Monday 29 February 2016

Singapore Sling - Psych Fuck

Article by Del Chaney


Formed in Reykjavik back in 2000, persuasive psychedelic explorers Singapore Sling have spent 16 years creating impressive ripples within the sonic ether. Their influential brand of experimental, fuzzy psychedelic rock has touched nearly every fabric of this modern-day underground psych scene and their sound continues to inspire up and coming young talent with its swirling infectious and heaving soundscapes. 'Psych Fuck', the band's eighth release to date via the immense UK-based Fuzz Club Records, was unleashed back in November 2015. This twelve-track monolith of immense proportions is stunningly sublime from start to finish.

The opening track, 'Dive In', is a dark chunk of infectious psych rock. Its shuffling drum patterns, driving guitars and that highly addictive dual vocal attack will floor you. The track shifts through its sonic gears with ease, building into an intense swirling whirlwind of beautiful hypnotic noise as it goes. Track two, 'Let It Roll, Let It Rise', heaves and trips through its musical progressions with ease, reminiscent at times of early Jesus & Mary Chain but with an injection of '60s surf-psych. Those dark, repetitive jangling guitars, impressive drum sequences and that insanely addictive tambourine seems to protectively circumnavigate the vocal lines, thus keeping them held in a sonic stasis! Up next 'ÆJL' is a fuzzy, melodic ball of noise and reverb that just makes sense, whilst 'Na Na Now' is a slice of '60s psych goodness with its shimmering tambourines, repetitive drums, jangling reverberating guitar progressions and those highly addictive vocals. 'Try' is a distorted, dark, crawling soundscape with a hypnotic guitar line that grabs you by the throat and makes you listen intently to it, while 'The Underground' is a serene slice of electronic drums, throbbing bass frequencies and infectious vocals that are all intertwined with that melodically creepy guitar line (think country-psych, if that's even a musical genre?).

Track seven, 'Dying Alive', stalks into audible range on a wavy bed of sequenced electronic drums, awkward synth stabs and sampled voices before building to a sublime cacophony of sonic sound waves. 'Give Me Some Other' is a throbbing, repetitive, psychedelic beast, whilst track nine, 'Glitter', shimmers and rotates on its sonic axis as it works itself out of a coiled state to unleash a sublime slice of '60s-infused psych rock. 'Astronaut' shakes and shudders as it rumbles through its psych tendencies until we're introduced to the mellow opening tones of 'Shithole Town' and those reverb-laden guitars, delayed vocals and electronic drum patterns brilliantly reminiscent of The Velvet Underground. The album's closing track, 'The Shadow Of Foronicity', is a glitchy affair, full of distorted frequencies that swirl around the droning vocal line, stunning organ progression and that shuffling percussion track. A fitting end to a fantastic album. Recommended listening from this new fan.







Singapore Sling's website

Buy: 'Psych Fuck'





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