist Jack Sharp, the quartet released two albums in acclaimed LPs in 2010, Tidings and Steeplewith the NME commending the band for their “Righteous, groove-heavy psych-rock that weaves different eras and styles.”

Tidings, issued for CD for the first time earlier this year after its initial appearance on vinyl in 2010 brought those unfortunate not to have heard of the band previously to greater attention. The Line of Best Fit hailed the album as “a relaxed and fluent assemblage, entwined in a gorgeous psychedelic, blues-rock holy matrimony.” Tiny Mix Tapesmeanwhile stated “Tidings is a journey down a strip of tape from one reel to the other… it’s a little warped and damaged, but that’s what gives it its character; the insane parts make the most sense of all.”


http://www.wolfpeople.co.uk/


WILL SERGEANT

 

A man who needs almost no introduction, guitarist WILL SERGEANT has been the creative nucleus and only permanent member of Liverpool legends Echo & The Bunnymen since their formation in 1978.

While Will’s instantly recognisable spikey guitar sound, one of the most influential in British pop is his calling card, he has also made several forays into ambient and psychedelic pastures. 1978 debut solo album Weird As Fish, a series of sound/art tapes, limited to seven ultra-rare copies served notice of his interest in the field and was released 18 months before the Bunnymen’s Top 10 debut LP Crocodiles.  Weird Fishwas eventually given a full release in 2003, and gained a four-star review from Uncut.

Will’s ambient/psychedelic instrumental project Glide was unveiled in 1997 with well-received LP Space Age Freak Out, the release coinciding with the Bunnymen’s triumphant comeback that year with ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ and Evergreen. Glide went on to open for the Bunnymen on tour in the early 2000s and second album Curvature OfThe Earth was released in 2004.  In addition to all this and a burgeoning, critically acclaimed career as an artist, Will appeared on fellow Psych Fest act Baltic Fleet’s eponymous debut 2008 LP


http://willsergeant.com/

OTHER ACTS

MUGSTAR 




Liverpool’s very own MUGSTAR have plotted their own course into the further realms of space rock, prog and psych for a decade. The last band to record a session for late broadcasting icon DJ John Peel on his BBC Radio 1 show, the group have played shows with some of the finest psych/space rock bands of the past decade including Wooden Shjips, White Hills, Acid Mother’s Temple and Oneida.

Mugstar recently supported and performed as “sound carriers” for legendary Can vocalist Damo Suzuki at The Kazimier which was recorded for a forthcoming live album.


http://www.mugstar.com

THE LUCID DREAM 



One of the most descriptive names for a band in recent years, Carlisle’s THE LUCID DREAM and their hazy psych-rock sound does indeed feel like daydreams rendered as sound. The band have been praised by The Fly, as possessing “reverb-drenched majesty”while Artrocker called them “utterly enlightening”.

No strangers to Liverpool, the group have played scores of gigs across the city, including slots at Liverpool Music Week and Liverpool Sound City. They are presently touring with A Place To Bury Strangers, following dates with The Magic Band and Death In Vegas.


http://www.facebook.com/theluciddream/info

BLACK MANILA 



Mixing gritty garage-rock with a bubbling psychedelic undertow, South Londoners BLACK MANILA have been steadily winning converts over to their cause.  Electrifying 45 ‘Fiasco’ b/w ‘England’ released in April raised their profile considerably and was mastered by Massive Attack/Oasis/Chemical Brothers cohort Mike Marsh.

Clash wrote of the group, “Black Manila… have clearly decided that rock ’n’ roll at its key most core level is a degenerate art form played by outcasts, something that shouldn’t be downloaded but rolled up, smoked, consumed and soaked through every pore.” 


http://www.facebook.com/blackmanila

THE SHOOK UPS!



Stomping, garage ensemble THE SHOOK UPS! bring their fuzz-drenched farfisa-fueled, double-pronged guitar attack to the Psych Fest. Operating in the tougher end of the psych spectrum where the genre meets garage-rock, the group are influenced by the cream of the US ’60s underground, The Seeds, The Standells and The Music Machine.

The Liverpool/Wigan six-piece have logged gigs across the country, including several Liverpool dates as part of Free Rock ’n’ Roll at MelloMello and The Go-Go Cage at The Cabin Club.
 

http://www.facebook.com/shookups

KOOL-AID ELECTRIC COMPANY 



Their name a shoo-in psych heads, juxtaposing Ken Kesey’s infamous Kool-Aid Acid Tests with a cult US kids TV show, KOOL-AID ELECTRIC COMPANY are one of the UKs most beloved shoegazing acts. The group’s debut long-player Random Noises AndOrganised Sounds released last year was garlanded with high praise from the press and fellow musicians alike.

Fans included The Black Angels, “We have that record, its great” and none other than My Bloody Valentine chief Kevin Shields who said the LP “made me think about music differently.”  The press meanwhile said “these songs are beautifully simple yet full of hooks” (NME) and ‘Opiated psychedelia’ (Time Out).


http://www.facebook.com/thekoolaidelectriccompany

THEE PIATCIONS  



A potent cocktail of Spiritualized-styled soundscape inertia and BJM leader Anton Newcombe-esque vocals,Italian trio THEE PIATCIONS unveiled well received debut LPSenseless≥ Sense last year.

Released through London label I Blame The Parents, the disc was helmed by Spiritualized/Liars producer James Aparicio. The LP’s dazzling, epic riffs received heavy airplay on BBC 6Music and John Kennedy’s XFM Xposure Show, with Subbacultaapplauding the band’s sound as “luscious, dense…artfully constructed and beautifully arranged.”


http://www.facebook.com/Piatcions

PLANK! 



Lauded as“Kraut-tinged proggy electronica… expect it to provide the most unexpected soundtrack to your life” by Manchester Screenwipe, PLANK! deal in sprawling instrumental prog jams that reach into almost double figures. Highly anticipated debut album Animalism hits the shelves in July via a hook-up with Akoustik Anarkhy/Static Caravan.

Personally asked to play Manchester International Festival by legendary Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam, the three-piece have built up a strong following in their home city over the past three years.


http://www.myspace.com/plankuk

BALTIC FLEET 



The project of Echo & The Bunnymen keyboard player Paul Fleming, Baltic Fleetfollow up their acclaimed 2008 debut with second album Towers over the summer.  Created almost entirely independently the first LP was described in Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year as “A faultless piece of instrumental music that captures the spirit of Eno, NEU... modern post rock and chamber music.”

Recorded during free time on a Bunnymen world tour on laptops and any instruments available, an excellent Uncut review hailed the disc’s “Sigur Ros-like post rock, fuzzy bass grooves and NEU!-style motorik beats”.


http://www.facebook.com/BalticFleet/info

HOOKWORMS


   
Since forming in 2009, HOOKWORMS have become one of the UK’s most exciting new psychedelic prospects, picking up plaudits everywhere from The Guardian to Loud & Quiet and The Stool Pigeon. Having released an EP through Gringo Records last year, the Leeds based band can now count Julian Cope amongst their rapidly growing fanbase. As he says himself,they sound like “ambient road-movie heat haze-on-the-road sonic wipeout of the post-Loop variety. Swee-ee-eet.” We couldn’t have put it better ourselves. Fresh from a date supporting Wooden Shjips in July, the band are currently working on their imminent debut album, with LIFP being the next chance to hear what they’ve been doing recently.
 

http://soundcloud.com/hookworms

EDGAR SUMMERTYME




A veteran of so many influential Liverpool bands, including The La’s, the Bunnymen, The Zutons via The Stairs and Paul Weller, EDGAR SUMMERTYME has had a hand in some of the sharpest sounds to come out of the UK in the past two decades. With his new record Sense Of Harmony, this restless cult hero has come even closer to defining his inspiring mix up of garage rock, soul, R’n’B and jazz. After a triumphant homecoming date at Festevol Gardens at the Kazimier in August, Summertyme is making another return at LIFP which is sure to be another mystifying and brilliant turn in the career of one of the city’s most impressive musicians.


http://www.bidolito.co.uk/category/tags/edgar-summertyme 

THE ALTERED HOURS




Self-professed Irish psychedelic terrorists THE ALTERED HOURS are known for their displacing garage pop music and experimental live shows. Their latest releaseDownstream was recorded in a reclaimed government building and was released independently. They were recently invited to give their debut international performance at the renowned White Trash in Berlin. Following the release of Downstream, The Altered Hours played a number of dates across Ireland and were featured in the acclaimed Ones To Watch festival in Dublin.
 

http://www.myspace.com/alteredhours 

PALMA VIOLETS





Aside from being the most dangerously hyped band in the country, PALMA VIOLETS are also Britain’s most exciting new live act. They arrive at LIFP destined to prove these lofty claims. After a superlative performance with Death At Sea and Savages at the city’s Leaf Café in July that ended up in the roguish band being arrested for scaling the city centre’s helter skelter, it’s fair to say that Palma Violets will once again be ascending to dizzy heights with their submersive lo-fi racket. Perhaps this time, though, they won’t be arrested.


http://www.myspace.com/palmaviolets 

ANCIENT RIVER




Florida natives ANCIENT RIVERS specialise in psychedelic sounds of the ’60s and ’70s, garage, grunge, and good old American rock 'n' roll. Having formed in 2005, they came together in 2008 to create an intense live show which typically consists of very loud music and a variety of visuals such as smoke machines, oil-projections, photographic slides, and experimental video feedback. Following their appearance Austin Psych Fest 3 they began work on their first professional studio recordings. The band released their third full-length album, Let It Live, in January, and will be coming to LIFP in September to test out their new material.


http://www.myspace.com/ancientriver 

BLACK MARKET KARMA




Londoners BLACK MARKET KARMA make the trip up to Liverpool in support of their September 7th release of new album, Easy Listening. The mind-bending sextet take inspiration from the likes of The Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine, and Jesus & The Mary Chain, and with kaleidoscopic results. Easy Listening will be their third release of the year, having released their debut album in January and quickly following it with a sophomore effort in July. Their restless creativity is sure to impress at LIFP.
 

http://www.myspace.com/blackmarketkarma 

ROSCO (STERLING ROSWELL/SPACEMEN 3)




Former drummer of Spacemen 3 and member of Darkside, Sterling Roswell has been at the business end of single-minded, gently psychedelic music for over two decades. He returned in 2004 as ROSCO, having put together a live band, and put out a debut album under the moniker, which he describes as "space age pop". The album was ecstatically received by press, leaving MOJO to wonder if “the real inspiration in Spacemen 3 was Sterling Roswell”, and praising him for his “stoned Dylanising”; a description that really cuts to the heart of Rosco’s languid tone. His appearance at LIFP is his only scheduled live appearance, and a rare chance to catch one of psychedelia’s most influential characters.


http://www.myspace.com/roswellsterling 

FACTORY STAR



English post-punk group FACTORY STAR return to Liverpool after recording both their debut album ‘Enter Castle Perilous’ and a subsequent mini album in the city. Songwriter Martin Bramah had two lengthy stints in The Fall, as well as founding Blue Orchids. The group make a rare live outing to LIFP to road-test material from the forthcoming mini album.


THE SEE SEE




THE SEE SEE return to Liverpool after a well received visit with The Wild Eyes at Mello Mello in June. Led by Richard Olson (who previously fronted acid-folk/rock band Eighteenth Day Of May) this London based group have pooled their influences together to make some of their strongest music yet on recent release Fountayne Mountain. Not only have they made fans of MOJO who gave the album a glowing review, but Brendan O’Hare of Teenage Fanclub has likened it to “nice cheesecake, and a glass of chablis”, all of which bodes well for their LIFP performance.
 

http://www.facebook.com/TheSeeSee

LOLA COLT




LOLA COLT are one of the capital’s finest young psychedelic bands, receiving attention for their tense live performances which one critic described as “a cacophony of unfettered sexual energy”. Debut single 'I Get High If You Get High' was released on Bandcamp this May and has turned many heads, resulting in a number of live bookings, including one alongside fellow LIFP-ers Baltic Fleet, The See See, and The Cult of Dom Keller.


http://www.lolacolt.com

DARK BELLS




DARK BELLS are a kraut-influenced three-piece from Sydney who have recently relocated to London. The sprawling atmospherics of recent demo 'Wild Flower' saw the band featured on numerous influential music blogs, and the band have recently been heading out into the live arena as attention builds around them.


http://www.myspace.com/thedarkbells

THE CULT OF DOM KELLER



Nottingham based THE CULT OF DOM KELLER arrived in 2008 and in the following years they’ve self-released three dark, psychedelic EPs equally influenced by Spacemen 3 and Wooden Shjips. They’ve recently been picking up a lot of attention online off the back of releasing their ‘Secret Sounds’ mini-album, and come to Liverpool poised to go on to great things.

 
http://www.myspace.com/domkeller

MILK MAID




Returning to Liverpool for the first time since their widely praised July show at Bumper, MILK MAID are undoubtedly in fine form. Their recent sophomore album Mostly No found front man Martin Cohen cementing his reputation as a talented songwriter, straddling the line between noise and pop whilst also expanding the band’s sonic terrain. Adding swirls of psychedelia to debut Yucca’s crafted fuzz, the home-recorded Mostly No explores a trans-Atlantic sound that at times simultaneously recalls the grand traditions of Manchester indie and Californian acid-rock but which also sits alongside contemporaries such as Ty Segall, White Fence, and The War on Drugs.
 

http://www.myspace.com/milkmaidmilkmaid

HELICON



Glasgow band HELICON was formed by brothers John-Paul and Gary Hughes and Laura O'Brien around May 2008 and they continue to build on an already expanding psychedelic sound, live show and fanbase. They bring their mesmerising drones to Liverpool for a rare live outing which is certain to provoke comparisons to The Warlocks.

MIND MOUNTAIN



MIND MOUNTAIN are a native Liverpool band specialising in heavy, progressive jams. Having played the Screenadelica Exhibition at Liverpool Sound City and then supporting Damo Suzuki and Mugstar at the Kazimier, Mind Mountain are quickly becoming the city’s go-to band for dense, reality warping rock.


http://www.facebook.com/pages/MIND-MOUNTAIN/243771805681869

THE WILD EYES



THE WILD EYES are rock 'n' roll weirdos. True believers with fans to match, their songs connect primal garage-rock to psychedelic-pop. In a time of deep economic stuttering, their music transports the listener to a place where hedonism meets heartache. Gigs at Liverpool Music Week and Sound City have honed their sound and bared their awe at the still potent power of rock n’ roll. The music press drew comparisons with the raw groove of the Stones and The Stooges, as well as modern day sonic adventurers My Bloody Valentine and early Verve. With local media in the form of Bido Lito! Magazine,The Liverpool Echo, and Seven Streets all singing their praises, their LIFP performance comes at an exciting time for this very exciting band.


http://www.facebook.com/thewildeyes

DRENGE




Fierce garage rock duo DRENGE descend on Liverpool for the first time with their raw rock anthems that recall Japandroids at their most visceral. The hotly tipped band are making the trip over from their hometown of Sheffield for LIFP, where they’ll be wheeling out their drum kit, a guitar, and making some good old fashioned noise.


http://www.facebook.com/drengeboys 

CLINIC DJs




Domino-signed Liverpool legends CLINIC will be manning the turntables with their own blend of spooky post-punk.

SONIC CATHEDRAL DJs



There can be nobody with a more extensive knowledge of left-field alternative rock music than the guys at Sonic Cathedral, who over the past six years have been one of the most consistent champions of innovative new music. They take to the decks with their enviable record collection.

NICK POWER (THE CORAL) DJ




Nick Power should need no introduction; as keyboardist with THE CORALl he has been producing some of Liverpool’s finest dreamy guitar pop for over a decade, and he appears behind the turntables at LIFP.

AKOUSTIK ANARKHY DJs



Akoustik Anarkhy have been finding and releasing great music from Manchester since 1999, and will be accompanying signees Plank! across to Liverpool to spin some disks at LIFP.


DJ KOOL AID BOB



A legend of the also legendary Probe Records, DJ Kool Aid Bob will be present to spin obscure psychedelia on wax, without an iPod or Macbook Pro in sight.

BIDO LITO! DJs




Also present will be Craig Pennington and Christopher Torpey, editors of the city’s finest music publication, to spin some brain-rupturing psych cuts amongst the newest and best sounds from the city.

 

  
The Liverpool International Festival Of Psychedelia are very pleased to announce media partnerships with online music oracle The Quietus and psych bible Shindig! 

Tickets are £20 and available from www.bidolito.co.uk and www.bidolito.co.uk

http://liverpoolpsychfest.tumblr.com
 
Like The Liverpool International Festival Of Psychedelia 2012 FINAL LINE UP! COMP PRIZES AND PASSES on Facebook