…YOU MISSED • As part of our yearly recap the …You Missed series attempts to collect interesting releases I’d otherwise missed, didn’t cover, or didn’t appreciate until later. For the sake of glomming together better selections these will include stoner rock, garage rock, space rock, hard rock and generally music centered around psychedelic experiences and tropes alike. This is -NOT- a best of, but a collection of interesting curios worth mentioning as we reflect upon the year. // In an attempt to be more conversational these are more easygoing and casual than longform reviews, so relax and think for yourself. — If you find something you dig go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase! If you’d like your music reviewed, read the FAQ and send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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With a sound rooted in heavy psychedelic rock, space rock and a very slight stoney edge Lille, France-based troupe THE BAPTIZED intend to transport the listener to a hostile post-apocalyptic wasteland within the course of ‘Exilion‘, an instrumental adventure which is suggested as non-linear, a dark Choose Your Own Adventure sans any narration. Guitar driven instrumental rock music is a double-edged sword for my own taste in that it is often admirably introverted but risks conveying little more than tropes. A lot of the usual but not-so unpleasant nodes of int-rock are activated here, plenty of wah-pedal strangling foaming about fuzzy riffs and bopping energy with high-necked solos wailing on for minutes at a time. There is an upbeat, aspirational muse applied here which finds a few brilliant pockets of transcendent activity: “Furvent” is the bop to start and the two songs that bleed beyond expand upon that headspace with “Jerry’s Escape” being the downhill slide beyond the high-spiraling events prior. Late album piece “Araski” has the warrior’s touch otherwise, introducing the peaking moment of the LP (closer “Storming the Dark”) where the immersive value generated pays off most clearly for my taste. Beyond first impressions I’d found myself putting this album on and letting it all foam up together rather than treat it as a non-linear selection, particularly appreciating the longer pieces and their indulgences.

Sardinian trio BASALTIC PLATEAU likewise offer an all instrumental trundle through many worlds with a variety of modern and auld rock sub-genre informing their sleepy walk through these six pieces. From garage rocking fuzz to Elder-esque prog rock wobbling about there is an entertaining enough range supplied to keep the action moving here and the pace does occasionally perk depending on the song. While the tension of “Sleep Paralysis” is interesting enough I’d felt the band were most compelling in a supremely relaxed state (“Summer Dream”, “Dead Dinosaurs Echoes”) or edging into desert rock informed crash and bustle (“Cuttlefish Galaxy”). While these are pro-level vignettes sporting approachable sounds I’d found myself waning away from the overall effect of ‘Dead Dinosaurs Echoes‘ after just a few listens, a little bit to standard issue in some regard though I’d enjoyed the hills-and-valleys available to their rhythms. If you lean toward the neo-psych (or even post-rock) spectrum you’ll probably dig this one more than I.

German-Swiss trio BIKINI BEACH generally square up with the west coast United States’ fuzzed garage punk/psych rock (revivalist) ideal on ‘Cursed‘ with faux analog grime, toe-tapping catchiness, and a darker/introverted take when it comes to vocals and lyrics. No doubt most of these songs endeavor to catch the ear quick and shock it with their shout-along rattle but when they do ‘slow down’ (“Cursed”, “Blue”) or surf out (“Until You Die”) their sensibilities speak clearer to the arm flinging smear of garage psych. The best songs here kinda do it all and bash it out at the same time (re: “Miles From My Mind”, “Introvert”, “Last Words”) while keeping in mind their sound defaults to boogie rather than psychedelic collapse. A quick and engaging roll through but maybe not the most outright memorable thing you’ll hit in this category this year.

Another sub-genre bender who achieves their own limbo between bleak post-punk bap, early 70’s gothic rock bap and late 60’s psychedelic rock drenched atmosphere BLACK HONEY CULT is a natural offshoot from popular heavy rock troupe Lords of Altamont. That genetic material is evident enough throughout ‘Black Honey Cult‘, achieving a sound which to me recalls the estranged joy of ‘Strawberries‘-era The Damned. The more ambulatory and keys-juiced their songs are (re: “Golden Dragon”, “Black Eyed Soul”) the greater the effect though I’d found myself most at home within the less focused comedown of Side B here (“LSD and Me”, “Take Me Down” etc.) While I was expecting this one to lean into the 80’s based on its description it was a nice surprise to feel the late 70’s oak of this record keep things organische but on-the-move throughout. Favorite piece here for my own taste is easily “Dead In Me”.

The Hague, The Netherlands-based trio DITCH return beyond a 2021 EP and an extended wait beyond their 2014 released debut LP with a sophomore album once again centered around their version of desert rock/stoner metal inspired sounds. In their case this translates to a basal alternative rock experience given to fuzzier, bounding pieces (“Everyone I Know”, “Year of the Pig”, etc.) and some less serious feeling songs (“The Bloody 9”) with references to Star Wars films found throughout. The low point here for my taste is the title track (“The Traveler”) which offers a sleepy/sentimental rock ballad at odds with the mood of the rest of the record. ‘The Traveler‘ only just works for my own taste when they hit upon heavy rock/doom-rock notions though I think the larger issue here is a lack of compelling or inventive melody applied to the vocals. This is the sort of record I’d been strangely drawn to but couldn’t fully gel with on each ride through.

Rambling and rattling through their own take on ensemble boosted heavy psych and garage rock Vevey, Switzerland-based quintet FOMIES craft their own brand of uneasy, tension’d jam on this latest LP. Some of the motorik bap of krautrock extends into sleepier droning movements per a few songs here but most of the album aims for a balance of clever, proggy interplay and shoulder whipping rock. The three part “Colossus” best exemplifies the whole Osees-level abandon meets King Gizzard showmanship deal these folks carry with but I’d otherwise found myself drawn to pieces like “Reflections” and “Neon Gloom” for the old wizard handed garage psych feeling accomplished. The only hitch I’d found here was this sense that the album finishes its thought then tacks on a series of tonally separate pieces at the end where the Brian Jonestown Massacre-edged “Secluded” is a shiner but doesn’t seat well next to the pensive pieces surrounding it. Overall a great listen, somewhat inconsistent running order, vocals lack any memorable impact beyond a few earlier pieces.

Exhibiting their unique congress between neo-psych expansion, space rock sprawl, and even some heavier metallic vaunt Milano, Italy-based troupe GIÖBIA defy exact categorization whether we dissect their stance via sub-genre or expression. Space-faring yet notably intense in their largely instrumental delve per the first two tracks on ‘X-ÆON‘ both “Voodoo Experience” and “Fractal Haze” act as a jam-in, an introduction which sends the listener catching up at a running pace ’til the drop into the steadier ease of “The Death of the Crows” illuminates. This’d been my favorite transition on the album, the first fifteen minutes or so, and from there they variously rescind and return into states of focus. I’d particularly enjoyed the organesque tones used on “L’eau Fugitive” but most of Side B floats past leaving the full listen somewhat uneven in pacing but no less entertaining.

The pair of brothers creating and curating Rennes, France-based duo MOUNDRAG have an uncanny knack for the early 70’s intersection of keys-driven progressive rock sermon and heavy psych stampede and they pull it off without the employ of any guitars. Granted they’ve a fair deal of help realizing their ambitions via a seven person choir and several guest musicians, the work of bassist Goudzou being most persistent, who come together for a fairly retro-graded affair with some fantastic dramatic authorship deployed throughout. This is the sort of sound I’d grown up obsessed with so, on a nostalgic plane their work is mind-wringing stuff but if we’re to look at pure ambition and expressivity on the part of the arranger/performer there is more than just potential carrying ‘Deux‘ into mind. There isn’t a bad song here for my taste but “Limbo” most readily speaks to the whole of the experience, where it flexes axons hardest, and the descending lilt of “Morning Epitaph” was a general high point otherwise.

When I saw a jacket pin on social media that said “Don’t trust anyone under 40” as part of the merch for Montreal, Québec-based quartet TECHNICOLOR BLOOD I knew I was already a fan on principle but it turns out this second LP is actually a great time in its own right. ‘Evolution Now‘ carries strong space rock energy throughout, a driving and readily protesting stance built for float but capable of harder rocking speed and almost post-hardcorish/post-punk swerve depending on the piece. The effect swirling garage-bound spectrum of their work is its most compelling trait for my taste, the slightly chaotic jam of “Year of the Snake” being an ideal representation of it, though their default mode is otherwise found on standouts “King” and “The Watcher”. A handful of real ear-burners, catchier songs that feel great to return to, helped this record stick in mind for months on my end.

Sydney, Australia-based quartet TURTLE SKULL have brought the full package, a completely considered and brilliantly curated LP in ‘Being Here‘ where we can look beyond sub-genre fusion and find both personal style, substantive examination, and keen aesthetics pulling the whole experience into its own brilliant incandescent glow. Described as “psychedelic doom pop” but generally centered around neo-psychedelic rock with some stoner buzz the band’s sound struck me down with “Apathy” earlier this year but I’d never spun back around to follow-up until mid-year. That song is still a scene setter with its vintage fuzz rock glide and hymnal early 70’s protestation but the whole of the album isn’t such a ruckus with most songs humming and swerving along steadily. The pairing of “Bourgeoisie” and its verve plus “It Starts With Me” after brings a sort of desert rock assisted groan to the album and this ends up being my favorite part of the album (and some of the best lyrics) whereas the sleepier duo of songs that closes the album read as a comedown, a natural exit rather than a climax of forces. Not the heaviest record on this list but one that’d had great staying power for my taste.

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