Over the past few years, Anton Newcombe and company’s brand of 60’s-infused psych-rock has taken on a more electronic vibe, while still retaining much of the classic BJM sound they’ve patented over the years. The two songs here find the band both looking back to their 90’s work–with the shambling west coast melodies and head-bobbin’ grooves we know and love–as well as to the propulsive Eastern-tinged sound of much of last year’s ‘Aufheben,‘ only sans electronics, and way more stretched out and jammed out. Not to mention some brand new touches.
“Food for Clouds” is instantly recognizable as a BJM track, with a laid-back, drugged-out catchiness that many bands have imitated–especially during the recent psych resurgence–but few can match. There’s a definite surf-rock feel here in the guitars, but with background horns giving it a rather unique sound that’s totally unlike the surfy psych that’s abundant today with bands like Allah-Las, Holy Wave, and The Growlers. Anton’s vocals are the strongest they’ve been in years, imo, and more upfront as opposed to being buried in the mix like on the past few albums.
The nearly ten-minute “Everything Fades to White” has more of the ‘Aufheben’ sound, with Indian-style melodies and hypnotic rhythms, but without the electronic accompaniment so prevalent on that album, although the kick drum beats may be artificial (or enhanced). Eastern-y, “devotional”-type chanting/singing provides the only vocals on this trance-inducer, and when combined with the droning atmospherics, makes for an excellent “headphone journey” track, with the sound falling somewhere between 1996’s ‘Satanic Majesties’ and the aforementioned ‘Aufheben
After releasing a dozen albums since 1995, the ever-enigmatic San Francisco psychedelic icon
Anton Newcombe & cohorts are back with a new 3-song EP. You get a slinky, rhythmic, Bowie-
esque psych/pop ballad. The 2nd track has a more rhythmic beat that recalls Pulp/Jarvis Cocker/
Dexys. Both are prominently punctuated with horns. The `B’ side is a long Middle East/Indian
influenced psychedelic number with a 60s mystic Beatles flow. The 12″ EP was a “Record Store Day” release on
purple/pink vinyl, limited to 2000 copies.
The Fat Angel Sings 