January kicked our butts, but there's good news on the horizon. Warm psychedelic jams are on order in the first two records to capture my attention this year. Both records are unique in that they manage to be shimmering and layered, whilst avoiding being too heady and overbearing. They're available now, so go and dig it!
Quilt Held In Splendor (Mexican Summer)
Quilt's second record is pretty traditional psych, with chambered vocal harmonies and shimmery phased-out guitar. Each song has at least one instrument that sits above the smoke while the band jams along. Also, the songs are different enough that it's not boring, and most of the melodies are fairly memorable, when not lofty and repetitive. Sometimes it's dreamy, sometimes it's dark, but it's pretty strong. Retro 60's psych seems to be a hot ticket these days, what with the Tame Impala's and the Unknown Mortal Orchestra's, but there is certainly enough on this LP to make it unique.
Morgan Delt s/t (Trouble in Mind)
Okay I lied, this one is pretty heady. It's worth it, though. Lo-fi sound and mix, degraded samples, creepy melodies, psych freak out guitar, fuzz bass, this one's a doozy. It's also the debut record from this guy. Some of it reminds me of White Fence, some of it the Flaming Lips, if Stephen were the leader. These kinds of records fascinate me in their creativity and density, and Delt is as strong a songwriter as you need. He's imaginative, but really tempers that challenging quality and churns out an LP full of distorted pop goodness.
