Psychedelic rock is alive and kicking. OK, no big news. So many bands have lately confirmed that distorted guitars, twisted melodies, folk influences and long live improvisation are a mark of the 00s as well as a celebration of the 60s and 70s. Black Mountain, the Black Angels, Les Savy Fav, the Warlocks, Pink Mountaintops, to name a few. Some of them also inject the right dose of prog in the lysergic fix: ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Mars Volta. Crystal Antlers, a quintet from Long Beach, California, (not surprisingly produced by Mars Volta’s keyboardist Ikey Owen) are pushing the envelope a little bit farther, adding a dose of jazz à la Soft Machine, a zest of 60s garage and, of course, some hard-core punk energy. All these elements were perfectly showcased by their
70-minutes gig at the Botanique Rotonda, in Brussels, Wednesday 4 March. The public was surprisingly numerous considering that Crystal Antlers only published one self-titled EP (Pitchfork and MySpace can do wonders). Most of the songs on it were performed in expanded, distorted versions. Particularly convincing were the potent and guitar-driven “Until the Sun Dies (Part 2)”, and the almost 10-minute psychedelic ride of “Parting Song for the Torn Sky”, guitars and organ shouting out loud and reminding me of Mad River. “Andrew” and “Memorized” from the forthcoming new album Tentacles, presented a somewhat moodier side of the band. Among the final tracks, hints of Pink Floyd and a cover of “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” actually bearing more resemblance to the 13th Floor Elevators’ psyche version than to Dylan’s original. The hype generated by the Antlers’ debut EP was demonstrated by the small group of fans gathering around the band after the concert asking for copies of the forthcoming new album. For now, it is only available for download from iTunes, CD and vinyl out in April, when Crystal Antlers will presumably be back from this first European tour.
