Back catalogue: Psych/Garage Rock

Review: A third album of wonderfully intimate, idiosyncratic songwriting from multi-instrumentalist Stephen Gilchrist - formerly the Stuffy in the much loved Stuffy & The Fuses - in his Stephen EvEns guise. The name may be singular, but from the choir of voices singing the opening tune 'A Song For Europe' to the child's voice at the end of seafaring epic 'Hello Salty Salty', this is very much a community effort and feels like it, with Stephen's core collaborators Jimi Scandal (guitar) and Crompton Whesp (drums) joined by guests like former Curve/Echobelly bassist Debbie Smith, longtime Cardiacs keyboard player William D Drake and Hurtling/My Bloody Valentine guitarist and keyboard player Jen Macro. The mood palate is on just as grand a scale as the personnel list, from the Nick Drake-style acoustic guitar/strings interplay of 'Firefly' to the beefy hip-hop backbeat of 'BBQ Head & 7 Bells', a two part track, the first half dedicated to the joys of cooking in the garden, the second about paranoia and the threat of violence. Elements of psychedelia, some gorgeous analogue synth tones, a penchant for a quirky time signature and/or arrangement all add to what's already a very tasty concoction that anyone with an ear for a tenacious earworm or two will love.

Review: The latest project from psych-guitar wizard Drew St Ivany (Laddio Bolocko, Psychic Paramount) serves as a hallucinogenic opus, weaving fuzzed out psychedelia, industrial menace, retro-prog grooves and post-rock shoegazing into one aural tapestry of instrumental chaos. Four cuts of varying degrees of brevity, running from 2 minutes to quarter of an hour, Gospel Jamming Vol. 1 might be a faux-chapter title or legitimately the first instalment of an ever-expanding collection. Either way, The Exorcist III deliver the type of genre-eschewing abandon of early Krautrock and lysergic psyche, yet emboldened by the decades' worth of progression imbuing its way into their dexterous cacophony.

Review: Sludge-inflected noise-rock trio Eye Flys may have whittled themselves down following the departure of second guitarist/founding member Spencer Hazzard (Full Of Hell), but that seemingly hasn't diluted their sonic hubris by one single iota. Following on from their 2020 debut full-length Tub Of Lard and 2021's Exigent Circumstance EP, this self-titled sophomore effort continues their pummelling examination of a broken world and systemic prejudices through grinding, buzzsaw riffs and barrages of fuzzed out grooves that echo the likes of Melvins only if fed through a rusted woodchipper. Ugly music for ugly times.