Arson Whales – Galactopus (2023)
One of the key qualities of the initial psychedelic genre was its inventiveness and the desire to include as many elements from other musical genres and make it its own. Including funk and other RnB forms was no exception and that inclusion took psychedelia to new heights, particularly with the likes of George Clinton and all his guises like Funkadelic and others. The trend has continued to this day, and Northern California band Arson Whales seems intent on continuing that trend with their latest album Galactopus.
The band, consisting of Linda Brancato (vocals, guitar, synth), Joe Kimberlin (lead guitar), Brad Penner (bass), and Stephen Linn (drums, vocals), like their psych well in the manner of Clinton’s “cosmic slop” and the bands like Hawkwind picking up touches of more or less everything they have heard and that suits their intended sound. Through their four releases so far, the band has taken on a serious task of sonic exploration that has been taken to new heights on Galactopus. The band eschews the tendency of some psych artists to keep on constantly riffing and concentrates on creating substantive melodies that will drive their music forward with “spaced-out” elements serving as embellishments and setting Brancato’s vocals as the glue connecting the music throughout.
While the opening two tracks ‘Monkey Jar’ and ‘Upside Down’ serve as signatures of the sound, ‘Gray Dorian’ is a moody psych-rocker that stands out, and ‘Reverse The Rule’ concentrates on a pop melody that sticks. ‘Zephyr & Sycophant’ brings those funky touches into play, and ‘Spirit In A Wormhole’ drives that point home with some excellent spacey flourishes.
‘Finding Betsy Dar’ slows the pace down and brings in some good old twangy guitars into play, with the quality of Brancato’s vocals standing out. From there on, Arson Whales save some of the strongest tracks to conclude the album with ‘This Chimera’ setting some Motown soul into a psych context. ‘Sonic Eclipse’ is true psych-rock with some intricate guitar sounds from surf to shoegaze and an excellent backbeat. ‘Whales Fall’ and ‘Blackhole’ are fitting concluding tracks, with the former recalling some of the better 60s-sounding ballads and the latter presenting the band’s vision of what good psych-funk should sound like with some excellent results.
Essentially, Galactopus is the sound of a band that certainly deserves some serious recognition. Expect more from Arson Whales quite soon.
Find out more about Arson Whales on their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify
